Mahmoud Emira

Leading to Decide or Deciding to Lead? Understanding the Relationship between Teacher Leadership and Decision Making.

This article, first, examines how Egyptian teachers and senior teachers (formal leaders) define leadership and whether the length of their teaching experience has an effect on their views. Second, it explores their perspectives on the relationship between teacher leadership and decision making. The research sample is a mixed group of 20 Egyptian teachers of English language, three of them are senior teachers. The length of their teaching experience varies from 2 to 13 years. The findings show that the group defines teacher leadership in terms of characteristics of leaders; styles of leadership and what teacher leaders do both inside and outside classroom. Almost all of them see a link between leadership and decision making. In general, length of experience does not seem to have a major impact on their views. This is a key finding because it raises questions about the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) selection of teachers for leadership responsibilities, which is based on the length of their teaching experience. The implications of these findings are examined in relation to the proposal of the MoE for decentralizing education in Egypt.

‘They say every child matters, but they don't’: an investigation into parental and carer perceptions of access to leisure facilities and respite care for children and young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention Deficit, Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

This paper analyses the experiences and perceptions of parents and carers with respect to children accessing a variety of leisure activities, as well as short breaks and respite care. The children in question have wide‐ranging needs and, for example, will be across the Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The findings are based upon focus group interviews with parents and carers. They reveal a wide range of experiences and emerging themes such as concerns about staff training, public attitudes, isolation, mainstream or specialist provision, transport and accessibility. In the light of the ‘hidden’ nature of such disabilities, the paper focuses upon three of the most consistent and important themes to emerge: a sense of isolation and lack of engagement, staff training and attitudes, and the tension between whether to engage in mainstream or special provision. The paper concludes that practitioners and statutory bodies should consider these barriers in more detail when developing inclusive practice that will encourage families to engage with leisure activities. However, it also reveals the fragile nature of progress on inclusion.

In the quest for their trust: the perceptions of families on accessing leisure services for disabled children

This paper is based on the findings of a research project commissioned by a public body in the English Midlands, UK. Telephone surveys, focus groups and individual interviews were the data collection methods. It focuses on the perceptions of 44 families on the barriers to accessing leisure services for disabled children. Although there are numerous advantages for accessing such services, the findings showed that the families had very few successful experiences with the current provision due to a number of structural barriers. Trust was perceived as crucial to access these services.

I am more than just a TA

This article is based on the findings of a funded research project. It examines the perspectives of teaching assistants (TAs) and higher-level teaching assistants (HLTAs) on their responsibilities and their views on leadership and management to see how they might have a role in leadership and management. The sample (N = 58) was drawn from schools in the English Midlands. The research followed a sequential mixed method approach which involved a survey and follow-up semi-structured interviews respectively. No major differences were found between the views of TAs and HLTAs. They believed leadership is centred on the support they get from their workplace/colleagues and their engagement in decision-making. They have a preference for the collaborative form of leadership. Although the findings show how TAs and HLTAs perceive leadership and management, which might illuminate some ideas about engaging them in this process, schools have to decide how to meet their own needs.

What disability? I am a leader! Understanding leadership in HE from a disability perspective:

This article is based on the findings of an externally funded, mixed-methods research project conducted at one English university. This small-scale project aimed to examine leadership, barriers to becoming a leader and the support needed to overcome them, from the perspectives of disabled staff. An online questionnaire was sent to all 66 members of staff who had disclosed their disabled status to the university and 22 responses were received. Twelve participants were then interviewed as two focus groups to discuss their views on leadership and its relation to their role. Six more respondents opted for individual face-to-face/telephone interviews. The findings indicated that over half of the respondents were already engaged in ‘formal’ leadership and even more exercised ‘informal’ leadership. This key finding seems to contradict the under-representation of disabled academics in leadership reported in the literature. Despite their engagement in leadership, disabled staff faced several institutional and personal barriers. The findings suggest that having an impairment per se might not necessarily deter disabled staff from exercising leadership. A number of support strategies are recommended to facilitate their participation in (formal) leadership.

Support staff leadership: Opportunities and challenges

This article argues that engaging support staff in leadership is likely to develop their role informally and complement teacher leadership. To this end, I examined the views of a group of teaching assistants (TAs) and higher level teaching assistants (HLTAs) in the English Midlands on leadership, the barriers to participation in leadership and the ways to improve their role. It also examines the extent to which their levels of experience should be taken into account when engaging support staff in leadership. Two methods of data collection generating quantitative and qualitative data were used: a survey and follow-up semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated that leadership, among other things, should focus on creating an atmosphere conducive to fostering collaboration and participation in decision-making. Although the participants aspired to collaborate with teachers in leading classrooms, they faced a number of barriers. A number of suggestions were made on how to improve their role.

Towards preparing young people for employment and further study: first evaluation of the City & Guilds TechBac

Abstract Despite the United Kingdom government increasing efforts to tackle unemployment, young people face a number of barriers to be employed. As a leading awarding body, City & Guilds launched the TechBac in 2014 to address some of these barriers and provide learners with a balanced programme of vocational study. This article is based on the initial findings of the TechBac evaluation to assess its impact on learners. Using a mixed-method approach, the research involved qualitative interviews with learners, tutors and employers and a quantitative learner survey. It aimed to understand the experiences of learners doing, and tutors delivering, the TechBac; identify mediating and moderating factors in this process and suggest improvements. The findings indicated positive impact on learners’ knowledge, skills and their attitude to learning, which are demanded by employers. A few mediating (e.g. meeting stakeholders’ needs) and moderating (e.g. insufficient information about some elements of the TechBac) factors in the programme learning experience and delivery were identified. The article concludes with some recommendations to improve future provision of the TechBac.

Personal sacrifice and corporate cultures: career progression for disabled staff in higher education

Abstract Disabled people are under-represented in higher education (HE), especially in senior posts. This article reports research on the perspectives of career progression into leadership held by disabled staff in one post-1992 university. Findings indicated that some participants were already engaged in leadership or aspired to such roles, and reported positive experiences. However, participants also experienced barriers to progression, including a lack of awareness of equality and diversity among managers and colleagues, inadequate professional development opportunities and the competitive organisational culture of management that could impact on their health and work–life balance. We conclude that disabled staff in HE do not yet have equal opportunities for progression into leadership roles compared with their non-disabled peers. There is a need for realignment of the culture of leadership and management to make it more compatible with the full inclusion of disabled staff in HE such that their unique contributions are valued.