Do teachers need to be leaders? Perceptions of educational leadership and management in the Israeli secondary educational system

The study explored the perceptions of student-teachers of educational leadership and management with regard to the roles of homeroom teachers and subject teachers in secondary schools. The participants of the study are students in the biggest College of Education in Israel. The analysis was conducted on the students’ posts in an online forum of an academic course using qualitative and quantitative methods. The students’ posts indicated a differentiation between the perceptions of the two roles on the level of ideology as opposed to the practical level. The most prevailing leadership model that emerged from the findings is transformational with four other models, all of which are congruent with the humanistic approach to teaching. Further research should focus on the gaps between school reality and teacher education programmes in order to facilitate the induction phase for novice teachers.     

Effective or affective schools? Technological and emotional discourses of educational change

British schools have been positioned by recent educational policy discourses as sites of innovation and transformation in new technological contexts, but more recent concerns about well-being suggest a more ‘affective turn’ in educational policy-making. This article provides an analysis of a project which has explored the ways in which schools are being re-imagined as spaces of effective technology-centredness, as well as sites for more emotional or affective child-centredness. I argue that far from being mutually exclusive categories, these technology-centred and child-centred orientations are conjoined in what I call ‘high-touch-tech’ discourse where the effective and the affective are mutually constitutive. Finally, I situate these changes as consequent upon ‘emotion management’ in work and social life, and suggest that an implication of the new policy focus on well-being for schools will be their requirement to perform ‘affect management’.     

What types of cultural capital benefit students’ academic achievement at different educational stages? Interrogating the meta-analytic evidence

The present study challenges the assumption that cultural capital benefits students' academic achievement regardless of their educational stages. Meta-analytic results from 105 studies published 2000–2017 indicated that nine cultural capital variables (e.g., home educational resources, maternal and paternal education, parental expectations, cultural participation, home support, school participation) benefited all students while five cultural capital variables exhibited a differentiated pattern of relationship with student achievement depending on educational stages. First, compared to students from higher grade levels, kindergarteners benefited most from parental education, parental academic emphasis, and parent-child reading. Second, compared to 1st–6th graders, 7th-12th graders benefited more from academic discussions. Third, compared to 1st–6th graders, both kindergarteners and 7th-12th graders benefited from parental school involvement. These results provide compelling evidence that while there are some forms of cultural capital that all students will benefit from, there are others whose association with students’ achievement depends on their educational stages.     

Lost in translation? Emotional intelligence,affective economies,leadership and organizational change

Not until the late 1990s did the rational/emotional binary embedded in mainstream literature on educational leadership and management come under challenge. Now the emotional dimensions of organisational change and leadership are widely recognised in the leadership, organisational change and school improvement literature. However, the dissolution of the binary did not draw from feminist social theory, critical organisational theory, the sociology of emotions or critical pedagogy. Instead, the strongest influence in educational leadership and administration has been from psychological theory, management theory and brain science, mobilised particularly through Goleman's notion of emotional intelligence. This article undertakes a feminist deconstruction of two texts: one from organisational theory by Goleman and the other on educational leadership and school improvement, in order to explore how ‘emotion’ has been translated into educational leadership. As a counterpoint, I identify the gaps and silences, appropriations and marginalisation identified from feminist perspectives. I argue that the emotional labour of teaching and leading cannot be individualised because emotion is both relational and contextual.     

Evaluations of educational reform programmes in developing countries: whose life is it anyway?

This article exposes some of the inconsistencies in the use of much research, monitoring and evaluation which is used as a major input into donor-supported educational reform programmes. It argues that notwithstanding the increased emphasis on participation and local ownership, the different valuing and validity of different types of knowledge colour the extent to which any evaluation or research design is going to meet different stakeholders' interests. After critiquing two case studies of educational evaluation, it concludes with some basic principles of evaluation design that should better accommodate the variety of evaluation needs from the local level up to the central ministry.     

Critical perspectives in educational leadership: a new ‘theory turn’?

In this article, I argue that we are witnessing a new phase or ‘theory turn’ in the field of educational leadership. These more critical perspectives in the field of educational leadership have typically been marginalised by the larger body of orthodox approaches due to a perceived lack of focus on best practice and ‘what works’ discourses, and especially in recent years with the rise of the school effectiveness and improvement movement. However, critical perspectives in educational leadership constitute an essential and vibrant part of educational leadership scholarship and discourse. Drawing on Michel Foucault's notion of discourse, through this article, I examine how critical perspectives have been constituted historically, with some of the main themes of research. This foregrounding also highlights a number of limitations with more orthodox and hegemonic leadership discourses. I identify a number of key writers in the field and situate them in the current theory turn, that is, an emphasis of theoretically informed research that have been prolific over the last 5–10 years.     

The children of the educational expansion era in Germany: education and further training participation in the life‐course

In this article, we examine the social dimension of inequality in educational participation. We look at the social transmission and gender‐specific channelling of education and further training in the context of employment and family. Based on quantitative survey data and qualitative interview data collected from a multi‐level empirical life‐course study (Hamburg Biographical and Life‐Course Panel: 1980–2006) conducted with a sample of the 1979 cohort of secondary school graduates in Hamburg, Germany, we discuss the education and further training practices in their lives – with special emphasis on social class of origin and gender.     

Truancy in Europe: Does the type of educational system matter?

Truancy is known to: Hamper academic achievement, predict a range of school-related problems and cause early school leaving. Hence, the development and implementation of measures to tackle truancy are considered as important strategies to prevent early school leaving in Europe. Despite this, there is almost no comparative research which studies variation in truancy rates. This article relies on PISA 2012 data from 24 European countries to empirically answer two questions: (1) To what degree do truancy rates vary cross-nationally? and (2) Do these differences in truancy rates relate to characteristics of the educational system? We found that between-country truancy rates varied more than differences in early school leaving. Moreover, even after taking into account control variables such as economic development and youth unemployment rates, the ways in which educational systems select and group pupils are closely related to truancy rates.     

An independent inspectorate? Addressing the paradoxes of educational inspection in 2013

Recent changes in the English education system have resulted in the September 2012 Inspection framework. To a far greater extent than its predecessors this schedule looks to create a stronger relationship between the inspection agency Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education), and to extend the agency's already substantial reach and influence into the areas of teacher professional development and pupil attainment. An explicitly far tougher framework, the 2012 schedule places far greater emphasis on teaching and learning and on lesson observation as a means of judging teacher effectiveness and pupil attainment whilst concomitantly aiming to enhance the credibility of both judgements and agency by creating an enhanced professional relationship between inspectors and school staff. Drawing on Clarke's theoretical framework of performance paradoxes in public service inspection, this paper argues that in attempting to address concerns over the agencies' independence, the 2012 Inspection Framework and concomitant re-modelling of the inspection workforce serve rather to compound them. The paper concludes that this combined with profound changes in the English educational landscape presents problems for the agency which may in the longer term prove intractable.     

Gendered educational leadership: beneath the monoglossic façade

Recent gender retheorisation has drawn on Mikhail Bakhtin's literary and linguistic theories of monoglossia and heteroglossia to reconcile seemingly contradictory gender discourses. Thus, girls/women and boys/men as they are biologically sexed might be discussed within a poststructural gender theory discourse that disconnects gender from the body. The concepts of gender monoglossia, gender heteroglossia and polyglossia have been applied here to empirical research into the construction of gendered leadership as it was seen to be done by one woman head teacher. The accounts of members of staff expose heteroglossia in the articulation of their understandings of gendered leadership beneath the construction of a monoglossic façade. They also reveal an understanding of polyglossic simultaneity as the head teacher is observed to ‘switch’ seamlessly between modes of doing gendered leadership depending on context and circumstances. There is also evidence of polyglossic simultaneity in the reports that might lead to the rejection and/or redefinition of gender theory discourses.     

A little more madness in our methods? A snapshot of how the educational leadership,management and administration field conducts research

ABSTRACT

The field of educational leadership, management and administration (ELMA) uses methods drawn primarily from cognate educational disciplines. But does this matter? This paper explores the methods used in recently published papers through a snapshot of six issues of six ELMA journals. The analysis showed a preponderance of survey, interview and case study methods, with one journal, JEAH, also publishing papers using methods drawn from history, philosophy and sociology. The snapshot also revealed the methods that were rarely used – for example, ethnography, visual and on-line methods. Through a Bourdieusian lens, the paper argues that the ELMA field appears to be somewhat removed from methods developments and debates in the wider educational and social science fields. There may thus be mileage in the ELMA field considering the use of additional methods, including the ‘wilder’ ones. The field might also benefit from understanding methods as more than tools and as practices possessed of a social life.     

Becoming an educational leader – exploring leadership in medical education

Research on educational leadership emphasizes the importance of having institutional leaders heavily involved with advanced instructional programming. Best practices for developing educational leadership in higher education health care and medical faculties have to be better understood. Within the framework of a seminar series, researchers and practitioners were involved in a dialogical process of inquiry, coupled with an explicit activity-oriented approach emphasizing empowerment among educational leaders. In a reflective paper, 10 participants of the seminar series elaborated on what it meant to develop and to ‘take’ leadership in your professional role and which factors that were identified as adding value to the development of professional leadership expertise. Qualitative content analysis was conducted resulting in thirteen categories reported in relation to Wenger’s theory of communities of practice. The findings show that educational leadership involves processes on the levels of students, teachers as community and at the organizational level. The individuals created a place for backstage conversations at which they got opportunity to develop their thinking and inspiration to break new ideas into their own educational communities. In addition, a systemic approach is essential for the effective implementation of educational leadership to reach all levels via interaction and communication across an organization.     

The role of the associate dean in UK universities: distributed leadership in action?

This paper reports on findings from a Leadership Foundation for Higher Education funded project exploring the role of associate deans in UK universities. While the number of associate deans leading cross-curricular and inter-disciplinary initiatives appears to be on the increase, there has been very little research focusing on the exact nature of the role and its importance, or otherwise, in the leadership and management of universities. Drawing on mixed-methods data from 15 semi-structured interviews and a follow-up online survey (n = 172), this paper reports on how the role is defined and positioned in relation to university organisational structures and identifies what the similarities and differences are between associate deans working at traditional and modern universities. As the first national survey of the role, it is argued that this paper makes a significant and original contribution to knowledge. By drawing on the concept of distributed leadership, the paper also offers new theoretical insights into how different types of universities in the UK are responding to external pressures as a consequence of the fast-changing and increasingly complex sector environment.     

Conceptualizing educational leadership: does exploring macro-level facets matters?

The present review attempts to examine the present status of educational leadership highlighting the role of macro-level facets in Asian Pacific context. The conceptualization of educational leadership among researchers so far had been found to vary according to different contexts and situations. Theoretical perspectives associated with educational leadership have either approached the concept from dimensions working outside the school or from dimensions reflecting the personality trait of the principal. There is an urgent need to shift the focus of attention toward understanding educational leadership through an interactive collaboration of these dimensions. Specifically, in school contexts, the phenomenon of educational leadership was explored and theorized from one perspective only, giving less space to have multidisciplinary view, which need to be revived in terms of contexts and associated metaphors of educational leadership. Although the importance of educational leadership has been widely acknowledged, its role still remains unheeded in various sections of education. The purpose of the review, thus, is to gain macro-level insight into this concept which can hopefully answer many aspects of education which are otherwise left unanswered, thereby helping in formulating better educational reforms.     

Pre-figurative practice and the educational leadership of Sir Alec Clegg in the West Riding of Yorkshire,England (1945–1974)

ABSTRACT

This article recalls a time when local government infrastructure was strong and a Chief Education Officer's (CEO) vision could be realised across a region, in Clegg's case the West Riding of Yorkshire, one of the largest of the pre-1974 counties in England. It is timely to revisit Clegg's educational leadership and practice from 1945 to 1974, as a valuable source of learning, and challenge to the current ideologically-informed policy rhetoric which has undermined the framework of democratic educational decision-making. The authors identify four possible areas to learn from Clegg's work. Firstly, the need for CEOs or their modern-day equivalents or successors, to consider their potential as political and community leaders; secondly, Clegg's leadership style prefigures some of the recent discussion about the leadership of public services in uncertain times; thirdly a re-evaluation of administration and bureaucracy; and lastly the need for supportive partnerships to enable schools to thrive.     

Learning for All? Interrogating children's experiences of primary schooling in Mauritius

Central to the efforts of primary school reform in developing nations is the need for pupils to become more active, critical and creative learners and for primary schooling to enable all children to develop to their full potential. The question `learning for all?’ asked in the title emphasises the concern that, in developing countries, schooling and education for all do not necessarily translate in learning opportunities for all. The article discusses this idea. It is based on the assumption that takes universal quality basic education as an investment and a right and posits the necessity of micro-data in order to monitor children's learning opportunities. Examples from Mauritius are used to put forward some of the reasons impeding learning opportunities and equity inside classrooms and to highlight some of the discrepancies between policy rhetoric and the `reality’ of school.     

Diffraction or reflection? Sketching the contours of two methodologies in educational research

Internationally, an interest is emerging in a growing body of work on what has become known as ‘diffractive methodologies’ drawing attention to ontological aspects of research. Diffractive methodologies have largely been developed in response to a dissatisfaction with practices of ‘reflexivity’, which are seen to be grounded in a representational paradigm and the epistemological aspects of research. While work on ‘reflexivity’ and ‘critical reflection’ has over the years become predominant in educational and social science research methodology literature, our reading indicates that there is still important conceptual work to be done putting these two practices – reflection and diffraction – in conversation with each other and exploring their continuities and breaks as well as examining the consequences for research methodologies in education. This article raises important questions about how the concepts of diffraction and reflection are defined and understood and discusses the methodological implications for educational research.     

A study on the application of laozi ’s thoughts on educational leadership and management

This paper attempts to apply historical methods to help understand the relationship between the philosophy espoused in the works of Laozi or Tao De Ching and educational leadership. The objective is to study the thought of Laozi regarding leadership, to identify ideas and solutions that can be applied in modern educational management, as well as to provide a new definition and values to the ideas of Laozi. Laozi lived in ancient times, meaning that the works describing his thought are difficult to understand. The present study is primarily based on English sources written on Laozi by Ju-Chou Yang and on the commentary on Laozi by Bi Wang. Additionally, this article also refers to and compares other comments on the ideas of Laozi regarding management. This study finds that Laozi had varied ideas on management and philosophy. Laozi ’s views regarding organization are still relevant today. He stressed flexibility and the importance of adapting to the environment. As regards leadership, Laozi emphasized non-action, softness, humility, calmness and the elimination of desire. Furthermore, in his art of employment, Laozi insisted that leaders must overcome their personal likes and dislikes in relation to individuals to ensure the full utilization of their potential.