The Role of Heads of Department in the Professional Development of Educators: A Distributed Leadership Perspective

The qualitative study reported on was, undertaken from a distributed leadership perspective, and was an attempt to provide understanding of how heads of department (HoDs) develop educators within the organisational context of different schools and subject departments. The findings are related to the current policy framework for professional development in South African schools. Two fee-paying and two non-fee-paying schools were selected and interviews were conducted with HoDs from single subject (unitary) and multi-subject (federal or confederate) departments in each school. The data was transcribed, coded, analysed and related to the research question. The findings confirmed that HoDs are a key link between principals and the educators in their classrooms. This supports the view that HoDs have formal responsibilities and accountabilities and they wield a horizontal and a vertical influence. Recommendations are made to improve professional development practice by HoDs in particular and in the education system in general.     

Learning about Leading a Subject Department in Secondary Schools: some empirical evidence

This article attempts to shed some light on the preparation and training of subject heads of department (HoDs) in secondary schools, which is a neglected but vitally important issue. It reports the findings of interviews conducted with a sample of 36 HoDs in Wales. The major issue emerging from this work is the importance which HoDs attached to their learning about the HoD role, when working with previous HoDs at an earlier point in their career (professional socialisation) and the different kinds of learning experienced when they took up their post in school (organisational socialisation). Most of those interviewed also perceived themselves as being proactive in the training and professional development of their colleagues.     

Analysing the Role of the Subject Head of Department in Secondary Schools in England and Wales: Towards a theoretical framework

This paper argues that contingency theory offers a useful basis on which to consider the work of subject heads of department (HoDs) in secondary schools, particularly if they are pro-active in attempting to influence the quality of teaching and learning in their curriculum area. We have developed a provisional model which may shed more light on how HoDs actually work with other departmental staff.     

Empowering teacher leadership: a cross-country study

ABSTRACT

The contextual, purpose-driven challenges facing schools and school systems across the world call for creative and innovative responses to revitalize school practices. The process of revitalization will require new thinking, new mindsets within an adaptive school culture and new leadership roles (formal and informal). Often the perception of leadership held within a school is that it is the province of the principal; however, if we move from a top-down model of leadership we can ulitize the capacity of others within to lead the learning. To enable this to happen, teacher leaders need to work with agency and principals need to nurture and grow their formal and informal leadership roles within the school. For many teachers, the question is how they can establish and commit to leadership roles and responsibilities within the school community while remaining in a teaching position. This case study examined the practices of teachers as they experienced leadership across three cross-cultural contexts: Colombia, Canada and Australia. It presents exemplars of teacher leadership in action and provides images of teacher leadership as enacted in addition to an understanding of the factors that were important in supporting their leadership actions.     

Teacher professional leadership in support of teacher professional development

Counteracting perceptions of teaching as a profession with a flat career trajectory may require professional leadership opportunities for experienced teachers that differ substantively from those typically available. This evaluation study investigated the results of a professional development initiative for subject specialist teachers seconded to a leadership role in their curriculum areas. Interview and survey data supported teacher growth in subject expertise and leadership capacity attributed to the opportunities provided by the new teacher-leadership role. The findings of this study indicate expanded leadership roles may further develop experienced professionals while simultaneously supporting teacher knowledge during a period of embedding educational reform.     

Principal Leadership for Technology-enhanced Learning in Science

Reforms such as technology-enhanced instruction require principal leadership. Yet, many principals report that they need help to guide implementation of science and technology reforms. We identify strategies for helping principals provide this leadership. A two-phase design is employed. In the first phase we elicit principals’ varied ideas about the Technology-enhanced Learning in Science (TELS) curriculum materials being implemented by teachers in their schools, and in the second phase we engage principals in a leadership workshop designed based on the ideas they generated. Analysis uses an emergent coding scheme to categorize principals’ ideas, and a knowledge integration framework to capture the development of these ideas. The analysis suggests that principals frame their thinking about the implementation of TELS in terms of: principal leadership, curriculum, educational policy, teacher learning, student outcomes and financial resources. They seek to improve their own knowledge to support this reform. The principals organize their ideas around individual school goals and current political issues. Principals prefer professional development activities that engage them in reviewing curricula and student work with other principals. Based on the analysis, this study offers guidelines for creating learning opportunities that enhance principals’ leadership abilities in technology and science reform.     

Weaving Curriculum Connections in International Baccalaureate (IB) Schools

In this article we discuss how school leaders address challenges when implementing innovative international education curricula, namely International Baccalaureate (IB) programs. Specifically, we frame challenges in curriculum implementation of and transition between IB programs from a “disconnection” perspective. We have often noticed when innovative programs are parceled together without preparation and thrust at great speed at schools, they become disconnected. The hasty implementation of multiple IB programs simultaneously at a school also causes disconnection. Drawing on extensive interview data from principals, mid-level leaders, and teachers in five IB schools adopting multiple IB programs in Asia, we detail curriculum disconnection facing IB schools and how school leaders, including teacher leaders, address such challenges by weaving various disconnected points, namely instrumental, intellectual, cultural, professional, and communicative disconnections. Based on findings from the multisite case study, we argue that school leaders in the case of IB schools adopt a range of leadership strategies to weave disconnection points. We reframe the leadership strategies as two aspects of distributed leadership: distributed instructional leadership and teacher leadership. In conclusion, we suggest that a central facet for successful leadership of IB schools that adopt multiple IB programs is about finding, focusing, and facilitating ways to address disconnections in curriculum implementation of and transition between different IB programs.     

Teacher educators as curriculum developers: exploration of a professional role

Teacher educators arguably fulfil several roles in their professional context: they can be seen as role models or teachers of teachers, and have additionally been characterised as researchers, mentors, gatekeepers, brokers, and curriculum developers. To address a perceived gap in the literature on the latter role, a quantitative and qualitative exploratory study into educators’ own perceptions of their role as curriculum developers was conducted at a large teacher education department in the Netherlands. Seventy-five educators completed a digital questionnaire. Their responses reveal that the participants generally consider themselves to be curriculum developers, are aware of the responsibilities this professional role entails, and can pinpoint concrete practices in which the role becomes visible. The findings furthermore suggest that educators have been prepared for and develop professionally in this role in a variety of ways, mostly through informal learning with their colleagues at the workplace. Based on these findings, recommendations are made to inform educational practice, policy, and research.     

Aspiring principals' perception of the challenges of beginning principals and the support that they need

This paper presents the results of an exploratory research project about the perception of aspiring principals regarding the challenges of beginning principals and the support that they need. These aspiring principals are participants on the Leaders in Education Programme (LEP) in Singapore. According to the research findings, the LEP participants perceived that the main challenges they were likely to face if and when appointed as principals would be adapting to a new environment and role; working with staff and other stakeholders; and meeting the expectations of others while trying to live true to one's values. The support they felt they would need as beginning principals was a network of professional peers; guidance from an experienced mentor; and access to the expertise of academics and continuous professional development platforms. Interestingly, while Singapore appears to have a reputation for a focus on examination results and quality assurance measures, the participants hardly mentioned any challenges or need for support in these areas. The paper calls for a greater level of understanding and support for beginning principals in doing an increasingly demanding job in a highly complex environment.     

Leading sustainable schools: exploring the role of primary school principals

The purpose of the paper is to identify the kinds of leadership that are likely to support implementing and sustaining education for sustainable development (ESD) effectively in a primary school. The paper identifies links between ESD and principal leadership literature and constructs a conceptual model of the leadership practices needed for reorienting a school to ESD/education for sustainability. Aspects of the model are explored through Cypriot principals' views on leadership and reported leadership practices. Data were obtained by a nationally administered questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Outcomes indicated some enabling factors for ESD implementation such as encouraging teachers to engage in ESD programmes, collaborate with others and other ways of support which nevertheless reflect what is generally expected of school administrators without seeking deep change. Constraining factors included principals' reported lack of confidence in administrative skills for sustainable schools, limited willingness to challenge the status quo, limited engagement in actions important for supporting ESD activities and features of the national educational policy. Constraining factors pointed towards principals' limited commitment to ESD. The practical significance of the findings is that they identify specific areas of needed professional development for principals such as empowering staff, encouraging critique of current approaches and exploring alternative possibilities for curriculum, pedagogy and policy.     

Improving curriculum development practices in a technical vocational community college: examining effects of a professional development arrangement for middle managers

Learning about curriculum development is critical for middle managers of technical vocational institutions in order to assume curriculum leadership in maintaining and enhancing the quality and relevance of their educational programs. This case study reports on the design and effects of a professional development arrangement (PDA), with such a focus, for 13 middle managers of a technical vocational community college in a developing country. The findings indicate that the middle managers appreciated the relevance of the PDA for curriculum development at the community college and gained substantial learning about systematic curriculum development. However, the middle managers' post-PDA curriculum development improvement efforts were minimal and characterised by individual initiatives, due to a lack of senior management support, unfavourable work conditions, and a high rate of middle manager attrition. The conclusion drawn is that for trained middle managers to lead systematic curriculum development practices, contextual and organisational barriers germane to technical vocational education in developing contexts need to be considered.     

Preparing in-service language teachers to design and implement technology-rich curriculum

This article examines a technology-rich curriculum project that was implemented in China with in-service teachers during a three-year period. The findings suggest the need to support in-service teachers to implement new technology-rich curriculum. The findings also imply the need for curriculum designers to have a good understanding of not only their team members, but also of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers in order to provide appropriate and relevant technology-rich curriculum. The authors suggest important related topics for further research, such as job-embedded professional development and professional learning communities.     

对幼儿园园长课程领导力的理性思考

幼儿园园长课程领导力的状况影响着幼儿园课程品质的提升,而幼儿园课程的改革影响着幼儿教育品质的提升。然而,当前幼儿园园长课程领导力的现状不容乐观,对课程领导力的意蕴充满困惑,且不能将课程领导力的理念融入到幼儿园的实际工作。因此,需要不断加强幼儿园园长课程领导力方面的理论素养,逐步明晰课程领导的角色任务观,重塑课程领导力专题培训的意蕴,在共同体建设中提升园长的课程领导力,并注重园长课程领导力品质的自我修炼。     

Motivating Teachers to Enact Free-Choice Project-Based Learning in Science and Technology (PBLSAT): Effects of a Professional Development Model

We investigated the effects of a long-term, continuous professional development (CPD) model, designed to support teachers to enact Project-Based Learning (PBLSAT). How do novice PBLSAT teachers view their acquisition of PBLSAT skills and how do expert PBLSAT teachers, who enacted the program 5–7 years, perceive the program? Novice teachers evaluated that they acquired the relevant skills but also expressed worries about enacting the program, due to potential difficulties for teachers. Nonetheless, the teachers enacted the program and identified unforeseen benefits for themselves and their students. We suggest that the CPD model helps teachers develop a sense of personal ownership and customization for the program, through multi-staged support to integrate student free-choice PBL into the formal science curriculum.     

Global social issues in the curriculum: perspectives of school principals

In this article, we discuss principals’ perspectives on the priority given to the place in the curriculum of and the supporting practices related to health and sustainability education in schools in Denmark (for pupils aged 6–16). The study is situated within the discourses about critical health and sustainability education and treats the two issues as societal challenges that are important to address in schools as educational examples. We draw on the literature on school leadership challenges linked to global neoliberal trends in educational reform. The context of the study is the ongoing school reform in Denmark. The data were generated through an online survey of principals in Denmark (n = 118). The findings show that although the principals view school as an important arena for health and sustainability education, their actual support for such education lags behind. Health education is prioritized somewhat more than sustainability education; however, both are characterized by insufficient attention to teachers’ professional development and the low prioritization of collaboration within the school and between the school and community actors. Acknowledging the contradicting demands that principals face in the context of the reform, we argue for reconnecting the concept of leadership with the wider purposes of schooling and for providing space for an emergent, whole-school curriculum that addresses health and sustainability.     

WHEN IS A SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT PERCEIVED AS SUPPORTIVE BY BEGINNING MATHEMATICS TEACHERS? EFFECTS OF LEADERSHIP, TRUST, AUTONOMY AND APPRAISAL ON TEACHING QUALITY

This study examines the hypothesis that the more support beginning mathematics teachers perceive and the better they evaluate the management of their school, the higher their teaching quality is. Indicators of teaching quality were how the teachers, who were in their third year in the profession, regarded themselves able to cope with the challenges of mathematics instruction and generic tasks like classroom management and how satisfied they were with their job. Indicators of support were the level of appraisal and autonomy the teachers reported. School management indicators were the administrative leadership of the principal and the climate of trust as perceived by the teachers. Our results reveal that teacher support plays an important role in the quality of beginning mathematics teachers. All quality indicators improved significantly if beginning teachers reported more appraisal and autonomy. A climate of trust plays an important role for the extent of autonomy perceived. Administrative leadership was significantly related to the amount of appraisal the teachers reported. Our results provide important information on how to steer a school so that the quality of beginning mathematics teachers is maximized.     

Protecting academic freedom in changing times: the role of Heads of Departments

In changing times for higher education that are dominated by a neoliberal ideology, we set out to uncover how Heads of Departments (HoDs) perceive their role with respect to supporting their staff and their academic freedom. Freedom to pursue academic research is seen as key to the generation of new knowledge yet it is potentially constrained by funding regimes and university accountability systems. As HoDs operate at the interface between university systems and individual academic projects, how they perceive their role can have a profound influence on the working environment of their departmental staff. The research study is located in two successful departments in a research intensive university in England. The study shows that the HoDs were not captured by the neoliberal discourse and aimed to protect their staff so they could ‘get on with their work’. In so doing they interpreted university demands to the best advantage of their departments but were not active in challenging university driven changes, thus raising questions about the effects of accommodating to change, so risking incremental change, and of how less successful departments might be able to protect their staff and their academic freedom.     

Assistant/deputy principals: what are their perceptions of their role?

The roles and aspirations of Assistant/Deputy Principals (AP/DPs) have received attention for a number of decades. In contrast to much of the reported research that either highlights the administrative and management tasks or foregrounds principal succession, we explore levels of satisfaction that play into DP/APs’ interpretations of the realities of their professional experiences during everyday work. Job choice theory provided us with the theoretical resources for the exploration. Our study found that half of all participants perceived their job as a legitimate terminal career. They expressed immense satisfaction in the role, perceived the role as offering a sufficiently high level of challenge without the demands of ultimate leadership responsibility and identified interpersonal relationships, particularly those within the senior leadership team, as the most significant dimension in the role. However, the study has also highlighted that without the support of induction programmes, mentoring support and in-depth leadership training, for many AP/DPs ‘on the job’ training is the only means of learning available to support their professional development in the AP/DP role.     

Middle leadership roles in universities: Holy Grail or poisoned chalice

Middle leadership roles in higher education have been identified as important for institutional effectiveness yet fraught with tensions, and those in middle leadership roles often feel unprepared and unsupported. This study of the responsibilities, skills and competencies, and support required for heads of school in a New Zealand university, drew on a survey and interviews with heads and focus groups or interviews with a range of stakeholders. The research found that while heads found satisfaction in their role, they also faced challenges associated with people management, workload and impact on their research careers. There was widespread agreement among stakeholders about the capabilities needed for the role and an awareness of the barriers to effectiveness. Suggestions for making the role more appealing include reducing workload, providing learning and development programs, clarifying the balance of professional and personal competencies required, and encouraging the distribution of leadership.