Management in Education 

About: Management in Education is an academic journal published by SAGE Publishing. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Educational leadership & Instructional leadership. It has an ISSN identifier of 0892-0206. Over the lifetime, 1045 publications have been published receiving 9022 citations. The journal is also known as: MIE & MiE.

Distributed leadership through the looking glass

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Distributed Leadership in Schools: Leading or misleading?:

Abstract: This paper takes a distributed perspective on leadership practice in schools. Drawing upon empirical evidence from two contemporary studies of successful school leadership and the international research base concerning distributed leadership, the paper argues that leadership practice is a distributed entity that is mediated through human interaction. It suggests that leadership activity at the level of the school, rather than the level of the individual, is the appropriate unit of analysis in studying leadership practice. The paper argues that the distributed perspective offers a new and important conceptual lens through which leadership practice in school can be understood and analyzed. It concludes that further research is required to investigate the interface between distributed leadership and school improvement to ensure that this particular perspective on school leadership is not misleading. (Contains 40 references.) (Author) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

Distributed leadership in practice Evidence, misconceptions and possibilities

Abstract: This article takes a contemporary look at distributed leadership in practice by drawing upon empirical evidence from a large-scale project in the USA. Initially, it considers the existing knowledge base on distributed leadership and questions some of the assertions and assumptions in recent accounts of the literature. The article also addresses some persistent misconceptions associated with the concept of distributed leadership and points out that certain fundamental misunderstandings still prevail. The article concludes by proposing that more evidence from practice would significantly enhance the current evidential base and that the future development of distributed leadership would greatly benefit from more input from practitioners.

School leadership and management from a distributed perspective: A 2016 retrospective and prospective

Abstract: Over the past twenty years distributed leadership has framed theoretical, empirical, and development work in education. In this article, we take stock of some work using a distributed perspective. ...

Leadership in schools facing challenging circumstances

Abstract: E ffective leadership is widely accepted as being a key constituent in achieving school improvement (Ofsted, 2000). Research findings from diverse countries and different school contexts have revealed the powerful impact of leadership in securing school development and change (e.g.Van Velzen et al, 1985; Hopkins 2001a;West et al, 2000). Hopkins (2001b) highlights the centrality of transformational and instructional leadership practices in achieving school improvement in Schools Facing Challenging Circumstances (SFCC). However, a review of the literature reveals that headteachers and principals who manage change in schools in difficult circumstances are far from uniform in their leadership styles (Lashway 1997). Early empirical studies of the kind of leadership provided by principals in American urban schools found that they differed greatly in the kind of leadership they provided (Blank 1987). In addition, Keedy (1993) reported that a range of leadership styles was most effective in SFCC and that no single approach to leadership worked in every situation. In the USA, school-wide reform programmes, or school restructuring, have been aimed particularly upon low performing and high poverty schools (Louis and Miles, 1990). Consequently, much of the research evidence concerning improving schools in challenging or urban contexts is derived from the American literature (Edmonds, 1979: Elmore, 2000). Only relatively recently have researchers in the UK focused their attention upon improving ‘failing’ or ‘ineffective’ schools (Hopkins and Harris and Jackson, 1997).The latest work on this theme has reviewed research and practice in order to inform improvement in schools facing challenging circumstances (Reynolds et al, 2001). In addition, work by Hopkins (2001b) has produced an improvement guide for SFCC based upon the most successful school improvement practice. In her summary of the lessons learned from a study of successful schools in challenging circumstances, Maden (2001) highlights the need for more in-depth case studies of effective schools in difficult circumstances and richer descriptions of the leadership practices within these schools.While there is a wide range of studies that have considered leadership in schools in different contexts, a study of the leadership approaches in successful schools facing challenging circumstances has not been undertaken. Consequently, a research project was commissioned by the National College for School Leadership with the prime aim of investigating leadership practices and approaches in schools in difficult contexts. The schools involved in this research were in the DfES category of Schools Facing Challenging Circumstances (SFCC).This category is designated to those schools in which 25 per cent of pupils, or less, achieve five or more grades A* to C at GCSE.This also includes a number of schools that achieve above 25 per cent but where over 35 per cent of their pupils receive free school meals. Currently this amounts to approximately eight per cent of secondary schools in England. Many of these schools are in ‘Special Measures’ or ‘Serious Weaknesses’. While the schools in the SFCC category vary considerably. Schools in low SES urban areas, schools with falling roles and schools serving inner city communities are overrepresented in this group (Gray 2000). The aim of the small-scale research project was to contribute to the knowledge base concerning effective leadership, but with a particular emphasis upon leadership in schools facing challenging circumstances. The study consisted of three phases. Phase one involved the literature review and generation of research questions and propositions. Phase two Alma Harris University of Warwick