Abstract
This chapter uses the backdrop of the pressures created by international comparative analysis in a global education system through mechanisms such as PISA, PIRLS, TIMSS, and the OECD to compare the approaches taken by both Great Britain and the Swedish government over the last decade in their attitudes to leadership development with school staff, and particularly their leadership teams. It examines the national program rolled out in Sweden and the merits of tying this into university education departments. In England, this leadership development has moved away from universities to being centralized in a marketized process, with all the service provision outsourced to the non-profit and private sectors, thus having little to do with the higher education landscape, despite the international comparative analysis that is regularly published that demonstrates that this is where it is best placed.
TopBackground
Great Britain
Education in Britain follows a devolved policy; thus each of the three nations has their own education system, the focus here is the divergence between the policies being followed in England, in comparison to Wales and Scotland: specifically with regards to the training and development of teachers and leaders in schools. The system in Northern Ireland is different again, so it is Britain, not the UK, that is being examined here, as since 2010, England has veered off on a different path to the other national education systems (Cruddas & Outhwaite, 2022). Leadership preparation and development in England has become synonymous with an approach developed in the 2000s, known as system leadership (Hargreaves, 2010). Structural reform has occurred in the middle tier of school administration and management throughout the last two decades, which has become more radical over the course of the last decade (Greany & Higham, 2018; Bubb et al, 2019). Therefore, the English section of this chapter addresses the current suite of newly expanded professional leadership qualifications for teachers in England (DfE, 2022b). This looks briefly at the context of how schools are administered, and their services provided, before proceeding to analyze the current position of these qualifications, and look at the contrast with Wales and Scotland.
System Leadership
The previous New Labour administration 1997-2010, enacted many education system changes (Outhwaite, 2011). These are often now described as being based on Hargreaves’ (2010) notion of system leadership, of organisations assisting each other, in the self-improving school-led system (SISS), where school leaders’ roles and development have significantly altered (Gibson et al, forthcoming). Despite being ‘largely undefined in official texts, the SISS agenda has become an overarching narrative for schools’ policy since 2010’ (Greany & Higham, 2018, p.10) and has consequently had diverse effects.
System Leaders were defined early on by Hopkins and Higham (2007, p.147) as leaders who ‘support the improvement of other schools as well as their own’, although this appeared to relate to head teachers, and in the 2000s these were known colloquially as ’Super Heads’. However, since the change of government and attitude to the education system in 2010, the Department for Education (DfE) have regarded all those who work in senior roles in the education system in England, to be System Leaders.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Instructional Leadership: Leadership that focuses on promoting deep student learning, professional inquiry, trusting relationships and seeking evidence in action.
Pre-Service Training: Specific training that takes place with school leaders prior to them taking up certain school roles.
Continuing Professional Leadership Development (CPLD): Organized for staff on a regular, ongoing basis as part of their specific leadership staff development and growth.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD): Organized for staff on a regular, ongoing basis as part of their staff development and growth.
In-Service Training: Training given specifically for a post once the post has been taken up, so happens ‘on the job’.
Leadership Development: The academic study of the way in which leaders develop analyzing the best ways forward from research undertaken with leaders in different global contexts.
Mandatory Professional Qualifications: Usually state sponsored qualifications where a principal or school head teacher has to have a specific qualification prior, or shortly after, accepting the post.
Leadership Preparation: The academic study of the way in which leaders are best prepared for new posts analyzing the best ways forward from research undertaken with leaders in different global contexts.
Leadership Preparation and Development (LPD): The academic study of the way in which leaders are best prepared and developed analyzing the best ways forward from research undertaken with leaders in different global contexts.