CONFERENCE
LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of School Leaders
Building Middle Leadership LINK
FIRST THINGS FIRST: LESSONS FROM THE CSL MIDDLE LEADERSHIP ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT CHRISTINE FORDE PROFESSOR EMERITUS, UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW The purpose of the Middle Leadership Action Research (MLAR) project established by the Centre for School Leadership, was to build middle leadership capacity in Irish schools through a programme of collaborative professional learning. Recognition of the contribution of primary middle leadership is growing and its strength is the dual role, with teaching and leading equally important. Through this dual role, middle leaders build connections across a school. However, this dual role is also a challenge. Middle leaders in Irish schools and internationally, report that the intensive demands of having responsibility for a class can leave limited opportunities for leading. Sergiovanni (1998) introduced the idea of ‘leadership density’ as a way of building a vibrant learning community. Establishing strong middle leadership within the school leadership team builds collaboration and a common sense of purpose. In these contexts, leadership is not solely invested in the principal but leadership is exercised by different people, in different ways across a school to build and sustain the conditions for effective learning. The MLAR project was based on a programme of collaborative practicebased learning to build the skills, understandings and confidence of middle leaders. This programme has substantial benefits for all the participants: principal, deputy principals, middle leaders and, in some cases, teachers. There were many areas of professional growth for middle leaders and for other leaders in school. The professional learning programme enabled participants to deepen their understandings of leadership. Perhaps one of the most
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Establishing strong middle leadership within the school leadership team builds collaboration and a common sense of purpose. In these contexts, leadership is not solely invested in the principal but leadership is exercised by different people, in different ways across a school to build and sustain the conditions for effective learning. important outcomes were middle leaders seeing themselves as leaders, with working collaboratively with fellow leaders and teachers central to their role. As primary principals reported, this project was a way of building the processes for change and improvement in their school. In the MLAR, school leadership teams shaped a year-long development programme within a broad framework. Activities included working with a facilitator, school cluster meetings, competency workshops and schoolbased developments. This opportunity to shape the programme to the needs of the leadership team and school was critical in its success. The MLAR project created a space for those rich and searching conversations about effective teaching and learning and exploring the LAOS standards. These discussions
laid the foundations for strengthening collaboration and for looking hard at quality issues around teaching and learning. But how does a leadership team move from such discussions into leadership practice in school? In primary schools, middle leadership is a more recent development and so it was important to attend to first things first: the structures and processes through which middle leaders can be effective leaders in practice. The evaluation of the MLAR project demonstrated the way in which primary leadership teams began to see themselves as a team. Instead of being teachers with an individual out-of-class task to be fulfilled, their individual remit contributed to the team’s work to improve teaching and learning. Supported by senior leaders, middle leaders took responsibility for leading school developments: planning meetings, agreeing agenda items, taking minutes, identifying action points and reviewing progress. Simple steps, but a powerful vehicle for developing effective middle leadership practice. Through these activities the team began to make decisions and act together to achieve a common purpose. In parallel with the school-based developments, there were discussions the facilitator and the school cluster using the lens of the competency workshops to explore some of those knotty issues found in the leading and working with others. The MLAR highlighted the central role of the principal in building middle leadership. Many principals recorded a renewed sense of purpose and change in their own leadership practice. To provide meaningful leadership opportunities, principals had to build and strengthen genuine distributed leadership. Principals talked about