Getting started on any large and complex research study means grappling with strategic and conceptual questions. Our questions include: How should we conceptualise leadership? What makes leadership sustainable? How should we assess and compare the experience of leaders within and between the four UK nations? But we also have more prosaic but equally important questions, such as What existing data and literatures should we draw on? How can we access them?
This introductory post briefly outlines how we’re setting up our research project to address these – and other – questions. As the project continues, we’ll use this blog to share our ideas about key issues. We’ll also share emerging findings.
Origins of the project
Our starting point comes from two previous research projects. Toby Greany and Pat Thomson led the ‘Leading in Lockdown’ research that ran between 2021 and 2023. Reports from the three phases of the research can be found on the project website (https://schoolleadersworkandwellbeing.com/). That research highlighted the difficulties of leading a school in England during lockdown and how challenging leading a school in England has continued to be post-pandemic. So difficult that Greany and Thomson suggested that the school system itself is suffering from ‘long Covid’. Most importantly, the three Leading in Lockdown studies showed that around 30-40% of leaders were considering leaving or were leaving the profession early. However, because the intentions of individual heads varied over time, strategic interventions at central, middle and local levels might avoid a crisis in recruitment and retention. This research builds on these key results.
But this study focuses on the entire UK. So, we’re also building on the UK-wide comparative review of Education Leadership and Management that the British Education Leadership Management and Administration Society (BELMAS) published in 2020.[1] The review, which ran between 2018 to 2019, engaged key stakeholders from each nation in focussed seminars. The discussions revealed both similarities and differences between the four nations in the ways that leadership in schools was viewed and developed. The review raised questions about what such variations mean for sustaining school leadership and argued a need for more UK-wide comparative research. Our study is designed to help address this gap.
What we’re doing
The overview of how we’ve planned the research can be found on the Project Page. But what does the project look like in practice?
We’ve started by establishing Advisory Groups in each country, ensuring each has broad membership spanning policy, practice and research communities. We wanted to be sure at the start that we explore the right issues and understand the context in each country. As a team based in England, but also focusing intensively on Scotland and Northern Ireland, we know this is especially important. We have already met twice with each group. We discussed what they see as the most critical issues for school leaders and the sustainability of leadership in each nation. We have also discussed our draft conceptual framework with them – which we will share in a future post – and have taken advice on practical considerations, such as potential localities for case study work.
We are already working on data. We plan to use existing data on teachers and leaders in schools in each country to assess, for example, the numbers and characteristics of people staying, moving or leaving leadership posts over time. We’re in the process of accessing and collating this data.
And we are reviewing existing literature and evidence. This is not as simple as it appears. We have numerous questions – How are school leaders recruited, trained and supported in each nation? How are leaders held accountable? How do wider educational histories, contexts and cultures shape the careers and identities of leaders? What can we learn from practitioner accounts of leadership? But we have finite time and resources! Nevertheless, we have a plan to ensure that the results of our reading support the development of case study design, research tools and analysis.
We are also interviewing a range of UK and international experts in the field. We are gaining illuminating perspectives and insights about school leader retention, recruitment and sustainability. We’ll write more about what we find in future posts.
Some early thoughts
Early conversations with the three Advisory Groups confirmed that the headteacher role is complex and challenging. All three Advisory Groups agreed that focussing on sustainable leadership is an urgent priority – indeed, some argued there is now a succession ‘crisis’. We were told it was crucial to investigate and think further about the support available for Heads in post – coaching, mentoring, networks and approaches to well-being.
There were also common issues. One example given in all three countries is the knotty problem of increasing numbers of children in schools with challenging and complex needs when there are not enough services beyond school to support them. To paraphrase a common view, “Schools can often feel like the last public service standing in many communities”.
Of course, each of the educational systems and social contexts has distinctive current challenges and priorities. There were differences about which challenges were the highest priority for leaders. For example, while pressures of accountability and school performance were highlighted in each country, the pressure was felt most keenly in England. We’ll be looking more closely at the different approaches to inspection and accountability in our initial literature review.
Next steps
During the autumn we will continue to work on the areas we’ve outlined above. We’ll also start to collect data in some of the seven localities we will be studying throughout the project.
We’re very keen to share emerging themes as the work progresses.
[1] WOODS, P. A., SIMKINS, T., DONNELLY, C., HAMILTON, T., JONES, K., POTTER, I. & TORRANCE, D. 2020. Education, Leadership and Management in the United Kingdom: A Comparative Review. Sheffield: BELMAS.
Sustainable School Leadership 