Preparing and Developing Educational Leaders in Diverse Contexts: Evidence-Based Perspectives

Session Type: Invited Session

Abstract

Effective leadership plays a key role in supporting successful and inclusive educational institutions, and yet ensuring an adequate supply of emerging leaders is often problematic. The five papers in this symposium represent the work of members of the British Educational Leadership Management and Administration Society, with each drawing on empirical findings to address complex questions relating to both leadership preparation and development.
A key theme of the symposium is the importance of context as the papers explore leadership preparation and development amongst different types of staff members, covering a range of countries and across the K-12 and higher education sectors. The session seeks to identify what is contextually contingent in relation to leadership and development, whilst also searching for commonalities and shared understandings.

Sub Unit

• British Educational Leadership, Management, and Administration Society - BELMAS / British Educational Leadership, Management, and Administration Society

Papers

• Developing School Leaders of Diverse School Types - Steven John Courtney, University of Manchester

• Women’s Leadership Preparation Within the Senior Leadership Team in Six English Local Authorities - Kay Fuller, University of Birmingham; Pontso Moorosi, University of Warwick; Joanne Cliffe, University of Birmingham

• Early-Career Teachers’ Contextualized Experiences and Perceptions of Leadership and Leadership Development Opportunities - Joan Smith, University of Leicester; David G. Pedder, University of Leicester

• Learning From a National Program for School Leadership Development: Leadership for Learning—Ghana - Sue Swaffield, University of Cambridge

• “Observation/Osmosis” Trumps “Dumb Platitudes”: Leadership Preparation of U.K. (Full) Professors - Justine Mercer, University of Warwick