Leading from the Middle: The Evolving Role of School Superintendents in the Context of Networked Governance

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:45 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Policy in Human Hands: Agency, Leadership, and the People Who Make Policy Work (Table 6)

Abstract

This paper explores how school superintendents in one German federal state experience and enact their roles within a project introducing networked governance elements inspired by Leading from the Middle. Drawing on three waves of qualitative interviews (2023–2025) with four superintendents participating in a “Family of Schools” initiative, the study investigates changes in role perceptions and practices as these actors engaged in facilitating cross-school collaboration and professional learning. Findings show that superintendents entered the project with varied interpretations of their roles, often influenced by prior experience as principals, and increasingly re-engaged in pedagogical work that had previously been marginal to their daily tasks. The study contributes to debates on mid-level leadership, professional learning spaces, and evolving governance logics.

Authors

• Livia A.J. Jesacher-Roessler, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg

• Katharina Nesseler, University of Erlangen - Nuremberg

• Nina Bremm, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg