Educational Leadership in Turbulent Times

Dear Colleagues,

We live in an uncertain, turbulent world, where corruption, injustice, migration, poverty, and acts of terrorism affect many communities and nations. Witnessing such events may make us feel helpless, vulnerable, or else we remain detached, oblivious of the realities surrounding us. Lawrence-Lightfoot argues that too many conversations we engage in about such events are reductionist or rhetorical in nature and encourages us to challenge the dynamics and the language used in such educational/social discourse (cited in Swaffield, 2017, p. 493). She incites us to question what we take for granted, to question the unquestionable; to take a stand; to deliberate and engage with issues that affect us and future generations. Within such a context, leaders play a critical role. In such a context, educational leaders exhibit particular traits, which include empathy, openness to different perspectives and ideas, resilience, and strong communication skills. Whilst educational leaders are trying to navigate in these currents, they are also faced with an educational context focused on performativity, accountability and managerialism, and we run the risk of losing sight of what Nixon (2004) describes as the moral purposiveness of our role as leaders.

As a result of changing socio and political context, educational practice has changed and continues to do so at an incredible pace. Therefore, the role of schools in general and teachers and leaders in particular in embedding change has become even more demanding, especially in managing turbulence through what Bush (2010) describes as an “avowedly ethical approach to decision-making” (p. 402). The challenge of people to think and act ethically is gaining momentum, but at the same time, it is more unclear and challenging at the personal and collective level as they are asked to handle challenges they have never been exposed to before. As a result, leaders have continually commented on the added pressure on them in terms of their leadership responsibilities, the teaching and learning taking place, and the administrative duties that keep piling up. Hoyle and Wallace (2005) compare this to a lack of awareness or appreciation of leaders and practitioners and how they must handle the varied contexts in which they have to implement policies.

Aims

This Special Issue aims to:

1. Provide an opportunity for authors to focus on particular aspects of the educational system and engage the reader to reflect on how policies and decisions impact their personal and professional lives.
2. Explore the major concerns that educational institutions are facing today, given the external pressures from outside and how educators are responding to government-initiated reforms in different regions and countries.

This Special Issue facilitates dialogue and debate regarding the challenges that educators are facing, the practices that are being introduced, and most importantly, the values that determine their actions. In particular, the following questions will serve as a backdrop to the submitted articles:

1. What are the recent educational reforms and changes that have been imposed on educational institutions, and how do educators at the school level respond to such directives?
2. How are educators affected by external policy initiatives?
3. Are school leaders able to nurture an environment conducive to professional learning amongst educators despite these challenges?
4. How are experiences deepening and shaping leaders to sharpen and enlarge their perspectives?
5. What is the moral purpose that drives educational leaders to handle the challenges to focus on the greater good? 

Types of Articles:

Original research, evidence-based commentaries, position papers, and literature reviews are encouraged by this journal. 

References

Bush, T. (2010). Spiritual leadership, Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 38(4), 402-404.

Hoyle, E. & Wallace, M. (2005). Educational Leadership: Ambiguity, professionals and managerialism. Sage.

Nixon, J. (2004). What is Theory? Educar, 34: 27-37.

Swaffield, S. (2017). Editorial. Reframing views, lifting up voices and ensuring everyone is visible? Professional Development in Education, 43(4), 493-496.

Prof. Dr. Christopher G. Bezzina
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• leaders
• leadership
• empowerment
• policies
• challenge
• change

Title: Leading Schools as Part of Networked Structures: Challenges and Possibilities

Abstract: Recently policy in a number of countries has moved towards the encouraging or mandating that schools form larger groupings. For example, in England academies have been strongly encouraged to become part of Multi-Academy Trusts, while in the Netherlands all schools are mandated to be part of a so-called ‘Foundation’. Such structures fundamentally change the role of the principal or headteacher, from being the sole leader of their school, to becoming part of a network of school leaders under the broader leadership of a trust or foundation CEO and board. In this paper we will draw on both a review of the literature and a set of interviews with leaders in England and the Netherlands to present a picture of the challenges and possibilities inherent in these new structures. We will focus on what school leadership looks like in these new structures and what conditions need to be in place for effective collaborative leadership. We will explore some tensions in the role, such as that between collaboration and accountability, collaboration and hierarchy, and identity as a leader.