Secondary Headteachers Research Articles

Headteachers in Catholic schools in England: contemporary challenges. A follow-up research study: part 2

This paper is a follow up to a previous article published online in this journal (Fincham; 2019) in which the writer describes the first phase of research into contemporary challenges facing headteachers in Catholic schools in England as expressed from the perspective of headteachers within one diocese. It was evident from the first phase that leaders in Catholic schools are subject not only to pragmatic concerns about funding and recruitment but also to both implied and overt challenges to Catholic identity and integrity, which are tested by pressures of social media, which have an impact upon the mental and emotional health of young people, and a pervasive secular mind-set, which impinges on faith practice in families and in the community. It was noted that the reduction in the number of priests in Catholic dioceses in England has also often left the school as the single focus of the Catholic community, which has implications for sustaining spiritual capital. The first phase of the investigation examined responses to an open question in which headteachers at a Catholic diocesan conference were invited to indicate their three most pressing challenges. The responses were subject to a process of Thematic Analysis (TA), as a result of which five pre-eminent issues were identified. The opportunity was also taken to investigate the extent to which spiritual capital was being renewed in Catholic schools. These ‘categories of discourse’ informed the face-to-face interviews that were conducted with five primary headteachers and four secondary headteachers in the second phase of the investigation. The data gathered enabled the researcher to ascribe meaning to headteachers’ unique experiences.

Head Teachers' supervisory practices and teachers’ motivation in teaching

The study examined the relationship between Government Secondary head teachers’ instructional supervisory practices and teachers’ motivation in teaching. Quantitative research approach and survey technique was used in the study. The main objective of the study was to determine the relationship between head teachers’ instructional supervisory practices and teachers’ motivation. The population of the study was all the male and female head teachers and teachers working in the Government high schools of District Sargodha. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the research participants from 75 randomly selected Government high schools of tehsil Sargodha, 75 head teachers and 225 teachers were selected on availability basis. Two self-developed questionnaires; one for head teachers and one for teachers were used as research instruments. Descriptive statistics, frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation and Pearson r correlation were used in analyzing data and reporting the study findings. The conclusion of the study was that there was positive and moderate relationship between head teachers’ supervisory practices and teachers’ motivation. On the basis of conclusion, it was recommended that DSD should arrange trainings for the head teachers to improve their inspection skills.

Efficient Management of Financial Resource and Constraints in Implementation of Budget at Secondary Schools

Financial resources and allocations play a pivotal role in improving the learning and teaching system in any country. In that context, this study aims to explore the perceptions of secondary head-teachers relating to Budgetary Allocations and Financial Constraints in the context of Effective Management. A qualitative research method was employed in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 head-teachers working in secondary schools. The result from the interview data shows that the majority of the head-teachers were not satisfied with the budgets and funds provided to the schools, and found aspects of the procedures employed to be unhelpful. There was a tendency to expect more of schools on diminishing budgets and difficulties in being able to spend allocations efficiently and effectively for the maximum benefit of learners. The keys issues are identified and some positive ways forward suggested.

The two faces of secondary headship

Men continue to outnumber women at the secondary head teacher level. This article reports on some of the preliminary findings of a larger study exploring the ways in which women deputy head teachers, as potential aspirants to headship, perceive the secondary head teacher role. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants. The data revealed that, while making decisions about their professional futures, the majority of the women held dual, contradictory images of secondary headship. One image consisted of a role plagued by risk, performativity and stress, whereas the other focused on the agentic capacity head teachers have to transform lives and communities. The article highlights the ways in which a belief in the power of headship to make a meaningful difference to the lives of young people can encourage some women to aspire towards headship regardless of the precarity they perceive as being ingrained within the head teacher role.

Women secondary head teachers in England

The underrepresentation of women in secondary school headship in England and elsewhere is an early and longstanding theme in the women and gender in educational leadership literature. The purpose of this article is to report findings from a statistical survey of secondary school head teachers across England. Data available in the public domain on school websites have been collated during a single academic year to present a new picture of where women lead secondary schools in England. Mapping the distribution of women by local authority continues to show considerable unevenness across the country. This article argues that a geographical perspective still has value. It might influence the mobilization of resources to targeted areas and ultimately result in women’s proportionate representation in school leadership. Alongside this is a need for schools and academy trusts to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Talking about gendered headship: how do women and men working in schools conceive and articulate notions of gender?

In this paper I explore how a woman secondary school headteacher and her colleagues talk about her gendered headship. To facilitate and contextualise the semi‐structured interviews, participants were asked to categorise a range of attributes and qualities that have been seen as ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’. They attempted to plot their perceptions of her gendered headship on a continuum from ‘extremely masculine’ to ‘extremely feminine’ in relation to her appearance and interactions in various contexts. Their talk, as they explained and illustrated their thinking, reveals that even from a dualist starting point many have an understanding of the fluid nature of complex, subjective, gendered identities. The rejection of binary notions of gender by some participants disrupts the perpetuation of gender as a dualist concept. In particular, the headteacher forces open a space in which to consider the complexity of her own gendered headship.

Effective professional development as cultural exchange: opportunities offered by visits of headteacher groups from Malaysia to the UK

Arising from the visit by several cohorts of leading Malaysian secondary headteachers to the United Kingdom, this article examines the potential values and obstacles surrounding such international continuing professional development. The constraints of differences in language and context are considered, as well as issues of visiting heads as amateur ethnographers. The article draws on evidence from analyses by the visiting heads, evaluations by the heads of host schools, and records of extended discussion between colleagues involved in two different partnerships with the Malaysian secondary education and teacher training systems. Questions are asked about the problems of understanding and clarity of observation, when the two cultures share a common background and superficially the same language. Conclusions are drawn concerning the relative responsibilities of both observer and observed in these potentially valuable international opportunities.

Universal secondary education in Uganda: The head teachers’ dilemma

Abstract Uganda has received considerable international attention for being the first and, to date, only African country to adopt a policy of free universal secondary education (USE). However, the policy was adopted with little attention to system capacity or involvement of secondary head teachers, even though there is considerable research documenting the importance of school leaders in promoting or blocking education reform efforts. This study investigated the extent to which Uganda secondary school leaders support USE policy, the extent they think USE is being implemented successfully, and the extent they believe they have the knowledge and skills needed in USE implementation. To understand the role of head teachers in the move to USE in Uganda, it is necessary to understand the political context in which it was adopted and the conditions under which it was implemented.

Women secondary head teachers

Women secondary head teachers

Secondary headteachers' experiences and perceptions of vocational courses in the Key Stage 4 curriculum: some implications for the 14–19 Diplomas

In an attempt to address the low levels of engagement in post‐16 education and training in the UK amongst some groups at the beginning of the twenty‐first century, and to enhance the skills of the future labour force, the UK government instituted an agenda of reform for the post‐14 curriculum. Part of these reforms was the introduction in England, in September 2002, of General Certificate of Secondary Educations (GCSEs) in vocational subjects, emphasising practical skills and the application of knowledge and understanding. In addition, the Increased Flexibility Programme (IFP) for 14–16‐year‐olds, also introduced in 2002, provided a new opportunity for Key Stage 4 (KS4) students to have access to Level 1 National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). In order to understand how these qualifications were being implemented and experienced, a survey of 301 secondary schools in England was undertaken. The findings of this survey undertaken in 2005 raise important issues not only for those involved in the provision and delivery of ‘vocational’ GCSEs and NVQs, but also for the new 14‐19 Diplomas introduced in England from September 2008.

In‐service training needs in an African context: a study of headteacher and teacher perspectives in the Gucha District of Kenya

Improving the quality of teaching is an educational priority in Kenya, as in many developing countries. The present paper considers various aspects on in‐service education, including views on the effectiveness of in‐service, teacher and headteacher priorities in determining in‐service needs and the constraints on providing in‐service courses. These issues are examined though an empirical study of 30 secondary headteachers and 109 teachers in a district of Kenya. The results show a strong felt need for in‐service provision together with a firm belief in the efficacy of in‐service in raising pupil achievement. Headteachers had a stronger belief in the need for in‐service for their teachers than did the teachers themselves. The priorities of both headteachers and teachers were dominated by the external pressures of the schools, in particular the pressures for curriculum innovation and examination success. The resource constraints on supporting attendance at in‐service courses were the major problems facing headteachers. The results reflect the difficulties that responding to an externally driven in‐service agenda creates in a context of scarce resources.

Student voice and future schools: building partnerships for student participation

This article describes the early stages in the formation of a partnership between the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education and a group of secondary schools to develop a variety of approaches to student participation. The article focuses primarily on research undertaken by over 100 students in 12 secondary schools in Kent, and the Highest Common Denominator Student Partnership (HCDSP), based at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education. It describes how the initiative was taken by a group of secondary headteachers with support from the LA to inform both their vision for secondary education and their response to the government's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative. This enquiry was designed to actively involve students in collecting and presenting their own data. The most significant outcome of this project is that it signals the beginning of a genuine conversation between schools and their students about learning.

Gender and educational leadership in England: a comparison of secondary headteachers’ views over time

In the context of gender being a barrier to accessing leadership, this paper presents a comparison of the views of men and women headteachers (principals) of secondary schools in England in the 1990s and in 2004. The same survey instrument was used on both occasions. The perceptions of the headteachers show change in some areas and no change in others. Overall, women are more likely to become headteachers and are now less likely to be categorised into pastoral roles, but in some cases women still meet prejudice from governors and others in the wider community. Women headteachers are more likely to have partners and children than in the 1990s, sharing equally or carrying most of the domestic responsibilities, whereas male colleagues are most likely to have partners who take the majority of responsibility in the home. Essentialist stereotypes of women and men as leaders still prevail, although both the women and men headteachers see themselves as adopting a traditionally ‘feminine’ style of leadership. Women headteachers are likely to see some benefits in being a woman in a role stereotypically associated with men. However, there has been an increase in the proportion of women who feel that they have to prove their worth as a leader, and this may be linked with increased levels of accountability in schools.

Do School Leaders Have a Shelf Life?

This article explores several issues about school leaders, career stages and performance. It draws upon various pieces of research, including the longitudinal study of secondary headteachers which began in the early 1980s at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), to raise some key issues about headteachers' careers, the various stages of headship, and the relationship between length of tenure and school leader performance. The article concludes with some thoughts regarding the future of headship and what needs to be done to ensure that the quality of leadership remains as good as it should be. If leadership at the apex of organisations is as crucial as all the research and inspection evidence suggests, then what needs to be done to ensure a longer ‘shelf life’ for school leaders and is the notion of a limited or fixed-term contract worth revisiting?

At the hard edge of change: views from secondary head teachers on a public‐private partnership

The work presented here follows up the authors’ paper, in the previous issue of this journal, which (i) explored modernizing leadership in a public‐private partnership, principally from the perspective of the senior managers of a private company contracted to run school support services by a local education authority (LEA), and (ii) suggested that their leadership approach resembled what was termed an adaptive public service (APS) model. This second, companion paper analyses data from secondary school head teachers to see if their perceptions and experience confirm or challenge the APS model as an interpretation of the leadership approach of the private company’s senior managers. It was concluded that the model, with its basic commitment to a public service ethos, is largely affirmed as a way of reflecting the latter’s leadership, particularly in its early stages. However, by the end of the period of study, a change in strategy and leadership approach was creating a more target‐driven culture. With regard to the impact of outsourcing, although some improvements in services were identified by head teachers, it was also evident that other core support services for schools had continuing deficiencies. This is consistent with experience of private participation in public sector education which has generally not lived up to the expectations placed on it. Tensions were found between the practical power relationships within this public‐private partnership, and the idea of partnership that is built into the policy discourse that labels it as a partnership.

Headteachers in rural China: aspects of ambition

Ambition has attracted a great deal of attention in the literature and philosophy of Western and Eastern cultures, if with rather different orientations, but a good deal less within the social sciences and the field of educational administration. This article draws upon these literatures, especially the work of Aristotle, to develop a framework for the study of ambition in educational leadership. The framework is applied to a qualitative, in‐depth interview‐based study of the lives and careers of 25 secondary headteachers from Yunnan, a rural and impoverished province in western China. Much of the discussion focuses on aspects of personal and vocational aspiration among these headteachers and considers the relative influence of nature and nurture in determining ambition. It concludes with some thoughts on the possible implications of this research for the improvement of education in China.

Implementing Performance Management for Headteachers in English Secondary Schools

This article discusses performance management within the public sector and specifically analyses the impact of the new statutory headteacher performance management scheme in a sample of Kent's secondary schools. Secondary headteachers in East Kent appear to have responded positively to the new scheme and are effectively establishing a performance management culture within their schools. Major improvements brought about by the performance management scheme would appear to be a closer linkage between school and staff management systems. There is some disagreement, however, about the role that performance management has had in raising standards in the classroom and also whether performance management has enhanced target setting and review procedures. The article concludes that it would be useful to re-examine the data at a later date when the performance management scheme has settled and to extend it to the primary education sector across a variety of geographical locations.

Gender and the Orthodoxies of Leadership

This paper considers three orthodoxies related to gender and leadership. If orthodox is taken to mean the norm, then orthodox leadership is male. There is also an orthodox, stereotypical version of a 'macho' style of male leadership, which may be as inappropriate for men as it is for women. These two arguments are contextualised by a brief discussion of the 'orthodoxy' of theorising about leadership in education which still tends to marginalise gender. Findings from surveys of all female secondary head teachers and a one in three sample of male head teachers are used to show that, even though the numbers of women in leadership roles is growing, leadership is still identified with men. Women experience headship differently; for example, most are aware of stereotypes and sexism. Occupying the role of head teacher appears to have serious implications for women in terms of family life. However, the self-perceptions of both men and women head teachers are similar in relation to their management and leadership style. They see themselves as collaborative and people-centred leaders, incorporating a number of both 'feminine' and 'masculine' qualities, but tending towards the 'feminine' stereotype.

Performance-related pay: the views and experiences of 1,000 primary and secondary head teachers

This is the first of two papers describing a study of the introduction of performance-related pay into the teaching profession in the UK. It reports the views and experiences of a national random sample of 1,000 primary and secondary head teachers in over 150 local education authorities in England who were responsible for implementing one strand of the government's performance-related pay scheme, Threshold Assessment. The second paper describes the views and experiences of teachers who were unsuccessful in crossing the threshold and therefore did not obtain a pay increment. Head teachers did not find it difficult to assess the five standards that teachers had to meet in order to receive their £2,000 additional performance payment, but they were very critical of the training they received, the amount of time they had to spend, and the changing ground rules. The success rate was 86% of all teachers eligible, but 97% of those who actually applied were awarded the additional payment. Most heads dealt with the applications entirely on their own, though one in six, mainly in the secondary sector, shared the task with senior colleagues. Unsuccessful candidates were few in number, but most were deemed to be failing on more than one aspect of their teaching. While those who were successful in crossing the threshold were pleased and relieved, unsuccessful applicants were said to be bitter, threatening action, in several cases leaving the school. External Threshold Assessors had to visit every school. In only 71 cases out of 19,183 applicants in our sample of schools was there disagreement. Three-quarters of heads felt Threshold Assessment had made a little or no difference to what teachers did in the classroom. This is confirmed by our other studies, which suggest that teachers simply keep more careful records, rather than change how they teach. Some 60% of heads were opposed to performance-related pay, but 39% were in favour of it in principle, though most of these were unhappy about the way it had been put into practice.

Do Leaders Matter?

Based on field research at a number of comprehensive schools, this paper explores how secondary headteachers contribute to the effectiveness of their schools. Although recent studies indicate that heads exercise only a small, indirect effect on performance, there is a widespread belief, shared by the government, OfSTED, governors and parents that leadership is a vital ingredient for success. Evidence about leadership is used to compare and contrast successful and less successful headteachers. Despite the complications of social context, internal politics and external pressure, strong heads seem to adopt similar, well-balanced leadership styles and strategies that correlate with well-motivated students and staff. In contrast, poor performers operate a limited range of styles and strategies and elicit a negative response from their colleagues. These findings match predictions arising from a classic experiment at Harvard Business School (Litwin & Stringer, 1966), on which the DfEE's Leadership Programme for Serving Heads is based. The paper describes how effective leaders motivate staff and students and indicates problematical influences limiting or constraining the performance of headteachers.