Abstract
The subtitle of this book and study tell, I think, a story that is the essence of this book. Demands and Realities are changing for head teachers and school leaders. This contemporary book combines two fields of study that are often separate in research but have a conceptual and empirical proximity: educational leadership and educational policy. Written in a flowing and bright style, the book presents and analyses large quantities of data on the 2000–2012 state of educational leaders, for example, school principals (‘head teachers’ in England). Stating that it is ‘research-informed’ is an understatement. This book is data-driven, making it worthy. If one wants to know what happened (and happens) to school leaders in England, throughout a turbulent decade, this is the book to read.
Peter Earley, who is based at the Institute of Education in London, and has been studying head teachers and educational leadership empirically and theoretically for over two decades, writes most of the book. His work, well known for being evidence-based and thoughtful, is materialized in this important book, which offers a comprehensive, analysed, interpreted and theorized overview of the details of educational leadership in England. These are undoubtedly years of profound changes in the landscape of educational leaders. The period described in the book begins with the aftermath of the Conservatives’ introduction of open enrolment, Grant Maintained Schools and the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). It continues with further decentralization through the introduction of City Technology Colleges, Specialist Schools and semi-mayoral takeovers of the commission of education by Education Action Zones and similar projects. Ending in 2012, the system is characterized by the semi-privatization of the provision of education through the introduction of academies, in large numbers, sometimes organized in chains and federations, and free schools. In trends of head-teacher training, this system has seen a paradigm shift, as well as practical changes, through the introduction of LPSH, then NPQH, the strong influence of the NCSL and, later, its weakened powers. School governing bodies have become a constant factor in the work of head teachers; performance-related pay was a significant transition in the period that this book designates. All these fundamental changes reflect the enormous amount of data vividly presented in this book, including sharp graphics and numerous tables. The four main reviews that are the database for the book represent the main pivotal policy points in England’s education and legislation during this time (see Gibton, 2013): the first point, in 2002, at the beginning of New Labour Prime Minister Blair’s second term; the second point, in 2005, close to Prime Minister Blair’s administration’s end; the third point, in 2007, following a policy backlash by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Secretary of State for Education Ed Balls; finally, the last point, in 2012, after two years of the Conservatives’ reforms, the Academies Act and the EA of 2011, which made academies and free schools the default of new schools in current-day England. The impact of most of these changes on headship is described and scrutinised by Rob Higham. Meanwhile, the system has seen changes in the teacher workforce, including Teach First and Future Leaders, and the eventual dismantling of the GTCE. Demographics of leadership, including ethnic, professional and experiential background, are presented and studied in a chapter by Allen and Rawal. The story presented in this chapter is, in itself, a base for endless debate on the nature of educational leadership and on the correlations between who head teachers are, how and why they operate, and what their role and influence is in England’s schools and reform.
Earley’s renowned empirical precision replaces the intuition, ideology and anecdotal or personal experiences that sometime characterize writing in the field with evidence. The book now conveys the debate on educational leadership beyond models of management and organization to sociological and political data. This level includes issues like: age differences between teachers, heads of department, middle and senior management teams; pay differences among various groups; models and structures of leadership teams (assistant/deputy heads, school administrators, dual headship and chief executive officer models); the structure and involvement of governing bodies; degrees and areas of involvement of head teachers in various school matters (discipline, curriculum, etc.); and paths of professional development. All these areas are described longitudinally, in detail. The final chapter, which attempts to redefine and predict what lies ahead for school leadership, is a serious examination of a decade-and-a-half of transformation. Such a comprehensive effort to tell the story of school leadership over time is original, as well as noteworthy. There are similar attempts in other countries 1 but none so all-encompassing and lateral as this one. The book is not only based on large amounts of data over several periods, but also multivariate in its methodology, with quantitative and qualitative methods, various research tools, populations, case studies, and other study designs. The analysis is watchful, almost sombre, and sometimes contravenes existing models with its findings. Such are the insightful findings on leadership models, on leaders’ strategic activities – an intriguing title in itself – on leaders’ involvement in teaching and learning, and on leaders’ career development. The concluding comment on headship as a tremendously demanding in-the-eye-of-the-storm post, and also exciting, often the ‘best job in education’ (Early, 2013: 168), is the well-based bottom line of this serious publication, an inspiring contribution to the field.