Assessing leadership potential: fast track to school leadership

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.Abstract Summarises the research into an approach to selecting teachers for fast tracking into headship. There is an initial consideration of the political context in which the research was conducted. The research process is fully described and an analysis of the evidence is presented, together with the conclusions. This process required the selection of highly effective primary school headteachers to benchmark a diagnostic instrument, the selection of teachers judged to have high potential for headship but who would not meet the criteria for starting the National Professional Qualification for Headship, and the use of the diagnostic instrument to measure their potential for headship. This qualification will become mandatory for all headteachers being appointed to their first headship in England and Wales. The explanation of the results and the model complete the analysis. The appendices present evidence and models as a basis for future research.The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

Project risk management in educational organizations

“…Currently, the topic of project management is not included in their introductory training. This omission is highlighted in studies focusing on new school leaders (Elsner and Bednarek, 2010;Pisoňová, 2011;Tolinson and Holmes, 2001) and in those dealing with the content of school management training (Eger, 2006;Everard et al, 2004). Buganza et al (2013) showed a direct positive link between education in project management and the subsequent behaviour of graduates of such training courses.…”

“…Currently, the topic of project management is not included in their introductory training. This omission is highlighted in studies focusing on new school leaders (Elsner and Bednarek, 2010; Pisoňová, 2011; Tolinson and Holmes, 2001) and in those dealing with the content of school management training (Eger, 2006; Everard et al, 2004).…”

Pathways to the school principalship: An international scoping review

“…Formally and informally recruiting teachers to join the school principal workforce can involve contest mobility where each candidate's success depends on his or her merits as assessed in competitive but closed-door processes or sponsored mobility under which certain teachers are recruited for an accelerated pathway to the principalship (Tomlinson and Holmes, 2001). Gooden and Gonzales (2012) describe a university preparation programme in the United States that begins by asking local district leaders to nominate individuals who have purportedly exhibited a set of desirable leadership experiences and commitments as well as inviting local teachers interested in the principalship.…”

“…To the extent that someone in a position of power decides who ‘looks/acts’ and does not ‘look/act’ like a principal in the making, formal and informal sponsorship present potential for inequitable access based on candidates’ race, gender, religious affiliation, among others (Davis and Bowers, 2019; Miller, 2014). Understanding how, across different countries, gatekeepers recognize and tap prospective principals, what are the characteristics considered desirable as well as how culture and policies shape these practices, can reveal how inequities in access are interrupted as well as perpetuated (Tomlinson and Holmes, 2001).…”

The “push‐pull” approach to fast‐track management development

“…The issue of fast‐tracking and accelerated leadership development has been well explored (e.g. Tomlinson and Holmes, 2001; Koontz, 2004). But fast‐tracking often encounters the issue of unmet expectations (Krishnan and Varrkey, 2004) where an individual or cohort has undergone development, but their organization may not be able to put them into a position where they can explore and use their new‐found skills and competencies.…”