Headteachers in Catholic schools: challenges of leadership

Fincham, David

doi:10.1080/19422530903494843

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…These findings support existing evidence on the challenging nature of leadership in faith schools within secular societies. The leaders of these schools face considerable challenges, as they are required to meet more extensive expectations from their local communities compared with those in state schools (Fincham, 2010;Shah, 2012;Sullivan, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Little evidence is available about the nature of leadership styles/practices adopted in faith schools. Fincham (2010) claims that leadership in Catholic schools has often reflected the more hierarchical, autocratic leadership styles adopted in Catholic churches. This is despite the popularity of the notion of 'subsidarity' in Catholicism according to which leadership should be shared by the members of the organisation.…”

Section: Leadership In Faith Schoolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research on faith schooling has particularly emphasised the spiritual role of school leaders as a determinant factor in the fulfilment of the school's mission (Fincham, 2010;Fogell, 2015;Johnson, 2000;Luckcock, 2007) that shapes the framework for leading these schools. In Catholic schools, for instance, head teachers are expected to be 'practising Catholics who set a personal example of their faith' (Fincham, 2010: 65).…”

Section: Leadership In Faith Schoolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to the constraints embedded in their religious orientation and their traditional hierarchical structures, lack of adequate professional development opportunities and vacuum in leadership succession have been identified as other major challenges in faith schools. The literature indicates a sharp decline in the number of applicants for leadership positions in Catholic schools in England (Fincham, 2010;Gallagher, 2007). Fincham highlights this issue, commenting, 'In a situation where head teachers are due to retire and there are insufficient numbers of candidates willing or able to apply for headship, a critical contemporary challenge is to nurture future leaders' (Fincham, 2010: 67).…”

Section: Leadership In Faith Schoolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of such provision is that it not only enables existing school leaders to overcome challenges, but also helps in nurturing future leaders. This is particularly important in the context of decreasing numbers of candidates for headship in faith schools (Fincham, 2010;Scott and McNeish, 2012). Lawson (2005) also stresses the importance of training for the head teachers of Muslim schools in the UK.…”

Section: Leadership In Faith Schoolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Leading faith schools in a secular society: Challenges facing head teachers of Muslim schools in the United Kingdom

Hammad

Shah²

2018

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

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Muslim faith schools have been existent in the UK since the 1980s and their number has been rising ever since. These schools are established specifically to provide Muslim children with a learning environment based on Islamic values. However, fulfilling such a mission would not be an easy task in a globalised context characterised by secularism and materialism. The study reported in this paper sought to explore the leadership experiences and challenges as perceived by the head teachers of Muslim schools in the UK. The study employed a qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews with a sample of head teachers from four Muslim schools in London and Nottingham. The findings revealed that although the participating head teachers were proud of their role as leaders of Muslim schools, they faced significant challenges in their practice of leadership within British secular society. While some of these challenges were general in nature such as parental expectations and lack of support from Muslim community, other challenges were more practical and mission related such as negative perceptions among the wider society, issues in developing Muslim identity among students in a secular society, recruitment of qualified Muslim teachers and financial challenges.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Leadership In Faith Schoolsmentioning

confidence: 99%