Work-shadowing as a process for facilitating leadership succession in primary schools

Abstract

Work-shadowing is an under-researched aspect of leadership development. This paper places workshadowing in the broader context of responses to the challenges of managing leadership succession in schools, drawing on an evaluation of a pilot shadowing programme for aspiring primary headteachers. The paper identifies a number of key themes in prospective heads' experience, namely those of transition, capability and identity. It shows how a shadowing programme can address these if appropriate 'rules of engagement' are established and if processes are put in place that enable the shadowees to 'frame' their experience in relation to both the rationale for the day-to-day interactions of headship and the broader structural and cultural contexts within which headship takes place.

Prospecting for support in a wild environment: investigating a school-to-school support system for primary school leaders

“…One head was suspicious of the other head 'pushing' the services of the other school on to his school because 'I needed to be able to say, "Well, I'll have some of that, but that other would not work here"' (Head A). Some heads noted that certain issues came to light at a later date and being able to discuss them with the partner head was invaluable; the fact that the approach to the partnership had previously been agreed was crucial here in contrast to the lack of 'rules of engagement' reported by Simkins, Close, and Smith (2009) in their study of work-shadowing.…”

“…The available funding did not allow the research team to interview those head teachers who provided the support and there is an awareness that head teachers may find it difficult to continue to give time to this type of intervention, especially given the workload pressure that many head teachers experience (MacBeath 2011;Simkins, Close, and Smith 2009). However, this study highlights that a relatively simple model can have a beneficial impact on school improvement.…”

Career Trajectories of Deputy and Assistant Headteachers and Their Perceptions of Secondary Headship

“…However, regional variations of the Deputy Headship duration within the role would be expected. Simkins et al (2009) months depending on the experience, skills and motivation of the applicants. The current NPQH has now been restructured, therefore offering a new model that includes a placement (minimum of 9 days), the opportunity to work with 'Outstanding'…”

“…Through continued research into the experiences of school leaders (Simkins et al, 2009;NCTL, 2008;NCTL, 2009) Table 10 shows the number of Future Leaders participants who reached Headship posts in each academic year, split by region, gender and ethnicity. Table 11 shows the regional breakdown of the candidates.…”

“I Employed My Own Strategy”: Exploring Primary Headteachers’ Organisational and Professional Socialisation

“…Empirically, researchers into headship (Earley and Weindling, 2004;Male, 2006;Greenfield, 1985) have authoritatively classified a school leader's socialisation process into two major categories or phases: (1) the professional socialisation in which school leaders are socialised and learn the knowledge, skills and behaviours through internalising the values and the norms of the profession, which generally begins within their pre-appointment to a post (Daresh, 2000); and (2) the organisational socialisation, which occurs immediately after the appointment in which the headteachers have to adjust their preferences towards their school's array of people, policies and preferences (Browne-Ferrigno, 2003;Male, 2006;Greenfield, 1985). In this sense, researchers into headship (Earley and Weindling, 2004;Simkins, Close and Smith, 2009) have also highlighted that novice heads will face failure and are not expected to clinch their effective role without any proper support structures, resources and administrative training in place within their professional socialisation. In addition, Hart (1993) cautioned on the content and curriculum of the development programmes for school heads claiming that the content can also cause "conflict" between headteachers' real life journeys and practices and that this has become more prevalent compared to the theoretical knowledge offered in some of the preparation programmes.…”