Why Leadership? Why Now?

The rapid growth of leaders, doing leadership and exercising leadership in Anglophone countries has generated a context in which those outside may wish to investigate with a view to borrowing and developing their own agenda. In this paper I examine the experiments in England by successive UK governments, where I draw on research evidence from a range of projects to both describe and critically examine the agenda. I raise serious questions for policymakers, professionals and researchers who are located within and interested in «Educational leadership in Latin Europe», notably that the purposes, rationales and narratives within England are less about educational leadership and more about functional delivery and outcome measures. I show how this is linked to the wider privatization that is unfolding in England, and I raise evidence about how alternative approaches are in evidence within practice and research. Consequently there is a range of resources that those in Latin Europe might draw on and use to support thinking and strategizing

Primary school councils: Organization, composition and head teacher perceptions and values

School councils have been an integral part of primary school life for the last decade and, despite not being mandatory in England, they are now to be found in the vast majority of primary schools. This research article aims to examine the current position of school councils in terms of their organization, the issues they address and the views held by senior leaders regarding the setting of agendas, their management and composition. The fieldwork took place in 50 primary schools within one local authority in the North West of England. This involved quantitative analysis based on a questionnaire sent directly to the head teachers. The data confirmed the widespread use of councils, with 100 per cent of responding schools having one in place. Certain themes relating to school council membership emerged, such as a positive emphasis on councillors being role models and possessing strong organizational and communication skills. Little importance, however, was given by head teachers to high academic attainment or creativity. The indications given by school leaders is that there is a clear commitment to having in place effective mechanisms via which children can raise their views, ideas and concerns, whilst promoting equality. However, in practice the emphasis on effective communication skills appears to actually limit the diversity of children actively taking part in primary schools councils. Therefore, school leaders need to take steps to allow a wider intake into their councils, in order to generate a truly representative council.No Full Tex

Reviewing research in education in Australia and the UK: evaluating the evaluations

In many countries concerns have been expressed about the merits of educational research. This paper reports on the outcomes of a review of reviews of such research in Australia and the UK. Taken at face value, the latest round of reviews are largely critical in the UK (where they have generated much debate) and mainly favourable in Australia (where they have not). In accounting for this difference the paper suggests that it might be explained in part as a function of how the reviews were conducted. In the UK reviews have tended to begin with the research and work forward to practice whereas in Australia they have been inclined to begin with practice and work back to the research. It is suggested that policy makers, practitioners and researchers in Australia and the UK have much to learn from each other\u27s experience, as have those in other countries planning similar reviews. <br /