Retaining leadership talent in schools

En este artículo nos centramos en la retención del talento de liderazgo como un componente de las soluciones locales para la sucesión del liderazgo y la gestión del talento en un contexto inglés y a partir de ahí, extraer conclusiones aplicables a diferentes contextos internacionales para aquellos que tratan de asegurar un suministro de líderes escolares de alta calidad. El artículo explora las percepciones de 70 directores, 191 líderes de nivel medio y 168 docentes provenientes de 70 escuelas primarias y secundarias en diferentes contextos en las Midlands y el noroeste de Inglaterra, mediante grupos focales y un cuestionario. Se pidió a los encuestados que informaran sobre los enfoques actuales de retención del talento de liderazgo en sus escuelas y la forma en que perciben si su administración local podría involucrarse más en la retención del talento de liderazgo. El artículo incluye también una entrevista en profundidad con un alto cargo responsable del desarrollo y retención del liderazgo de una gran administración ubicada en la región central de Inglaterra. Se sugiere que los propósitos nacionales y locales para aumentar las reservas de talento de liderazgo y retener a los líderes de alta calidad para el presente y para el futuro, deben tener en cuenta la inclusión y el flujo de individuos capaces de progresar a puestos clave de liderazgo que son difíciles de reemplazar, y que una estrategia enfocada a la creación de talento ligada a una visión del desarrollo, la mejora y el rendimiento de la escuela, puede representar una forma ideal de ir hacia adelanteIn this article we focus on leadership talent retention as a component of local solutions to leadership succession and talent management in an English context and then draw conclusions relevant to those seeking to ensure a supply of high-quality school leaders in a variety of international settings. Utilising focus groups and a questionnaire survey, the article explores the perceptions of 70 heads, 191 middle leaders and 168 classroom teachers drawn from 70 contextually different primary and secondary schools in the Midlands and north west of England. Respondents were asked to report on current approaches to retaining leadership talent in their schools and how they perceived that their local authority could become more helpfully involved in leadership talent retention. The article also includes an extended interview with a senior officer in charge of leadership development and retention from a large local authority located in the Midlands of England. It is suggested that national and local desires to grow leadership talent pools and retain high-quality leaders for now and for the future should take into account the inclusion and flow of individuals capable of progressing to key leadership positions that are difficult to replace and that a strategic approach to talent pool creation linked with a strategic view of the development, improvement and performance of the school could represent an ideal way forwar

Working with Mycorrhizas in Forestry and Agriculture

Crop Production/Industries,

Ecto- and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis can induce tolerance to toxic pulses of phosphorus in jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) seedlings

In common with many plants native to low P soils, jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) develops toxicity symptoms upon exposure to elevated phosphorus (P). Jarrah plants can establish arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) associations, along with a non-colonizing symbiosis described recently. AM colonization is known to influence the pattern of expression of genes required for P uptake of host plants and our aim was to investigate this phenomenon in relation to P sensitivity. Therefore, we examined the effect on hosts of the presence of AM and ECM fungi in combination with toxic pulses of P and assessed possible correlations between the induced tolerance and the shoot P concentration. The P transport dynamics of AM (Rhizophagus irregularis and Scutellospora calospora), ECM (Scleroderma sp.), non-colonizing symbiosis (Austroboletus occidentalis), dual mycorrhizal (R. irregularis and Scleroderma sp.), and non-mycorrhizal (NM) seedlings were monitored following two pulses of P. The ECM and A. occidentalis associations significantly enhanced the shoot P content of jarrah plants growing under P-deficient conditions. In addition, S. calospora, A. occidentalis, and Scleroderma sp. all stimulated plant growth significantly. All inoculated plants had significantly lower phytotoxicity symptoms compared to NM controls 7 days after addition of an elevated P dose (30 mg P kg−1 soil). Following exposure to toxicity-inducing levels of P, the shoot P concentration was significantly lower in R. irregularis-inoculated and dually inoculated plants compared to NM controls. Although all inoculated plants had reduced toxicity symptoms and there was a positive linear relationship between rank and shoot P concentration, the protective effect was not necessarily explained by the type of fungal association or the extent of mycorrhizal colonization

Bridging reproductive and microbial ecology: a case study in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Offspring size is a key trait for understanding the reproductive ecology of species, yet studies addressing the ecological meaning of offspring size have so far been limited to macro-organisms. We consider this a missed opportunity in microbial ecology and provide what we believe is the first formal study of offspring-size variation in microbes using reproductive models developed for macro-organisms. We mapped the entire distribution of fungal spore size in the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (subphylum Glomeromycotina) and tested allometric expectations of this trait to offspring (spore) output and body size. Our results reveal a potential paradox in the reproductive ecology of AM fungi: while large spore-size variation is maintained through evolutionary time (independent of body size), increases in spore size trade off with spore output. That is, parental mycelia of large-spored species produce fewer spores and thus may have a fitness disadvantage compared to small-spored species. The persistence of the large-spore strategy, despite this apparent fitness disadvantage, suggests the existence of advantages to large-spored species that could manifest later in fungal life history. Thus, we consider that solving this paradox opens the door to fruitful future research establishing the relationship between offspring size and other AM life history traits

School leadership and the primary curriculum: development and practice

The structure of this critical commentary is that required for higher doctorates as outlined in the Keele University: Code of Practice on Postgraduate Research Degrees. The submission focuses on: 74 items in refereed journal articles; 7 Press items, commissioned journal articles and other publications; 18 books; and, 12 book chapters. Special reference is placed on the period since 2003, during which the bulk of the material has been produced. The commentary outlines that the publications that make up this submission encapsulate a career of thirty-five years during which the writer has been a school-teacher, head-teacher, Lecturer, and Professor of Education. It is explained that this body of work encompasses two interconnected themes, including the development and practice of leadership in education and the primary curriculum. Overall, this submission, totaling 750,000 words of material where the writer was sole author, within an overall submission totalling approximately two million words, has contributed to the ongoing discourse on educational leadership and the primary curriculum through a sustained programme of original research and publications. It is stated that the range of influence of this material has been broadened to international status through comparative research that has included work on leadership training in North America, Australasia and Europe. Centrally, it is claimed that this work has contributed to the movement towards a more complex conceptualisation of pedagogy and andragogy that seeks to encourage a more reflexive, research-led and praxis-based approach to teaching and learning. It is argued that the writer has thus made a long-term contribution to the development of knowledge within the discipline of Education

The creation of school leadership programmes in England and Wales and the practice of leadership in Beacon Schools

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

A Comprehensive Study of Orchid Seed Production Relative to Pollination Traits, Plant Density and Climate in an Urban Reserve in Western Australia

The pollination of 20 common terrestrial orchids was studied in a 60-ha urban banksia and eucalypt dominated woodland in Western Australia. Five years of data (24,000 flowers, 6800 plants) measured fruit set relative to floral areas, capsule volumes, climate, phenology, pollination mechanisms, disturbance tolerance and demography. Pollination varied from 0–95% of flowers, floral displays from 90–3300 mm2 and capsules from 15–1300 mm3 per spike. Pollination traits strongly influenced outcomes, with self-pollination highest (59—95%), followed by sexually deceptive autumn or winter-flowering (18–39%), visual deception (0–48%) and sexually deceptive spring-flowering (13–16%). Pollination was limited by drought in autumn or spring and cool winter temperatures. Some orchids were resilient to drought and one formed seed after the leaves withered. Plant density had the greatest impact on fruit set for orchids forming large groups, especially for sexually deceptive pollination. Consequently, small group average (SGA) pollination was up to 4× greater than overall averages and peak seed production occurred in the best locations for genetic exchange and dispersal. SGA rates and seedpod volumes were strongly linked to clonality, but not to demographic trends. Resource competition limited flowering at higher plant densities and competition within spikes resulted in smaller, later-forming seedpods. Pollination data from co-occurring common orchids identified five evolutionary trade-offs linked to pollination, provided baseline data for rare species and revealed impacts of changing climate