Network leadership: a new educational imperative?

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated networking within and across schools in an unprecedented way. It has demanded new forms of leadership and leadership practices that are network based and technologically driven. The rapid emergence of the ‘network school leader’ during the pandemic raises questions about the forms of leadership practices that are being enacted and the forms they take. The article examines the functions assigned to those occupying leadership positions in various education networking environments and focuses on the multi-faceted nature of leadership in these networks. This article considers some of the contemporary specialist literature on networking that offers insights into network leadership processes and practices. In this article, it is proposed that distributed leadership offers an important theoretical and analytical lens to investigate network school leadership more deeply. The article concludes by positing that in the dramatically changed world of education, network leadership is no longer an option for some but rather is a new educational imperative for all.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alma Harris

Alma Harris, FAcSS, FRSA, FLSW, has held Professorial posts at the University of Warwick, University College London, University of Malaya, University of Bath and most recently, the University of Swansea. She is internationally known for her research and writing on educational leadership, professional learning and school improvement.

Cecilia Azorín

Cecilia Azorín is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Murcia (Spain). She is an active researcher in the field of school effectiveness and school improvement. Her areas of expertise are educational leadership, professional learning networks and inclusion. Cecilia is Associate Editor of Research in Educational Administration & Leadership journal. She has received the JPCC Michael Fullan Emerging Scholar Award in Professional Capital and Community (2019).

Michelle Jones

Michelle Jones is the Deputy Head of the School of Education at the University of Swansea. Most recently, she has been working with government agencies in England, Russia, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia assisting with the design and delivery of their leadership and professional learning programs. Michelle is a Research Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Education and a Senior Research Fellow at the National Research University, Moscow Higher School of Economics. She is the co-editor of international journal School Leadership and Management.