Interrogating the concept of ‘leadership at all levels’: a Scottish perspective

ABSTRACT

The concept of ‘leadership at all levels’ has gained currency in Scottish education in recent years following the publication of ‘Teaching Scotland’s Future’ (2010), a major review of teacher education focussing on teachers’ initial preparation, their on-going development and career progression. This paper traces the drivers of change that led to the recommendations in the review and subsequent developments and interrogates the concept through examination of the policy context. The paper argues that, whilst there have been many positive developments in advancing leadership and leadership education in Scotland, the concept of ‘leadership at all levels’ is problematic and there are many tensions which need to be addressed. In particular, the paper examines the tension between systems-led leadership development and that which focuses on the professional development of the individual, commensurate with the stage of their career, and argues that models that are more fluid and flexible allowing movement in, across and through the system are required.

KEYWORDS:

• Leadership at all levels
• leadership development
• systems leadership
• distributed leadership
• power relations
• equity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. This is not to imply that the school improvement movement in general is narrowly construed.

2. The professional standards were reviewed in 2011 in light of the TSF and are currently under review as part of a quinquennial review cycle.

3. One of the key recommendations from the International Council of Education Advisers (ICEA) (International Council of Education Advisers 2017b). The ‘middle’ refers to the level between schools and government, occupied by local authorities in Scotland who play a key role in school governance.

4. We would like to acknowledge the work of Dr Anna Beck who traced these developments within her PhD study published at the University of Glasgow.