Framing headship: a demand-side analysis of how the headteacher role is articulated in job descriptions

ABSTRACT

The majority of studies into recruitment to the headship role have focused on supply-side dynamics and teachers’ own accounts of the factors that (dis)incentivize them from aspiring or progressing to headship. Significantly less work has been done in analyzing demand-side factors. This paper addresses the gap by presenting findings from a mixed-methods analysis of headteacher job descriptions (n = 67) published in a complete school year within Wales – one of the UK’s devolved education systems. A discourse analysis was conducted, based on organizational and occupational conceptions of professional work, which informed a subsequent content analysis of the job descriptions. Our findings identified a dominance of articulations that privileged organizationally-orientated understandings of headship and evidence of a lack of contextualization and agency by stakeholders responsible for recruitment. Such ‘demand-side’ analysis offers scope for examining and understanding the way in which headship is framed and aligns with policy within a variety of international educational contexts and jurisdictions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Since 2012, local authorities in Wales have formed four regional consortia with responsibility for school improvement and effectiveness. These are the Central South Consortium Joint Education Service (CSC) for Central South Wales, Education Through Regional Working (ERW) for South West and Mid-Wales, Gwasanaeth Effeithiolrwydd (GwE) for North Wales and the Education Achievement Service for South East Wales (EAS).

2. Bilingual and Welsh medium schools are categorized as such on the basis of their most recent ESTYN inspection report.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emmajane Milton

Emmajane Milton is currently a Reader at Cardiff University and a National Teaching Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her research interests are focused around professional learning, educative mentoring and leadership and the recruitment and retention of education professionals.

Alexandra Morgan

Alexandra Morgan has worked in education for 28 years and is currently a lecturer in Education at Cardiff University. She contributes to a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and supervises PhD students. Her research interests include educational practice, professional learning and mentoring for teacher inquiry.

Andrew James Davies

Andrew James Davies is Head of the School of Education at Aberystwyth University. His research interests focus on professional learning, teacher recruitment and retention and the sociology of education and childhood.

Mark Connolly

Mark Connolly is a senior lecturer at Cardiff University. His research focuses on a range of educational issues including creativity, outdoor learning, professional practice and professional leadership.

Damian Donnelly

Damian Donnelly has 30 years experience in research and teaching. He currently provides advisory support for schools within Carmarthenshire Local Authority, taking a leadership role in developing learner engagement with digital technologies. He has worked for Cardiff University as an academic research fellow, mentor and academic tutor.

Iwan Ellis

Iwan Ellis graduated from Cardiff University School of Social Sciences in 2019, with a first-class honors degree. Since graduating Iwan has worked for Shelter Cymru and has been part of an independent research project in the Cotswolds, UK looking at the community response to COVID-19.