Middle Leading in Education

In our last post we suggested that middle leading is a crucial, but under-appreciated and not well understood in educational settings. Specifically, we posit that middle leading practice cannot be comprehended or developed by relaying on educational leadership principles and theories that relate specifically to principals or positional heads. For example, a popular educational leadership model like “distributed leadership” (Spillane, 2006) talks to the practice of education leading as exercised by the principal, but it does not really address those to whom leadership is devolved. So, while some aspects of middle leading practice can be examined and understood through theories like distributed leadership, they really are not adequate given the different positioning and relating of the middle leader. Also, we think it is timely to think about educational leading, and in particular middle leading, not by focusing on the qualities and characteristics of effective leaders (i.e., the person who is the leader), but rather the practices of leading.

Through our weekly posts we will explore the practices of middle leaders – what they do and say, and how they relate to their colleagues, and how these aspects are enabled and constrained by the various arrangements in their school sites. What we will not focus on is the leader as a hero or crusader who leads their school ‘from the front’ – we will focus on ‘leaders in the middle’.

Spillane, J. P. (2006). Distributed leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Who are Middle Leaders?

In the first post we suggested that middle leaders are crucial people in schools for “promoting and sustaining quality education”. But who are these middle leaders? In short, it is teachers who have an acknowledged leadership role but still have a significant classroom teaching role. The title these teacher-leaders have can vary depending on the size and scale of the school (or other educational institution), its level and/or character, and its site or context. For example, in a large secondary school, the deputy principal might not be a middle leader because their work is primarily administrative and they have little contact with the classroom, whereas in a small primary school, the deputy principal might also have a large teaching load. So for us, a middle leader has a ‘foot in two camps’ – they are part of the school’s formal leadership structure AND they are actively and regularly teaching in the classroom.

Because of their unique position, we argue that middle leaders are well placed to provide leadership for professional and curriculum development in educational institutions. However, they are also in a difficult space sometimes as they have to manage the administrative, managerial and relational dilemmas of straddling both school management and the classroom. Because of their unique position, middle leading cannot simply be understood through leadership theories and models that really have been developed for principals, and so we have embarked on a mission to promote and appreciate the practices of middle leaders.

We will add a new post every week and over time we hope to build a coherent and thoughtful understanding of middle leaders in educational contexts.

Middle Leading in Education

There is wide acceptance that leadership is important in schools and makes an impact of the quality of education provided. But, when talking about leadership most people really mean ‘principalship’ and they refer to the principal or positional head, and research has shown that the impact of principals is limited and restricted (Lingard, Hayes, Mills & Christie, 2003). However, ‘middle leaders’ – teachers who have a leadership role and who also have a substantial classroom teaching role (e.g., Head of Department, or team or curriculum development leader), are more influential in professional and curriculum development. Middle leaders are still engaged in classroom practice and their leading is exercised in and around classrooms, so they are better positioned to provide pedagogical leadership and the leadership required for professional and curriculum development.

We contend that middle leaders are crucial for effective learning and teaching in schools, and in promoting and sustaining quality education. We also believe that their practices and work in educational leading is not well understood or appreciated – they are not ‘principals-in-waiting’ or just ‘good teachers’. In our work, including this blog, we will explore, examine and discuss the practice of ‘leading from the middle’, and through our weekly posts we hope to promote, and provide insights into, the valuable educational work of middle leaders.

Lingard, B., Hayes, D., Mills, M., & Chrisite, P. (2003). Leading learning: Making hope practical in schools. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.