Establishing an evidence-base for supporting middle leadership practice development in schools

Understanding School Middle-Leading Practices: Developing a Middle-Leading Practice Model

“…Finally, the data revealed some initial insights into the teachers across Australia who have ML roles, the nature of those roles, and the practices that are central to their work. Their titles varied, with the secondary school participants being more likely to have a position specifically related to a curriculum area (e.g., Head of Mathematics), with nearly half of the MLs indicating that they have roles leading curriculum, teaching, and learning in their school, supporting previous research showing MLs as leaders of instructional development in schools [4,16,35]. It was noteworthy that nearly 70% of the respondents had held their current middle-leading position for less than five years, indicating that, while many may have a wealth of teaching experience, some MLs may be relatively inexperienced in formally leading others in school sites.…”

“…Research on ML practices has identified potential practices that may positively impact teachers' classroom teaching and students' learning. These practices include MLs closely collaborating with principals and teachers to ensure shared understandings, [4] and an explicit focus on teaching and learning in the school [26]. It has been suggested that MLs may impact their teacher colleagues by translating school system policy directives, and school leaders' expectations and curriculum changes, to facilitate successful classroom implementation [27].…”

“…The combination of these factors has led to an increase in school leadership roles and responsibilities, resulting in a growth of formal school leadership positions [2]. Simultaneously, to meet school improvement requirements, there has been a move towards implementing school-based teacher professional learning (PL) in Australia [3,4] and internationally [5], with site-based PL being the model of choice for some school systems and their leaders [6,7]. The duality of increased school formal leadership positions and the drive for improvements in classroom teaching and student learning has led to an increase in school middle leadership positions in Australian schools [8,9].…”

“…MLs are classroom teachers who also have a formally acknowledged school leadership role and are generally perceived as quality classroom practitioners with a broad sphere of influence, working with and between the principal and school executive leaders and the classroom teachers they lead [4,10]. The positioning, expertise, and work of MLs means that they often have a deep understanding of their colleagues' professional expertise and teaching practices, the school's policy directives, and student learning needs, resulting in MLs being identified as an important lever for improving classroom teaching and learning practices.…”

“…The positioning, expertise, and work of MLs means that they often have a deep understanding of their colleagues' professional expertise and teaching practices, the school's policy directives, and student learning needs, resulting in MLs being identified as an important lever for improving classroom teaching and learning practices. The increase in school middle leadership positions, coupled with their potential to positively impact classroom practices [4,8], has resulted in a greater interest by education governing bodies and school systems in middle leadership roles, responsibilities, and practices, and the support and professional learning that MLs require [10,11] The Middle Leading Practices in Schools Survey (MLPSS) is an empirically and theoretically informed, author-developed, quantitative survey, that aims to provide an understanding of who Australian school MLs are, and their curriculum and pedagogical leading practices that they perceive as central to their work. In light of the preceding points, understanding middle-leading practices via the MLPSS addresses the following gaps in the research.…”