Middle leadership is an area of increasing interest in higher education with little research to date exploring middle leading from the perspective of function or discipline leadership roles within Departments. This article uses a case study of twelve middle leaders within a university faculty in Australia to examine the broader contexts of middle…

This study uses the concept of 'organisational power' -- control over the environments in which others interact -- to investigate the structures and lived experience of power among academic associate deans at public, research-intensive universities in the US. Previous research claims that the associate dean role lacks 'legitimate power.' Through…

Research shows that leadership is crucial for professional learning, often highlighting principals' "or" middle leaders' leading practices. However, in leading, professions with differing roles work together. With a decentring perspective on leadership, we shift the focus from the individual principal or middle leader to joint leading…

This research critically examines the role of pedagogical leadership as it is distributed amongst middle leaders. It seeks to better understand the playful utility of a popular culture metaphor as a frame for understanding empirical data about pedagogical leadership in two Australian schools during a period of imposed curriculum change. Utilising…

This rejoinder article first examines the foundational theories and models for metaphor use in a number of related fields, as well as in educational administration and leadership, presenting a model for analysis. Secondly, it reviews the articles in this special issue against the model proposed.

State school inspection in Norway is currently changing with targeted schools becoming subject to more complex methods of inquiry. Not only school principals but middle leaders are exposed to this shifting system, for the latter are in the frontline of their schools' everyday practices. The article examines how state school inspection is used as…

Moving away from the study of the principal as the central leader figure in schools, this article argues for an alternative narrative for school leadership. It draws on empirical data from a doctoral study to propose a new way of thinking about the school leader through the unusual metaphor of the Cheshire Cat. Examining the stories of 11 school…