In Portugal, the legal framework creates conditions for increased participation of the educational community in promoting inclusive education. Measures to support student learning and inclusion highlight the role of middle-tier structures in promoting this participation. In line with this, international organisations also emphasise the same…

Over the last few decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of student service personnel, yet demand has outstripped this growth leading to turnover and low employee satisfaction. Scholars and practitioners alike have called for increased levels of empowerment of these workers, but the outcomes of this approach need further…

Today, more than ever, there is a need to uncover the patterns of thinking that shape the rationality of the leader cohort to aid them in their role-making of the challenging niche truly. This Husserlian phenomenological inquiry purported to explore the individual and collective lived experiences of nine (9) purposively selected Filipino academic…

The purpose of the study is to examine the ethical dilemmas among mid-level school leaders in the social-ecological context through role-play simulations. We examined simulations involving role-played ethical scenarios and group debriefings among 30 mid-level school leaders from different Israeli high schools and districts during the MA course in…

Little is known about primary school mathematics middle leaders' aspirations for mathematics learning. We sought to give mathematics middle leaders a voice to articulate their desires for mathematics learning based on what was most salient to them. Statements collected from 149 primary school mathematics middle leaders through an online survey…

Little is known about how middle leaders address concerns with teaching performance. This study used a problem-based methodology and critical incident interviewing to elicit eight middle leaders' theories-in-use for 14 cases of concern. Our systematic analysis examined the beliefs constraining their actions, their actions as well as the resulting…

This paper presents an examination of identity "in" and "as" practice as it relates to a group of educational practitioners known as middle leaders. Drawing on the theory of practice architectures as a site-ontological approach for conceptualising educational leading, the paper considers an individual's identity as being…

Schools are a complex system made up of not only relationships, infrastructures, and challenges, but also constraints. It seems essential that schools, as complex organizations, work in synergy, according to a shared vision with all the actors involved in the educational process. School management is now part of a process that is increasingly…

The study draws on mixed methods research with further education middle managers across England in order to explore whether there are gendered differences in management. There remain debates about whether there are gender differences in management or leadership. The study adds to this debate with results that reveal that women and men are…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how mid-level student conduct professionals (SCPs) made meaning of their professional and mid-level leadership experiences during their institutions' immediate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study draws on sensemaking as a theoretical lens and literature related to mid-level…

Heads of department (HoDs) are commonly made responsible for implementing gender balance change in academia. Research has found that they are often reluctant to take ownership of this problem. Our study found that department heads in Norway did take on a lot of ownership for gender balance change and we divided their leadership approaches with…

Research on how to support school-based teacher learning has largely focused on the role of leaders at the top of the school organisation. It has paid little attention to middle leaders, who directly initiate and are deeply involved in teachers' learning processes. Linking leadership constructs with organisational learning, we examined how middle…

Purpose: We examine the ways state education agency (SEA) and local education agency (LEA) leaders interpret and use educational policy to guide the provision of services for multilingual students classified as English learners (ELs) in their contexts. Our inquiry focuses on the external factors leaders describe that either enable or constrain…

Whilst extensive research has been undertaken concerning educational leadership and management, there is a paucity of scholarship regarding the merit-selection of school leaders other than principals. This is especially true of principal-led merit selection panels convened to recruit middle-level school leaders, namely deputy principals, assistant…

The purpose of this article is to explore the development of the knowledge base on middle leadership in schools. Since the seminal reviews conducted by Bennett a contemporary scan only of the scholarly literature on middle leaders/leadership in schools has not been undertaken. Consequently, this article looks at outputs relating to this topic by…