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…

The university academic manager (AM) or head of school/department is typically positioned in a hierarchical world: as a middle manager 'sandwiched' between senior management and subordinates. I propose a different framing: the AM cohabits two worlds, the worlds of hierarchy and collegiality respectively. Using an ideal type framework and data…

School middle leadership is a complex and increasingly important school leadership position, with research showing the significance of middle leadership to school improvement and teacher development. The purpose of this article is to identify and analyse empirical peer reviewed articles on middle leadership from 2006 to 2020, to understand how…

This study aims to examine which middle leaders' distributed leadership factors (cohesive leadership team, participative decision-making, leadership support and leadership supervision) are sufficient and to what degree these four factors are necessary for fostering high teacher commitment to change (TCTC). Data were gathered from 1018 Malaysian…

The organizational settings and subcultures in which Latine mid-level student affairs administrators are employed obscure the covert nature and permeation of racialized processes throughout the academic organization. Such processes determine who is promoted and who can lead. I used a constructivist grounded theory approach to challenge current…

This study explores the link between principals' leadership practices and learning achievements from a distributed leadership perspective, using semi-structured interviews with TVET supervisors, middle leaders, and teachers. A detailed discussion on how school principals actually practised distributed leadership (DL) and how these practices…

This small-scale research project explores policy and staff perspectives which affect student parents in higher education at an English further education college. Drawing on Nancy Fraser's work on the welfare state and the social organisation of care work, the paper examines approaches to a marginalised student group. Qualitative data were…

Previous research indicates that mid-level women administrators are under-valued as leaders and followers despite their capacity and influential connectivity up, down, and across the organizational chart. Few studies have provided insight into the leading and following experiences of mid-level women administrators in the community college. The…

The paper discusses the leadership and management challenges of a public university in Saudi Arabia from the perspective of academic managers. Based on a series of interviews at one of the regional universities established in the mid-2000s, the paper sheds light on one of those rarely investigated contexts where models of public management are…

This study explores how mid-level administrators working in international student service centers make meaning of their roles and perceive the support their institutions provide. Utilizing critical discourse analysis and the theoretical framework of empowerment, this study reveals the social problems, power struggles, and avenues mid-level…

This study adopts a structural perspective to explore micro-politics in senior management teams and identify the principals' inner circle. Based on data from an Israeli random sample of state primary teachers, profiles of trust in principal are identified and used to break down the subgroups of teachers serving in various roles in senior…

University middle leaders play a significant role in change management. While research examines the outcomes of change management, far less attention has been paid to how middle leaders develop agency and negotiate their identities in achieving these outcomes. This study presents the cases of two middle leaders in Shanghai enacting a curriculum…

Mid-level roles in education have been widely explored, primarily in schools, but little research has been conducted during the systemic reform that involves creating a mid-level role between end units and the system. The present study explores the sense-making of early childhood leaders (ECLs) at the initial stage of their new role as mid-level…

Finding a sense of authentic self as an institution, a true sense of mission, and the means to live that mission were the central focus of a strategic planning process addressed by the University of Central Oklahoma about fifteen years ago. As the institution grew within a metropolitan-serving mission, the goal to transform students from…

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…