Abstract
The knowledge of the enhancement of the journey to educational leadership in the Further Education (FE) sector in the United Kingdom (UK) has attracted the attention of academics. The majority of the experiments reviewed illustrate the formal educational mechanisms that leaders have experimentally learned via their experiences in FE. However, this study proposed that in order to lead admirably, senior academic leaders need additional assistance for their training and hands-on leadership experience. With an emphasis on Gronn’s theory of leadership model, the major objective is to critically evaluate educational leadership development at FE institutions in the UK. This supports the recognition of leadership in Gronn’s model in career terms and explores the significant impacts of the four phases of Gronn’s model in the development of academic leaders. Additionally, this study is interested in learning about leaders’ experiences and how they view leadership in FE in general. This study used a mixed-method approach to ensure that the two main research questions were consistently addressed. Twelve leaders at the FBT participated in face-to-face interviews for the data-gathering process, while 61 leaders in the UK completed a questionnaire. The results showed that developing into an effective leader requires a number of factors, or what Gronn’s concept of the leadership journey refers to as four sequential phases. Four areas of critical impact were identified during the professional pathway: family influence, educational influence, influential people, and significant experiences. The leader’s major experiences, character traits, and leadership aspirations were all shaped by fostering knowledge. The research on educational leadership supports the idea that a school leader’s capacity is greatly influenced by their leadership, which is the implication of this study.
Keywords: Educational Leadership, Leadership Journey, Senior Managers, Further Education, Gronn’s Theory of Leadership
References
Alinsunurin, J. School learning climate in the lens of parental involvement and school leadership: lessons for inclusiveness among public schools. Smart Learn. Environ. 7, 25 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-020-00139-2
Bass, B & Riggio, R (2012). Transformational Leadership in Education. 2nd edition. USA by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Inc.
Brown, E. (2005). Ethical Leadership: a review and Future Directions. New York: Harper and Row (pp.95‐616).
Bryman, A. (2007). Quantity and Quality in Social Research. London: Routledge. First published in 1988.
Burns, M. (1998). Leadership in Education. New York: Harper and Row.
Bush, T (2002). Theories of educational leadership management. 2nd edition. London: Paul Chapman.
Callan, J. (2001). What are the essential capabilities for those who manage training organizations? Australia: National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
Cassata, A., Allensworth, E. Scaling standards-aligned instruction through teacher leadership: methods, supports, and challenges. IJ STEM Ed 8, 39 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-021-00297-w
Chase, A., S. Rao, A., Lakmala, P. et al. Beyond content knowledge: transferable skills connected to experience as a peer-leader in a PLTL program and long-term impacts. IJ STEM Ed 7, 29 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00228-1
Chen, Y., Ning, R., Yang, T. et al. Is transformational leadership always good for employee task performance? Examining curvilinear and moderated relationships. Front. Bus. Res. China 12, 22 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s11782-018-0044-8
Comte, R. (2000). The Art of Case Study Research: Perspective in Practice. Educational Research Journal 32: 21-179.
Corners, J. (2005). (Development and Disenchantment in the Professional Lives of Headteachers), in Goodson, I. and Hargreaves, A. (eds.) Lecturers’ Professional Lives, London: Falmer Press.
Creswell, W. (2002). Research design. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches. Chapter 11: Mixed methods procedures, pp. 208-227.
Day, D.V., Fleenor, J.W., Atwater, L.E., Sturm, R.E. & McKee, R.A. (2014). Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory. The Leadership Quarterly Volume 25, Issue 1, February 2014, Pages 63-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.004
Denscombe, M. (2003). The Good Research Guide. 2nd edition. Open University Press. London.
Department for Education (2016). Technical education reform: the case for change. DFE-00163-2016
Endres, S., Weibler, J. Understanding (non)leadership phenomena in collaborative interorganizational networks and advancing shared leadership theory: an interpretive grounded theory study. Bus Res 13, 275–309 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40685-019-0086-6
Fateh, A., Mustamil, N. & Shahzad, F. Role of authentic leadership and personal mastery in predicting employee creative behavior: a self-determination perspective. Front. Bus. Res. China 15, 3 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s11782-021-00100-1
Förster, C., Paparella, C., Duchek, S. et al. Leading in the Paradoxical World of Crises: How Leaders Navigate Through Crises. Schmalenbach J Bus Res 74, 631–657 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41471-022-00147-7
Frantzen, L., Raynor, J. & Taylor, H. (2023). Rethinking Leadership Development Evaluation. How understanding the complexity and nuance of leadership in changing environments can help fuel system-level change. Stanford Social Innovation Review.
Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a culture of change. 2nd edition. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.
Gardner, H. (1995). Leading Minds: An anatomy of leadership. New York: Basic Books.
Greatbatch, D. & Tate, S. (2018). Teaching, leadership and governance in Further Education. DFE-AP 2016/65
Gronn, P. (1999). The Making of Educational Leaders London. Cassell: London. UK.
Gronn, P. (2002). Distributed Leadership. 1st edition. Second international handbook of educational leadership and Administration. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.
Gunter, H. (2001). Leaders and Leadership in Education. 1st edition. London: Paul Chapman Publishing.
Hoekstra, A., Newton, P. Departmental leadership for learning in vocational and professional education. Empirical Res Voc Ed Train 9, 12 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40461-017-0057-0
Jeff, D. (2003). Educational leadership and instructional improvement in FE.1st edition. New York: Random House.
Laufer, M., Leiser, A., Deacon, B. et al. Digital higher education: a divider or bridge builder? Leadership perspectives on edtech in a COVID-19 reality. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 18, 51 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-021-00287-6
Macaualay, J. (2008). Effective leadership in Further Education. 1ST edition. Open University Press, London.
Nigel, P (2018). The Leadership, Theory and Practice. 1st edition. Published in California by Sage Publication, INC.
Noriey, I. M. (2019). The Significance of Research Methods to Language Education in Higher Education. Journal of University of Human Development, 5(3), pp. (36- 42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21928/juhd.v5n3y2019.pp36-42
Noriey, I. M. (2021) “Teaching with Inspiration; the Challenges of Motivational Factors within the Educational Sector in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq”, International Journal of Higher Education Pedagogies, 2(2), pp. 38–52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33422/ijhep.v2i2.57
Noriey, I. M. (2022) “A Critical Evaluation of the Existing Pedagogical Dimensions in Higher Education in KRI”, Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 5(1), pp. 138-146. doi: https://doi.org/10.14500/kujhss.v5n1y2022.pp138-146
Parker, R. (2002) Passion and Intuition: The impact of life histories on leadership. Nottingham: NCSL. Open University Press. London.
Preston, C. (2022). Rethinking leadership development in an age of uncertainty. Fast Company Executive Board.
Punch, K.F. (2001). Introduction to Leadership in Further Education. London: Sage Publications.
Raver, C.K., Ledford, A.K. & Norton, M. (2022). A Strategic Organizational Approach to Developing Leadership Developers. Journal of Character & Leadership Development. 10.58315/jcld.v10.253
Ribbins, P. (1997) (Ed.) Leaders and Leadership in the School, College and University. Ltd. London: Cassell.
Rizvi, I. A., & Popli, S. (2021). Revisiting Leadership Communication: A Need for Conversation. Global Business Review, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09721509211061979
Robbins, P. (2002). Biography and the study of school leader careers: towards a humanistic approach‟ in Brundrett, N., Burton, N. & Smith, R. (Eds) Leadership in Education London: SAGE.
Rogers, M. (2002) Leadership Capabilities in Further Education. 2nd edition. The University of London. Unpublished Master.
Ryan, C. (2008). Academies and the future of state education. 1ST edition. London: Centre forum.
Santos, J. A. R. (1999). Cronbach’s Alpha: A Tool for Assessing the Reliability of Scales. Journal of Extension, 37, 1-5.
Saraih, E.F., Wong, S.L., Asimiran, S. et al. Contemporary communication conduit among exemplar school principals in Malaysian schools. RPTEL 17, 4 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41039-022-00179-x
Shiferaw, R.M., Birbirsa, Z.A. & Werke, S.Z. Entrepreneurial leadership, learning organization and organizational culture relationship: a systematic literature review. J Innov Entrep 12, 38 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-023-00305-z
Stevens, M., Rees, T., Cruwys, T. et al. Equipping Physical Activity Leaders to Facilitate Behaviour Change: An Overview, Call to Action, and Roadmap for Future Research. Sports Med – Open 8, 33 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-022-00423-0
Thomas, G. (2009). How to Do Your Research Project. 2nd edition. London: SAGE.
Tucker, M.F., Bonial, R., Vanhove, A. et al. Leading across cultures in the human age: an empirical investigation of intercultural competency among global leaders. SpringerPlus 3, 127 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-1801-3-127
