Abstract
The field of educational leadership is replete with edited books, but this new addition is particularly intriguing as all the contributors belong to, or are affiliated to, one institution. The title of the book is both important and promising, as the issue of leadership has never been so critical in the race for better educational outcomes and performance, at the system level. Around the world, policy makers are seeking solutions to system transformation and leadership is a proven and powerful contributory factor to any positive change.
In her introduction to the book, Professor Viviane Robinson from the University of Auckland poses two fundamental questions:
What political and policy imperatives are driving the reform?
What evidence is there that these new structural arrangements are, or are likely to be, any more successful than the prior local or national government-led efforts?
It may be anticipated therefore that the chapters in this book would touch upon both questions but, most importantly, the latter. All too often, evidence about the impact of re-designing and re-structuring systems is lost in a policy rhetoric that overshadows the hard facts. Consequently, it might be hoped that some of the chapters in the book would present new empirical evidence or data on the way in which system reform in England is impacting on schools, teachers and students.
From the outset the editors make it crystal clear that the book, and the chapters in it, speak to a ‘paradox of policy and the quest for successful leadership’. The paradox is, they argue, a ‘set of contradictions that sit at the heart of education policy in many school systems’. The quest, they suggest, ‘is to understand how leaders can lead in autonomous and accountable systems in ways which recognise and resolve, or at least mitigate, the tensions that they face’. This is a very promising start and a clear rationale for the contributions that follow.
The book is structured in three sections, which provide a framework to the book and the chapters therein. Each chapter commences with a set of aims, which help to orientate the reader, and each chapter concludes with a set of implications that is a good device for engagement and reflection. Some of the chapters are quite short (7–9 pages) and read like summaries of a longer piece of research work, while others are more polemical or analytical.
In reading the book, the topics seemed to jump around a little without a substantive connection between them. There is a common thread around leadership, but at times this felt a little stretched as topics wandered between toxic leadership (which is an excellent chapter) to issues of community engagement, roles of business leaders and diversity. All of these issues are important, of course, but the coherence of the intellectual narrative underpinning the book is, at times, difficult to locate or follow.
The book offers some powerful chapters that could stand alone from the main theme. For example, the chapter on toxic leadership should be compulsory reading for all leaders wherever they find themselves within an education system. In his chapter, Ian Craig eloquently describes the effects, outcomes and impact of leadership that is damaging, demoralising and destructive. He argues that ‘toxic leadership is where those having responsibility and control, over a group of people or an organisation, abuse the leader-follower relationship in some way and move the organisation to a worse place than it was in before, with long-term organisational health being sacrificed for short term gains’.
In a context of greater accountability and responsibility for education outcomes and performance, the messages in this chapter are important and haunting. They remind us that where leadership becomes little more than ensuring that individuals meet their targets or a means of personal control, two outcomes are inevitable. Firstly, individuals within the organisation become demoralised and withdrawn, and thus far less effective. Secondly, they leave. Probably this is one of the first chapters to lay bare the dark side of leadership and, in so doing, it sheds a light on how new public management may actually be contributing to leadership practices that damage.
At the other end of the spectrum is a chapter that is uplifting. It describes how one local authority in England overcame the odds to ensure success for young people living in some of the worst deprivation in the country. The turnaround of Tower Hamlets may not be new, but the chapter by Chris Brown, Chris Husbands and David Woods tells a story of schools committed to working together to improve together. The chapter is an edited version of a longer study by the same authors, which is also worth a read.
So within this book there are real gems and some interesting accounts of professional learning, leadership and the challenges of being a GEN X leader. There are also some rather pedestrian chapters that wander through a topic and leave the reader wondering a) why they were included and b) how they link or contribute to the main theme of the book.
There are considerable strengths in this edited collection. It brings together many well-known authors, it covers a wide range of topics and it traverses a great deal of leadership territory. It is questionable, however, whether the book’s title really resonates with every chapter. Grouping the chapters into sections certainly helps, but a continuous, compelling narrative between the sections and chapters could have been stronger.
Returning to the questions posed by Viviane Robinson in the Foreword, it is certainly the case that the book addresses question one. It takes a look at the political and policy imperatives that are driving education reform in England. It considers the challenges arising for leaders from this brave new educational world. With respect to question two, however, the jury is still out. Very few of the chapters provide new empirical evidence and many are discursive, drawing on the research of others or the authors’ own existing work. This is an observation rather than a criticism and, possibly, a signal to those working at the policy/practice interface to think more carefully and seriously about researching the nature, impact and effects of policy.
As Viviane Robinson rightly notes, the book presents a ‘fascinating puzzle’ and offers a pathway through a maze of perspectives on the current system reform agenda in England. It is a useful compilation of views and themes that reflect where leadership is, and may be, going in a climate of complexity and rapid change.