Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, schools across the world closed, either periodically or over a considerable time. The OECD reports that during this period, globally, over 1.2 billion children were out of the classroom. As a result, schools moved part or all of their curriculum online, teaching remotely via digital platforms. Evidence suggests…

The role of the Heads of Departments (HoDs) in the school structure is to provide middle leadership. They assist the principals on the day to day leadership of the schools. They are responsible for ensuring the achievement of their departmental and school vision and mission. This study sought to explore the nature of the challenges faced by the…

Effective leadership is recognised as the second most impactful variable influencing student achievement and promoting teaching quality (Bush 2021; Leithwood et al. 2020). The paper reports on the perceptions of educational leaders in the Western Australian public education system about: their leadership capability, support mechanisms and…

This paper examines middle leadership of the heads of English, maths and science departments in four international secondary schools in Malaysia. It focuses on their roles, responsibilities, role relationships, instructional engagement and leadership involvement within the theoretical framework of instructional, distributed and teacher leadership.…

Utilising the labour ideas of Adam Smith and Emile Durkheim as a theoretical basis, the main objective of this study was to investigate the perception that Heads of Physical Education (HoPE) face unique management and leadership challenges. Results showed that HoPE believe that they are overburdened with tasks primarily involving the delegation of…

Many schools are organised into departments which function as contexts that frame teachers' professional experiences in important ways. Some educational systems have adopted distributed forms of leadership within schools that rely strongly on the departmental structure and on the role of the department coordinator as teacher leader. This paper…

Argues that contingency theory offers a useful basis for considering the work of subject heads of department in (British) secondary schools, particularly if heads are actively trying to influence the quality of teaching and learning in their curriculum areas. Develops a provisional model to shed light on how department heads actually work with…

Describes how two reforms--portfolio culture and teacher professionalism--converge in a systemwide program for school leaders' professional development. Investigates use of portfolios to help (Australian) principals, deputy principals, and department heads improve their performance and accountability. Participants used portfolios as evidence of…

Explores preparation and training of subject department heads in British secondary schools, based on interviews with 36 Welsh department heads. Heads of department valued learning about their role when working with previous heads (professional socialization) and different kinds of learning experienced when becoming heads (organizational…

Acknowledges the importance of the secondary department head's role in schoolwide change and outlines tensions and middle-management dilemmas. Analyzes the dynamic between leadership and culture within the departmental context. Heads of departments play a major role in managing cultural change and can make a difference in departmental performance.…

Typically, subject department heads perform a middle-management role in secondary schools that is unquestioned. A Canadian study examined effects on school culture and educational practice when structure and roles are open to revision. The restructuring initiative is fostering cultural change in all eight district schools. (34 references) (MLH)

Discusses ways in which the distinctive nature of the subject being taught has important implications for the management of teaching and learning by department heads. Reports the perceptions of department heads working in four areas of the curriculum--English, Mathematics, Science, and Technology--in secondary schools in Wales. Finds range of…

Argues that middle managers are key to developing successful departments and schools. Discusses results from a pilot project on role changes that shadowed eight department heads in Catholic secondary schools in Birmingham and Manchester, England. Although department heads spent most time on core activities (teaching, coaching, and managing their…

Examines transference issues in school effectiveness and improvement, including the relationship between within-school and across-school improvement. Describes how the head of a successful history department in an innercity high school changed the entire school from low achieving to high achieving after being appointed head teacher. (Contains 57…

Examines participation issues of (British) department heads in whole-school decision-making processes to determine whether such participation represents true empowerment. Three models emerged, with varied results. Collegiality offers many persuasive benefits but is difficult to attain. Hierarchical and horizontal structures' effectiveness needs…