‘Distributed Leadership’ In Schools: What English Headteachers Say About The ‘Pull’ And ‘Push’ Factors.

Abstract

This paper addresses three main questions about distributed leadership. Firstly, what meanings are attributed to the term distributed leadership within headteachers’ working vocabulary? Secondly, do headteachers conceptualise and practice distributed leadership in the same way as suggested by experts in the field? Thirdly, what issues do headteachers face in trying to ‘distribute’ leadership or create environments in which leadership is dispersed? Data are drawn from an on-going National College for School Leadership (NCSL) commissioned project researching the state of distributed leadership in selected schools in Essex and Suffolk. It is anticipated that issues emerging from these data will provoke further debate about the practice of distributed leadership in schools and also set the scene for further research. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and the shadowing of headteachers. The findings demonstrate that (i) Although headteachers have an idea of the concept of distributing leadership, the term itself does not form an integral part of their day-to-day working vocabulary (ii) The process by which leadership is distributed in schools may be understood in terms of (a) the initiative headteachers take to share leadership responsibilities with teachers, (b) the creation of an environment in which teachers feel free to own initiatives and assume leadership responsibilities (c) ways in which headteachers, teachers, and students/pupils relate to each other in order to promote a greater sharing of leadership. The paper further discusses some factors that promote distributed leadership such as trust, confidence, communication, risk-taking and financial capacity. It also discusses some factors such as insecurity, structure of schools, dishonesty and external interference, which, from the perspective of the headteachers, inhibit the practice of distributed leadership. It concludes with a discussion of the implications of these factors for the professional development of headteachers, and as a historical footnote reminds us that contrary to the claim of existing research-based literature (e.g. Gronn, 2002) that ‘the first known reference to distributed leadership was in the field of social psychology in the early 1950s’ (p.653), the origin of distributed leadership can be traced to 1250 B.C.