Leading Learning: Process, Themes and Issues in International Contexts

The study of educational leadership makes little sense unless it is in relation to who the leaders are, how they are leading, what is being led, and with what effect. Based on the premise that learning is at the heart of leadership and that leaders themselves should be learners, the Leadership for Learning series explores the connections between educational leadership, policy, curriculum, human resources and accountability. Each book in the series approaches its subject matter through a three-fold structure of process, themes and impact.

Series Editors - Clive Dimmock, Mark Brundrett and Les Bell

The notion that school transformation is dependent on exceptional leaders is increasingly seen as unrealistic and unsustainable. Instead, the idea of distributed leadership, which promotes the view that all stakeholders have complementary leadership roles to play in enhancing student learning, is now being promoted as a more useful framework for understanding schools and how they might be changed.

Subscribing to the notion of distributed leadership, O’Donoghue and Clarke identify two key groups: the ‘leaders of learning’ and the ‘leaders for learning’. The leaders of learning – and the focus of this book – are those working at the school level to improve the quality of learning in the classroom, such as teachers, principals, pupils and involved members of the local school community. The leaders for learning are the policy-makers and administrators whose support is crucial. The authors argue that in order to be effective leaders, both groups require an understanding of:

• Broad trends in contemporary leadership theory
• Recent views on learning theory
• The importance of teachers engaging continually in learning about their practice
• The significance of creating and sustaining schools as learning organisations
• Forging links between leadership and learning

The book’s examination of the shifting approaches to leading learning in contemporary schools is enriched by innovative examples drawn from a range of international contexts.

Leading Learning will appeal to students involved in masters and doctoral courses relevant to the field and those undertaking programmes of school leadership preparation and development. It will also be of interest to academics working in the field of educational leadership and management.

Tom O'Donoghue is Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education, The University of Western Australia.

Simon Clarke is Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Education, The University of Western Australia.