Towards a Better Future

Chapter Six: Educational Leadership and Governance
Reports of pilot projects and implementation initiatives published during the past
twenty years in Ireland commonly conclude that change happens most effectively
when it is supported by those in positions of leadership, such as school principals,
and when leadership is evident at every level of the project or initiative
(NCCA 2009, p.14)
Bodies like IPPN and NAPD have kept abreast of developments in the research literature on
educational leadership. Their regular publications over the last few decades have acted as valuable
communication channels to disseminate such developments among their own members,and to
promote informed professional debate on educational leadership issues. This is also true of the
conferences, seminars and other professional development events organised by both bodies. Such
events occurred in a more small-scale way, also a more fragmented way, before the setting up of
IPPN and NAPD during the nineties. They are now, however, an established part of the annual
educational calendar and an important support to school principals and deputy principals nationwide.
THE ‘EDUCATIONAL’ IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Most of the research literature on educational leadership stresses the importance of things like
mission, vision and moral purpose. Nevertheless, the literature is less articulate on what constitutes
an educational vision, or what is to count as moral purpose in educational leadership, as distinct from
vision more generally, or leadership more generally, or even moral purpose more generally. For
instance, as a business leader, I could believe strongly in moral purpose, seeking ethically acceptable
ways to build a collaborative vision in the company around agreed goals. But these goals themselves
might chiefly be ones like maximising returns to shareholders (as distinct from stakeholders more
widely), or increasing the company’s market share: goals that in turn secure better bonuses for those
who sign up to sharing the vision. Variants of this familiar picture from the business world have been
increasingly common in education internationally. This is especially so where school leaders are
keenly aware of the consequences of any underachievement, as measured by the performance
management systems which policy reforms may have mandated for their schools.
Therefore, some basic clarity is necessary on what constitutes the ‘educational’ in educational
leadership, and on what kinds of moral purpose would be appropriate here. Most of the literature
on educational leadership is not sufficiently clear on these points, including the work of central
figures like Fullan, 2003, Hargreaves & Fink, 2004, and Hopkins, 2008. Despite insightful critiques
of policy reforms and explorations of more constructive reform pathways, the research literature
tends to associate high quality in educational leadership with conceptions of performance and
underperformance that remain unexamined. Performance is all too often described merely in terms
of test scores and examination results. There are some notable exceptions to this pattern, including
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