Leadership Learning: Blended Power

Abstract

Over the last decade, much attention in the leadership literature has been focused on isolating and explaining leadership processes which show strong connections with student learning and achievement. This is the point of departure for the development of the argument presented in this chapter. It is about the kind of leadership development which enables those in leadership positions to engage with important curriculum issues in shared leadership roles with their teachers. First, an examination is made of several examples from the literature where generic leadership processes are emphasised. This is followed by a brief discussion of recent theoretical writing on leadership learning and development as a prelude to a description of the kind of blended leadership learning intrinsic to three research projects, namely the Australian Principals as Literacy Leaders (PALL) Pilot project conducted in low SES (socioeconomic status) school communities; its extension in South Australia in the Secondary Principals as Literacy Leaders (SPALL) project; and similar work in the Principals as Literacy Leaders with Indigenous Communities (PALLIC) project in remote Indigenous community schools and regional schools with significant proportions of Indigenous students. The overall outcome of this work calls for the blending of generic leadership processes with specific curriculum content issues during professional development programs aimed at those in leadership roles. The claim is that doing so results in stronger connections between those in positional leadership roles and their teachers, enabling the shared leadership of learning to thrive.