What constitutes key professional knowledge for the cultural leadership of elementary schools? Considering career headteachers’ organizational knowledge

Abstract

The value of experienced headteachers’ acquired knowledge has been highlighted by both practitioners and within the academic literature. Very few empirical studies, however, address headteachers’ professional knowledge concerning their schools as organizations. This article engages with this research gap by examining school leaders’ declarative and informal knowledge of primary school organizations, and how these might assist in efforts to improve aspects of professional culture in education. The article draws from a wider mixed methods project, in partnership with a local council and network of schools in England, drawing on qualitative data from interviews with 10 career headteachers selected for their record of school turnaround, mentoring responsibilities with other headteachers, or exemplary record of forming professional cultures. The article analyses how these headteachers articulated their conceptions of the primary school environment and communicated an understanding of their role in forming effective organizations. The article discusses how headteachers’ organizational knowledge might best be considered. It presents a framework of five thematic categories through which to conceptualize this knowledge in terms of orientation toward organizational structures and professional relationships.