Thesis
Learning to lead : the leadership learning of secondary school middle leaders in Scotland
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2026
- Thesis identifier
- T17609
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 201563383
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- There is increasing recognition of the crucial role that middle leaders play in delivering improvements to learning and teaching. However, for many, middle leadership is their first experience of leadership, and opportunities for leadership preparation may be limited. Scholarly interest in leadership preparation, and programmes for developing leadership capacities have traditionally focussed upon those preparing for headship rather than middle leadership. This study seeks to explore the experiences and perspectives of middle leaders regarding their leadership development, with a view to identifying approaches that are effective for preparing and developing the leadership capacities of middle leaders in Scotland’s secondary schools. Drawing from a sample of Scottish secondary school middle leaders with varied levels of leadership experience, this study explores their unique perspectives and experiences of leadership learning to identify strategies and approaches that are available and helpful within Scotland. Qualitative data were gathered through online semi-structured interviews which were analysed using a process of thematic analysis. Findings reveal the existence of distinct stages of middle leadership development each of which have differing leadership learning needs. This supports finding of previous studies which argue the need for an individualised approach to middle leadership development. The study identifies a range of leadership development opportunities within the Scottish context which are identified as helpful and also finds that the quality of these opportunities and access to them depends upon context. Further work is recommended to ensure consistency of access to quality middle leader development across various settings, and to enhance understandings of the developmental benefits of national approaches such as Professional Review and Development and coaching to ensure that their potential is fully realised in practice. It is hoped that the findings of this study will add to the relatively limited body of literature regarding the leadership development needs of school middle- level leaders, will help address a paucity of empirical research into middle leadership within the Scottish context, and will be used to inform the practice of learning providers and thus enhance opportunities for middle leadership learning.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Moore, Iain
- Rivers, Ian
- Resource Type
- DOI
- Date Created
- 2025
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PDF of Thesis T17609 | 2026-02-26 | Public | Download |