Research needed on school leadership

The need to recruit and retain good leaders for schools is one of the key priorities for people involved in Catholic education, a conference at Heythrop College has heard, writes Lorna Donlon.

People are thinking about school leadership at a primary and secondary level and it is a case of backing that up with research to develop middle-management teachers and help them progress to senior positions, according to Dr Sean Whittle, one of the conference organisers. “Lots of ambitious people want to become leaders but others feel it will swamp their lives. There are times when we can expect too much of our school leaders,” he said.

The two-day event discussed new thinking around Catholic education and schools and saw the launch of a UK network for people involved in research in the area. The network, which includes academics from Heythrop, Liverpool Hope University, St Mary’s University, Twickenham, and the University of Glasgow, aims to bridge the gap between research, policy and practice.

Catholic researchers should be prepared to have a greater and more critical engagement with the wider education community in the UK, said Professor Stephen McKinney from the University of Glasgow.

“The research on Catholic schools needs to have a wider position in that debate,” he added. Professor McKinney also called for a new confidence about the research that is being done by Catholic educationalists, highlighting their work in areas such as poverty and inclusion.