Middle Leading Practices of Facilitation, Mentoring, and Coaching for Teacher Development: A Focus on Intent and Relationality

Auteurs-es

  • Christine Edwards-Groves Griffith University
  • Catherine Attard Western Sydney University
  • Peter Grootenboer Griffith University
  • Sharon Tindall-Ford University of Wollongong

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.22230/ijepl.2023v19n1a1327

Résumé

While educational institutions are increasingly acknowledging the importance of middle leaders for improving teaching, there is little research on middle leaders’ specific leading practices compared with, for example, principals. Evidence delineating and describing specific middle leading practice is scant. Drawing on practice theory, this article presents preliminary results from the first phase of a four-year Australian project examining the “flow of influence” of middle leading practices on teacher development. Thematic analysis of interviews reveals the multidimensionality of middle leading, and specifically, ways in which the practices of facilitating, mentoring, and coaching are nuanced and distinctive in their arrangement, intent, and relationality. Results have important implications that cannot be ignored by school leaders and policymakers seeking to improve broader systemic support for building and refining middle leading practices.

Résumé
Bien que les établissements d’enseignement reconnaissent de plus en plus l’importance des cadres intermédiaires pour l’amélioration de l’enseignement, il existe peu de recherches sur le leadership de ces cadres relatives, par exemple, à celui des directeurs d’école. Les descriptions et analyses des pratiques spécifiques aux cadres intermédiaires sont rares. Cet article s’inspire de la théorie d’entraînement pour présenter les résultats préliminaires de la première étape d’un projet australien s’échelonnant sur quatre ans qui examine les « flux d’influence » des cadres intermédiaires sur le développement de l’enseignement. Une analyse thématique d’entretiens révèle le caractère multidimensionnel de la direction intermédiaire et, plus particulièrement, les manières dont la facilitation, le mentorat et l’accompagnement, en ce qui a trait à leur structure, leurs intentions et leur relationnalité, sont nuancés et distincts. Les résultats de cette recherche ont des implications importantes que ne peuvent pas ignorer les dirigeants et responsables des écoles qui cherchent à offrir un meilleur appui systémique pour améliorer et peaufiner les pratiques propres aux cadres intermédiaires.

Keywords / Mots clés : coaching, facilitating, mentoring, middle leadership, practice architectures / accompagnement professionnel, facilitation, mentorat, cadres intermédiaires, architectures des activités

Bibliographies de l'auteur-e

Catherine Attard, Western Sydney University

Catherine Attard is a Professor Mathematics at Western Sydney University Australia. She has a long history of working with teachers and school leaders to build teaching and leadership capacity and improve student outcomes. She is a qualitative researcher whose work spans from teacher professional development and student engagement.

Peter Grootenboer, Griffith University

Peter Grootenboer is a Professor in Education in the School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University, Australia. Peter’s research has focused on professional practice, ‘middle’ leadership, action research and professional learning and change. Peter has published two books on leadership, including Middle Leadership in Schools: A Practical Guide for Leading Learning, which he co-authored with Christine Edwards-Groves and Karin Ronnerman. Currently he is the Lead Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project on educational middle leadership. Peter is an experienced school teacher, leader, researcher and academic.

Sharon Tindall-Ford, University of Wollongong

Sharon Tindall- Ford is an Associate Professor in Education at University of Wollongong, Australia. Her research has focused on producing quality outputs that practically inform classroom teaching, teacher professional learning and school leadership. Using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, her work specifically concentrates on the inter-related areas of teacher policy and teacher learning and leading.

 

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Publié-e

2023-07-24

Comment citer

Edwards-Groves, C., Attard, C., Grootenboer, P., & Tindall-Ford, S. (2023). Middle Leading Practices of Facilitation, Mentoring, and Coaching for Teacher Development: A Focus on Intent and Relationality. International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, 19(1), 19 pp. https://doi.org/10.22230/ijepl.2023v19n1a1327

Numéro

Rubrique

Policy