This thesis outlines issues and theoretical outcomes from two case studies conducted in similar yet contrasting highly disadvantaged communities in the north of England, UK, comprising a secondary school and its feeder primaries in each community. The methodological approach was essentially interpretive/phenomenological, aiming to make a contribution to knowledge through the use of qualitative methods. The research outcomes encompass both dilemmas and extremely problematic practical issues concerning leadership and practice in these schools/communities, particularly: The nature of leadership required; The fragility of leadership; The need for idealism and pragmatism; The difficulties associated with adopting child-centred approaches; The difficulty yet leadership necessity of working with parents and thesurrounding community; Raising horizons and expectations; The political leadership task involved in work with other agencies locally; and Raising and maintaining a school's reputation. The thesis also reports noteworthy differences between the approaches to the education process in these two similarly deprived communities, and then outlines examples of perceived effective practice in context, with potential wider application to other similar contexts. Finally, aspects of a Subversive School Leadership approach are explored. This way of working involves boundary crossing, building networks and operating in a complex micro-political environment. These networks, it is argued, need to operate for the benefit of local people, especially children attending school, with child-centred values being essential to providing a positive response to their needs. School leaders are viewed as most effective where they feel able to subvert external policy imperatives to meet the needs of local children in a way that meets colleagues' collective values. Contribution to knowledge is claimed for the "reality check interviews" employed in the research and the Subversive School Leadership concept.

Moving toward decentralisation in education and giving schools more autonomy has become a global phenomenon (Fiske, 1996; Walker, 2002), as 80% of the world’s countries have experienced a decentralised education system in one form or another (Channa and Faguet, 2012). Moving towards educational decentralisation in Saudi Arabia is a current issue and it is an objective of the MOE's plan to improve the administration system. The administration of the Saudi Arabian education system is currently highly centralised (Alahmady; 2008; Oyaid, 2009; and Althmaly, 2013). The MOE implemented a new management policy in 2010/11, in order to increase the authority of school headteachers and school councils. This policy consisted of a set of guidance statements designed to offer schools more scope to decentralise and greater control of the range of their activities. The aims of this thesis are to investigate participants’ understanding of decentralisation and the benefits and challenges of implementing the new policy, to examine school autonomy in the light of international literature on School-¬Based Management (SBM), the level of parental and student involvement in school decision making and CPD. This thesis utilizes the case study as a research design, and gathers both qualitative and quantitative data by using multiple data collection techniques such as: interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, document analysis, unstructured observations, and photographs/images. Six participant groups are involved: headteachers, supervisors, deputies, teachers, parents and students. The findings of this thesis are as follows: the new management policy is considered to be a positive step towards decentralisation, however there have been no significant changes in practice and in Tatweer and public schools, a highly centralised system still exists where there is a lack of power in terms of knowledge, information, admissions, ability to hire\fire teachers and staff, school start time, student assessment, securing resources, and finance. In contrast, positive steps have been taken in both types of school to increase the use of technology and the methods of student assessment. Private schools showed more autonomy by working more independently from the MOE and DOE in terms of; use of technology, supplying resources, managing school time, controlling school finances and raising funding from parents, hiring/firing teachers and staff, and admission processes. However, private schools lack power in terms of knowledge and information. There is a lack of democracy in electing members of school council. Parents and students have limited opportunities to make their voices heard in school decision making in both types of school (Tatweer and Public). Private schools have established specific councils for parents and students, which have election procedures. There is a lack of suitable training (both general and policy related) for headteachers and school staff in both public and Tatweer schools. Private schools arrange their own CPD programmes and staff claim to receive high levels of training.

The ascent of ‘school-improvement’ discourses in recent educational development initiatives has often centred on the installations of senior teachers from other schools into those that are seen as ‘failing’. Specifically, the notion of ‘superhead’ has been introduced in recent years as a strategy for improving ‘failing’ schools, where such individuals are given a brief of ‘raising standards’. Education' texts have abundant literature on alternative conceptions of leadership and on the role of leadership in effecting change. Little exists, however, on the impact of external leaders or ‘superheads’ transforming schools in challenging circumstances. Less still has been written on how individuals assume such roles and how they understand the process of transformation. This study takes an insider-outsider perspective on the practical challenge entailed in transforming school performance. From working as a teacher and consultant in two of the three inner city case study schools in Northern England, I draw upon data generated by using a mixed methods approach across these schools, all emerging from challenging circumstances. I examine how leadership impacts upon middle leaders and pupils through the narratives of mainstream ideology. The voices of the adults and children in these data serve as a reminder of the human impact resulting from external and internal interventions in schools. Social theory is mobilised in support of this task by drawing upon the writings of Foucault to problematise taken-for-granted practices in education. Foucault’s tools provide a mechanism for inspecting the narrative, through which I align history, power and discipline to education. Thus, I argue that a ‘superhead’ being transported in to transform a school is too simplistic a notion and one that undermines the complexities visible within these data gathered in this study.

This thesis draws on ethnographic research in a new secondary academy school in the north of England. Built under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, the school and particularly its design featuring innovative, flexible learning spaces were intended to transform education. This project sought to understand broadly how definitions of innovative education were proposed architecturally and organisationally in the school and, more specifically, on what or who flexibility depended with a particular focus on teachers’ work. Drawing on realist philosophy and architectural and spatial theory to underpin the empirical work, the research took place over two years using participant observation, interviews and questionnaires to explore teachers’ perspectives towards and uses of the school’s learning spaces. These included a mix of semi-open classrooms and larger, more open, flexible learning spaces. Flexible learning spaces are often proposed as spatial designs supporting (or even leading inevitably to) 21st century education. The thesis shows how teachers’ efforts to use the spaces flexibly for teaching were made difficult by noise levels, limited time resources, highly structured team-teaching and the wider educational culture including high stakes assessment demands. Rather than notional flexibility of the spaces, what mattered for these teachers was their ability to use the spaces in ways that they wanted. The thesis argues that the flexibility of ‘flexible learning spaces’ is both a rhetorical move and an ontological claim that is untenable – an example of spatial fetishism – and as such it can have ethical and political effects. Approaching a space as inherently flexible obscures other constraints (e.g. assessment demands and time) and how the characteristics of particular users affect whether and how a space can be flexibly used. If what matters is the use of spaces in flexible ways, then that ‘use’ should be recognised as the work it is, rather than seeing flexibility as a spatial property. The thesis also relates the promotion of flexibility within the BSF programme to changing modes of educational governance and a devaluing and dispersal of educational purpose. It proposes an alternative understanding of flexibility, based on Amartya Sen’s capability approach and Herman Hertzberger’s architectural theory, that shifts attention towards enabling teachers to achieve purposes they value.

This narrative inquiry investigates how ten people in management positions in a Singapore institution of higher learning (IHL) learn and how they develop their professional identities. Learning is defined as sense or meaning making (Bruner, 1990; Greenfield, 2004; Mezirow, 2000; Simkins, 2005; Weick, 1995) and development of professional identity is defined as how these ten people in management construct meaning in narratives of their life and professional experiences (Connelly and Clandinin, 1999; Olesen, 2001 ).The uncertainties and complexities of a rapidly changing external environment make sense and meaning making vital in leadership and management in education. Research questions relate to how meaning is constructed of significant learning experiences over time; the internal mental structures or frames of reference used to construct meaning; and the internal dialectics involved in meaning construction. Narrative constructions of significant learning experiences over time obtained in in-depth interviews of ten people in management positions in the research site were analysed using a synthesis of narrative analysis approaches relevant to the research questions. Narrative analysis of the narrative constructions showed the construction of a distinct self by each interviewee and the development of agency over time. Frames of reference used in meaning construction comprised inter-related dimensions of cognition, affect and conation and were found to be adaptable in different contexts. The internal dialectics of meaning construction involved an "outside-in" process of internalisation of knowledge and an "inside-out” process of self construction. Research findings also showed the inter relationships of the development of consciousness and self-responsibility in agency development in narrative constructions; how self-construction is involved in meaning construction, the use and adaptation of frames of reference in different contexts, and the internal dialectics of meaning making. Implications of the research findings for practice include the need to use narratives and create contexts for learning from experience to focus student learning, staff professional development and management development in higher education on the development of consciousness and self-responsibility; and self-construction in agency development, the use and adaptation of frames of reference and internal dialectics of meaning making.

The focus of this study was the roles of subject leaders in enhancing the implementation of the Lebanese New Curriculum, the implementation that started before the public schools were equipped to reflect its spirit and without the proper recognition of subject leadership as a role model. The study identifies and assesses problems of public schools, and attempts to present a conceptual framework for a possible solution where subject leaders become more involved in the implementation process and better solution providers. The research was conducted by utilizing a blend of research tools (FGI, individual interviews, observations, diary analysis, and a survey questionnaire). The focus group interview was the main research tool used to collect the data, while the others were used mainly for triangulation purposes. The whole sample was three principals, 82 teachers (29 from outside the researcher's school and 23 from her school), 13 SLs (5 vs. 8), 377 parents (17 vs. 365 -350 of whom receiv ed the survey questionnaire), and 34 students (25 in Grade 9, and 9 in Grade 12) selected from 13 schools. The initial findings were presented thus outlining general information about how subject leadership has been perceived and how subject leaders were expected to behave for a better implementation of the Lebanese national Curriculum. In Lebanese public schools ,the sustained conditions of assigning and allocating SLs to schools, and lack of proper training made the existing SLs perform their tasks in a traditional manner. To be good catalysts for proper implementation of the LNC, SLs claimed that a full-time job and the authority to impose sanctions were two major factors for their empowerment. Empowerment, to them, was essential and should come from (an) external agent(s) (the ministry, the inspectorate or the GCD) or else, it would be difficult to implement change. In general, all the participants (teachers, students and parents) selected from the public schools proved to lack a complete notion about what subject leadership entails. They perceived the existing role model for subject leadership as an outdated model that would not fit in the period of implementing change, and consequently were dissatisfied with the situation unless SLs performed some additional tasks. Whereas, the sample selected from the PCSS proved to have a clearer notion about subject leadership the thing that can be referred to their own var\ing experiences with SLs. Consequently, their demands were related to how private schools can raise their achievement standards. The importance of promoting the role of subject leaders was clear if all the participants? demands were to be satisfied for the sake of meeting the needs of all students enrolled in public schools. The specific responsibilities of the role were described, the implications of the research were summarized and reflected upon, and recommendations for policy and practice were stated.

The impact of successive government reforms in education over the last twenty years has had its greatest impact on headteachers. The increase in responsibilities imposed on headteachers had led to the inextricable linking of effective schools with effective leadership. School improvement and school effectiveness research has identified the significance of the role played by headteachers in developing the school and raising standards of achievement. Preparation for school leadership and management has become one of the major issues of the last decade. The emergence of the Teacher Training Agency in 1993 enabled the government to establish a number of training programmes for potential and experienced headteachers. The National Professional Qualification (NPQH) provides training and development for aspiring school leaders. The qualification is based on nationally agreed standards for headteachers and in due course will be mandatory to all seeking headship appointments. This thesis tracks the significant milestones in headteacher training and development within England and Wales alongside comparative developments in Singapore and the United States. Through the use of a survey instrument and semi-structured interviews, NPQH candidates and their respective headteachers revealed their experiences of the programme, its impact on the candidates, colleagues and headteacher, and its impact on the school. Because of the difficulty in obtaining permission to survey candidates, the sample was restricted to the first cohort of candidates from Cambridgeshire LEA. The thesis concludes with a consideration of some of the approaches used in other countries, the role of the headteacher of a candidates' school and whether preparation for this highest position in school leadership can solely be through assessing a candidates' competence in specific aspects of school management.

School-Based Management (SBM) schools enjoy flexibility in resource utilisation and their success largely depends on their context's directives and characteristics. In 1995, Israel's Education Ministry transferred nine Jewish schools to SBM. Three years later, the ministry instructed the five Bedouin schools in Rahat to become SBM. The Bedouins are the first Israeli minority to adopt SBM in their schools. This research study will describe, study and assess the extent of SBM's implementation in the five Rahat schools, discussing the unique context, which studies on this subject have so far excluded. The context is unique because it is complex: the political relationship between majority (Jews) and minority (Arabs), the confrontation between a traditional, conservative society (Bedouin) and a modern, continually changing one (Israeli), and the Arab school system's total separation from the Jewish one. The study's target population consisted of the five coeducational primary schools' 179 teachers and five principals. Two approaches were used to analyse the findings: positivist-quantitative and phenomenological-qualitative, and two different tools to assess SBM in the five schools. The first tool, a questionnaire, was sent to the teachers and principals, who graded the answers 1 to 5, while the second was a semi-structured interview with the five principals and with randomly selected 20 teachers (four from each school). The results of SBM's pilot application in Israel's Bedouin community were opposite to what the Ministry of Education anticipated. The main factors that prevented the five schools from implementing SBM and increased centralisation included extensive intervention in school affairs by the Education Ministry and the local tribe, especially its leader (Sheikh), and Bedouin society's conservatism. Instead of implementing SBM, Bedouin schools should improve teacher training, upgrade the physical infrastructure, neutralise tribal influence, and use innovative teaching methods.

The Education Reform Act (ERA) 1988, introduced major reforms to the education service. Since then education has remained an important national issue, in a climate that focuses on an ongoing drive to raise educational standards. Thus, this study has directed its attention to an examination of the contributions inspection has made to school improvement and the development and effectiveness of leadership/management practices in a sample of London schools. The research employed a methodology involving elements of documentary analysis, a questionnaire survey and three case study schools. This was against the background of a wide-ranging literature review, covering: theories in leadership developments in educational management and school improvement and the OFSTED inspection system. The findings from the study indicate that schools were better at developing school policies, but less successful in implementing them. Headteachers were less proactive in building and expanding leadership amongst colleagues. Headteachers perceived themselves to be mainly leaders and less as managers, and will vary their leadership style to reflect the prevailing situation. The study also demonstrates that the OFSTED inspection system functions well in describing headteachers' behaviour, but appears inadequate in shaping headteachers' approach and leadership style. In addition, the findings show that the schools judged to have had effective overall leadership was the outcome of good leadership development strategies by headteachers. Allied to this is the observation that the low performing schools that were now improving were doing so as a result of the impact of positive and purposeful leadership. The study also confirms that while inspection appears to be a catalyst for educational change and reform, school improvement was ultimately the product of direct leadership initiatives. Finally, the study proposes that while headteachers should consider themselves firstly and essentially leaders, nevertheless, they should recognise the importance of ensuring and developing effective management practices in their schools. Furthermore, the thesis suggests that headteachers should be trained by OFSTED to conduct and develop systematic school reviews and self-evaluation programmes. Schools would also be required to submit annual self-evaluation returns to OFSTED to be part of the data base on which the chief inspector's annual report is derived. This would allow OFSTED more quality time to assist weak schools in building sustainable strategies for school improvement.

Since 1988, there has been a dedicated programme for the retraining of retired officers in Israel, to prepare them for teaching and principalship in schools. This study is a research of innovation. For the first time, it examines retired officer principals' characteristics of absorption and management according to their views and the perceptions of role-holders and teachers. Integration is explored particularly via two main aspects, organisational advantage and people orientation. The principals' training does not help them in their integration because it lacks useful tools for the principal's role. Teachers' resistance in accepting them quickly decreases and they are evaluated according to their human personality and competence. Principals frequently manage their teachers in a friendly way which is far away from the image of retired officer being totalitarian with tough discipline. They introduce a norm of investing extra hours only in a moderate way, but with a lot of consideration for teachers' needs. Principals' managerial characteristics include modern leadership's components (educational, transformational, facilitative, visionary and distributed). Their main advantage is focused on the organisational aspect of principals' role, transferred from their military experience. Nevertheless, they are moderate in the pedagogical aspect and focus on pedagogical results without checking pedagogical processes. This is linked to lack of pedagogical experience. However, they bypass it partially owing to their attentiveness to teachers and external instructors' professional advice. The remarkable values transfer or probably transfer are: education for responsibility, fostering unit's pride, belief in students' ability, honesty and considering their role as a national mission. In the interrelationships with their teachers they transferred the following aspects: 'people orientation', mutual trust, knowing people, moderate tendency to task orientation and nurturing collaboration. Principals' success in creating motivation and influence is based mainly on their special relationships with their teachers. They manage teachers by an emotional influence and lead them in a collegial and collaborative style with a lot of sensitivity to their needs. Principals deal with discipline by being available and talking extensively with students.