Towards coherence
Mapping and rethinking post-primary school leadership networks in Ireland
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22416850 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rachel O’Connor (0000-0002-5108-5556, University of Limerick, corresponding author), Niamh Hickey (0000-0003-0276-375X, University of Limerick), Patricia Mcnamara (0000-0002-3011-0177, University of Limerick) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-29 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Management in Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0892-0206 • E-ISSN: 1741-9883 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/08920206261463185 |
| OpenAlex | W7166504368 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 26 |
This article examines the complex landscape of post-primary school leadership networks in Ireland at a time of increasing policy attention to leadership sustainability and system reform. Despite the prominence of networks for post-primary principals and deputy principals in Ireland, conceptual ambiguity persists regarding their purpose, function and impact. Offering social capital as a useful perspective for interpreting the relational dynamics within these networks and using a documentary meta-mapping approach, the article identifies the range of formal leadership networks available to principals and deputy principals. This ‘meta-landscape’ of networks is shown to offer opportunities for collaboration and professional support, while also potentially contributing to fragmentation, and a need for discernment on the part of school leaders. The article highlights both the potential benefits and the ‘dark side’ of networks, including the risk of reinforcing existing hierarchies. It concludes by identifying implications for research, policy and practice, particularly the need to better understand how leaders navigate network engagement and to assess the impact of networks on leadership practice and capacity.
Ambiguity · Collaborative leadership · Conceptual framework · Discernment · Educational leadership · Shared leadership · Social capital · Educational Assessment and Improvement · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
Concept Mapping for Planning and Evaluation
Taking a distributed perspective on leading professional learning networks
The Interplay Between Exploration and Exploitation
Leadership in the Shaping and Implementation of Collaboration Agendas
Theorizing collaboration practice
Bowling alone
School principals’ networking preferences for instructional and administrative advice-seeking relations
Working with complexity
The dark side of networks
Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method
What characterises well‐connected schools? Exploring centrality in inter‐organisational school networks
Aera Distinguished Lecture
Creating Collaborative Advantage
The Impact of Social Structure on Economic Outcomes
| Highly cited | No |
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