The promotion of distributed leadership in education at national level

Discursive change to maintain the old order – Lessons from Ireland

Bibliographic Data

ID7152304
AuthorsJohn O’sullivan (0000-0002-0710-0851, corresponding author), Gerry Mac Ruairc (0000-0002-7772-466X)
Year2025
Volume53
Issue4
Pages807-828
Publication date2025-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducational Management Administration & Leadership (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1741-1432 • E-ISSN: 1741-1440
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/17411432231206617
OpenAlexW4387435321
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited62

There is increasing evidence of the influence of neoliberal and New Public Management (NPM) agendas in education systems around the world. Research shows the associated restricted drive for efficiency and effectiveness has induced negative effects on students, teachers and school leaders. Distributed leadership features prominently in policy frameworks in such countries. Despite this, research shows it manifests in limited forms of delegation. Taking Ireland as an example, this study extends this via interrogation of discourses of educational leadership advanced by the Department of Education there. This allows for an understanding of not just what is occurring but illuminates why, thereby opening up opportunities for alternative practices. Specifically, having explicated the contested term ‘distributed leadership’, this research reports on a thematic and discourse analysis of the Department's Whole School Evaluation (WSE) reports on a sample of 12 post-primary schools. Key findings reveal the Department's espoused ‘enhanced’ model of ‘distributed leadership’ belies its advancement of delegated leadership and ‘discursive twists’ that enable ‘unleaderful’ activities of teachers and routine educational experiences of students to masquerade as leadership. Leadership implications for the Department that would enable, rather than constrain, enhanced educational leadership practice in schools are highlighted

Delegation · Distributed leadership · Educational leadership · Instructional leadership · Interrogation · Leadership studies · Leadership style · Pedagogy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Qualitative research · Shared leadership · Social science · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Educational Assessment and Improvement · Parental Involvement in Education · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

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Open DOIOpen Access