No Cover Image

Journal article 46 views

Headteacher Recruitment, Retention and Professional Development in Wales: Challenges and Opportunities

Andrew James Davies Orcid Logo, Emmajane Milton, Mark Connolly, Rhian Barrance

Cylchgrawn Addysg Cymru / Wales Journal of Education, Volume: 20, Issue: 2, Pages: 204 - 224

Swansea University Author: Andrew James Davies Orcid Logo

Check full text

DOI (Published version): 10.16922/wje.20.2.11

Abstract

This article explores issues of headteacher recruitment, retention and professional development in Wales, within the context of the wider educational policy reforms which, since 2011, have introduced greater external accountability into schools. The paper argues that these reforms have resulted in c...

Full description

Published in: Cylchgrawn Addysg Cymru / Wales Journal of Education
ISSN: 2059-3708
Published: University of Wales Press/Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru 2018
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66330
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Abstract: This article explores issues of headteacher recruitment, retention and professional development in Wales, within the context of the wider educational policy reforms which, since 2011, have introduced greater external accountability into schools. The paper argues that these reforms have resulted in changes to headteachers' professional roles and identities and that some aspects have militated against headteachers' cultivation and exercising of their 'professional capital' (Hargreaves and Fullan, 2012). The data is derived from thirty semi-structured interviews conducted with headteachers, deputy and assistant heads throughout Wales. Participants' accounts articulate concerns that greater accountability within the Welsh system is acting as a disincentive to headteacher recruitment, and that head-teachers often lack independent sources of support, advice and mentoring, which they can access without the burden of additional scrutiny and accountability. The article concludes by offering a series of observations and recommendations to inform recent renewed efforts to create a new support infrastructure and framework for the development of educational leadership in Wales.
Keywords: Wales; headteacher recruitment; professional capital; headteacher professional development
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Issue: 2
Start Page: 204
End Page: 224