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Introduction--Leadership inUrban and Challenging Contexts:Perspectives from the NationalCollege for School LeadershipKaren Carter & David JacksonPublished online: 25 Aug 2010.

To cite this article: Karen Carter & David Jackson (2002) Introduction--Leadership inUrban and Challenging Contexts: Perspectives from the National College for SchoolLeadership, School Leadership & Management: Formerly School Organisation, 22:1, 7-13,DOI: 10.1080/13632430220143015

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School Leadership & Management,Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 7–13, 2002

Introduction—Leadership inUrban and Challenging Contexts:perspectives from the NationalCollege for School LeadershipKaren CARTER & David JACKSONResearch and School Improvement Group, The National College for School Leadership,University of Nottingham, Jubilee Campus, Wollaton Road, Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK

This Special Feature takes as its major theme the study of leadership and manage-ment in schools in urban and challenging contexts. The collection of three articleswhich follows has emerged from work undertaken by the National College forSchool Leadership (NCSL).

Leadership, though conceptually elusive is, quite rightly, in fashion. Managedchange, structures, hierarchies and accountabilities still have their place, but the newlanguage is also about, capacity, creativity, teams, organisational redesign, collabora-tion, � exibility, networks and transformation—and these are in the domain ofleadership. First and foremost, then, the College (NCSL) is about educationalleadership for school leaders and is committed to generating an applied researchagenda that will arise from and support the practice of leadership in schools [1].

The National College for School Leadership … has been created to sup-port and develop England’s 25 000 headteachers, as well as the thousandsof teachers and others with leadership roles and aspirations in our schools.NCSL will work with them to share and shape best practice, contributingdrive, vision and practical leadership experience to the running of theirschools. (NCSL 2001a: 1)

The articles which make up this Special Feature focus on work undertaken as partof the NCSL research and development programme ‘Successful Leadership inUrban and Challenging Contexts’ (SLUCC). This programme is one of � ve areasof research and development activity upon which the work of the College’s Researchand School Improvement Group (RSIG) is currently centred. The other fourprogrammes are: ‘Building Capacity for School Development’; ‘New Visions forEarly Headship’; ‘Networked Learning Communities’; and ‘Learning from BestPractice Worldwide’. NCSL exists to make a difference through the development ofleadership—and that difference is about school improvement, strengthening anddeepening leadership, building professional learning communities and improving life

ISSN 1363-2434 print; 1364-2626 online/02/010007-07 Ó 2002 Taylor & Francis LtdDOI: 10.1080/13632430220143015

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8 K. Carter & D. Jackson

chances for children. Drawing knowledge from the best of what is known, generatingpowerful designs, programmes and projects, studying implementation issues, andevaluating the bene� ts and gains of new activities—is what we have set out to do.Our work is, therefore, underpinned by a commitment, not only to knowledgecreation and sharing (the prime functions of research), but also to an actionorientation—to the application and utilisation of knowledge [2].

The National College has the potential to bring real bene� ts to schoolleaders and the wider profession. We are in a unique position to collectevidence to inform policy. We intend to make the College a respectedsource of advice to government and policy-makers on leadership issues. Wewill do this by developing our knowledge base and by engaging in dialoguewith the profession. (NCSL 2001b: 1)

Our work is, therefore, characterised by two core � elds of commitment. The � rst isto the involvement of the voice of school leaders, relevance for practice and acommitment to enquiry-based leadership. We start from the premise that what isknown about school leadership in action is out there, being lived out daily by theleaders in our schools. The second, is an orientation towards innovation, action andapplied research; to designing interventions, working with schools, studying whatworks well and why—in the belief that through sharing what is known and applyingbest ideas we can further advance both leadership and school improvement under-standings. In addition to the � ve programmes of activity outlined above, the work ofRSIG therefore, also embraces � ve ‘generic themes’ that in part, interlace theseresearch and development programmes, but which are also signi� cant � elds ofcommitment in their own right. They are as follows:

· Developing enquiry-based leadership· Linking research and the practice of leadership· Exploring new forms of leadership learning· Making strategic connections and network links· Designing planned interventions for transformational purposes

In their seminal work on leadership in urban contexts, Improving the Urban HighSchool (1992) Matthew Miles and Karen Seashore Louis include a section on vision,mission and themes, in which they suggest that the most successful practice wascharacterised by multiple strands of activity, which coalesced around a theme or setof themes through the process of enactment. As the strands interlinked, theygradually formed an image of what the school could become—an emergent andcollaborative vision. The strands were activities that helped to focus activity andcreate energy, often part-intuitively and inductively arrived at. The connections, asthey emerged, they liken to interwoven braids, linking and uniting people throughdoing—active and exploratory. They describe how ‘… a vision emerges as the strandsbecome more linked, successful and owned by those involved, at all levels. The braids, orthemes, are vehicles to coordinate disparate but connected strands of activity—and theyinevitably shift over time’ (adapted from, Louis & Miles 1992).

The concept which Louis and Miles’ describe, has something in common with

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Leadership in Urban and Challenging Contexts 9

the way in which our � ve research and development programmes have beendesigned. Each represents a � eld of activity and focus chosen for its potentialrelevance to schools and school leaders, its congruence with the national agenda, orits strategic importance to the College. Each has a number of strands, a multifacetedapproach designed to re� ect (and respect) the complexity of the themes chosen.Each has both activities covering a spectrum involving enquiry and research, and thestudy of action—the process knowledge to move beyond just what to do and towardsthe study of how to do—and leading the how to do! If successful, as they evolve, theresults will become complementary, creating connections and synergies, which willpush practice forward.

The individual areas of work on leadership in urban and challenging contextsreported upon in this Special Feature can therefore, be identi� ed as being locatedwithin NCSL’s programmed research and development activity and underpinned bythe generic commitments described above. As a consequence, the SLUCC pro-gramme has been constructed as a series of complementary research and interven-tion activities designed to add to available knowledge about what works (and whatis speci� c or generic) in leadership and school improvement for schools and contextsoffering the particular challenges posed by urban environments.

Schools in different sectors and with distinctive characters … have speci� cleadership needs; the College must be sensitive to the importance ofcontext … Our challenge is to promote a discourse which will enable us toknow more about how good leaders make good schools. ( NCSL 2001b:3)

Understanding the factors operating in successful schools in challenging circum-stances and transferring the lessons is more likely to encourage improvement than anapproach that involves unfair comparison. Intellectual capital when given away doesnot decrease, as does � nancial capital, it becomes shared knowledge. Sharedknowledge means mutual learning and gain. As Richard Greenhalgh (Chair ofUnilever UK and Chair of NCSL’s Governing Council) points out: ‘In an era whenschools appear to be in competition through the league tables, we need to remind ourselvesthat in many aspects of life, it makes more sense to cooperate and work together’(2001:39). The challenges facing schools in urban and challenging contexts meansthat we need to � nd practical ways of working together, learning from each other,sharing insight and understanding within and between schools.

The NCSL ‘Think Tank’ Report (Hopkins 2001) is clear that school leadershipmust embrace the distinctive and inclusive context of the school. It suggests thatthere is a paradox that currently confronts leadership in schools, that despite widevariations in setting, the educational challenges facing schools and their solutions areremarkably similar. Raising levels of achievement, enhancing the learning repertoiresof students and the creation of powerful learning experiences are educationalchallenges that are independent of social context. Yet schools are in one senseunique. ‘Although there are strategies and policies that work well in many differentsettings, the trick is to build the response from the inside out, not the outside in. It is asif the ingredients may be the same but that the recipe has to be made and mixed anewfor each school’ (p. 9). Context speci� city implies treating schools as individual

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10 K. Carter & D. Jackson

settings, but in the knowledge that there are increasingly sophisticated tools to assistus in developing every school. School leadership then, needs to be attuned to avariety of contextual dimensions, including catchment area [3].

A focus upon researching leadership in urban and challenging contexts waschosen as a key part of the College’s programme of activity because it is a nationalpriority area, because it is a � eld in which leadership is experienced at the cuttingedge of practice, because our orientation towards action and application of knowl-edge make it a morally appropriate � eld of study—and because learning from leadersin urban and challenging contexts will have universal application. The programmehas seven strands:

· Linking Learning, Behaviour and Leadership: a series of professionally re-searched case studies of 10 highly successful schools. The research studyfocuses on what forms of leadership within a school encourage behaviour thatfacilitates all student’s learning. Investigations of particular schools arebacked up by a ‘think tank’ of 10 school leaders.

· Effective Leadership in Schools Facing Challenging Circumstances (reported uponin the � rst article of this Special Feature): using the Department forEducation and Skills de� nition of schools ‘facing challenging circumstances’.The research explores which forms, models and approaches of leadership arein evidence in schools in challenging contexts, and what types of leadershipand improvement strategies are most effective.

· Successful Leadership in Urban and Challenging Contexts—Leading EdgeSeminars: these events bring together practitioner and academic perspectiveson successful leadership in challenging contexts. Issues explored to dateinclude: strategies for the improvement of schools in challenging contexts;transferability of practical knowledge; and the range of intelligences andunderstandings upon which leaders draw in determining how and when theychoose to act.

· NCSL Research Associateships: the Research Associates Programme supportsschool leaders in carrying out applied research and enquiry especially de-signed to impact on practice. A number of Research Associates are presentlyfocused on investigating areas within the SLUCC programme (includingTrish Franey’s study of leadership in an urban primary school, detailed in thesecond of the articles presented in this Special Feature). NCSL’s � rstInternational Research Associate, David Ansell, is also contributing a multi-national research perspective on this theme.

· Developing Leadership within the Excellence in Cities (EiC) Programme: thisprogramme is designed to help schools develop their leadership capacity inorder to be able to handle multiple changes and continue to improve. Morethan three quarters of EiC partnerships nationally have been involved in oneor more workshop events focused on this theme. The next stage of the projectwill include developing tailored leadership programmes for individual part-nerships addressing their identi� ed needs.

· ‘Investigating Leadership in Urban and Challenging Contexts—EAZ Strand Re-

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Leadership in Urban and Challenging Contexts 11

search (this study has been informed by the third of the articles presented inthis Special Feature): linked to the ‘Networked Learning Communities’programme, this evaluation study aims to identify innovative leadershipdevelopment practice and the features of networked learning in a number ofcase study EAZs. The project will focus upon the collaborative strategies forschool improvement and managing change utilised by EAZs; the leadershipdevelopment and leadership practices of Zone participants; and the Zones’partnerships and networking practices.

· Headship in Challenging Contexts: a programme working with a group ofheadteachers who are in their � rst or second headship of schools in challeng-ing contexts. This is an ongoing action research (intervention) project aimedat supporting the application of what we are learning from the outcomes ofour other project work in this area. NCSL is working with these heads to trialthe practical outcomes of these other research projects within their schools.

In a similar vein to other NCSL research and development programmes, theSLUCC programme includes a focus upon the investigation of the impact of recentpolicy initiatives on the way leaders operate and the new leadership styles andstructures that are emerging. The programme is also promoting and facilitatingnetworks of leaders, to enable them to share understandings about how they areimproving schools. Additionally, it focuses upon building close relationships withacademic research (and academic researchers) and seeks to make this research moreaccessible and better known amongst school leaders. Lastly, the programme aims tosupport school leaders in engaging in, and with research themselves, as a means ofboth studying their own practice and extending their thinking [4].

By focusing upon perspectives drawn from research (Harris), the analysis ofpractice (Franey) and the analysis of policy and its implementation (Carter), thecollection of three papers presented in this Special Feature is intended to re� ect therange of programme features outlined above. They focus, in particular, upon thetheme of leadership and management in urban and challenging contexts, but alsomake connections to other areas of the College’s programmed activity, includingwork around the themes of ‘Networked Learning Communities’ and ‘BuildingCapacity for School Development’.

The � rst article, by Alma Harris, reports upon the � ndings of research conduc-ted on behalf of the College, which investigated effective leadership in a group ofsecondary schools in challenging circumstances. The article highlights the keycharacteristics and features of the leadership approaches adopted within theseschools. In drawing upon empirical evidence of effective leadership practice, theanalysis points towards a model of leadership that is fundamentally concerned withbuilding positive relationships and empowering others to lead. The article suggeststhat a fundamental re-conceptualisation of leadership is required which equatesleadership with the many rather than the few, and recognises the fundamentalrelationship between teacher leadership and school improvement.

In the second article, Trish Franey follows through the theme of the � rst, bytaking a practitioner perspective on the challenges of leadership in an urban primary

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12 K. Carter & D. Jackson

school. In re� ecting upon the outcomes of a practitioner-focused inquiry, Franeyprovides a narrative account of the ‘lived experience’ of harnessing the collectiveenergies of the school’s staff towards a model of shared leadership for schoolimprovement. The story is told in three chapters, ‘Developing a Strategic View’,‘Thinking Tactically’ and ‘Capacity Building’. The article suggests that individualand collective school improvement can be enhanced by a focus on the developmentof leadership across a learning network of schools.

In the third article, by Karen Carter, the theme of ‘networked learning andleadership’ is pursued further, in particular with regard to those schools in urban andchallenging contexts involved in the Education Action Zone (EAZ) initiative (DfEE1998). The article focuses upon an analysis of EAZ policy as a means of extrapolat-ing a number of key themes for future research and inquiry. Three paired themes areexplored—‘networking and experimentation’, ‘partnership and stakeholder involve-ment’ and ‘participation and innovation’. The article concludes by setting a con-sideration of these key themes within the context of the future study of EAZs withinthe ‘Networked Learning Communities’ programme.

The concept of ‘distributed leadership’ (NCSL 2001b; Hopkins & Jackson2002; Jackson 2002) is explored as a core theme which features throughout thediscussions presented in all three articles. The de� nition of distributed leadershipdetailed below (Hopkins 2001), is the one taken within each of the subsequentarticles in this Special Feature.

School leadership is a function that needs to be distributed throughout theschool community … it will need to be grounded in an approach toleadership that is opportunistic, � exible, responsive and context speci� c,rather than prescribed by roles, in� exible, hierarchical and status driven.This view of leadership, then, is not hierarchical, but federal and involvesclarity of direction, structures and support.

Regarding school leadership as a distributed function implies that:

· School leadership is an activity that is spread across the school com-munity

· Schools that wish to constantly evolve will need to harness their humanand social capital that is their richest potential, creating and sharing theleadership opportunities that provide the capacity to achieve this (p. 11)

Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge the contributions of Martin Coles (Assistant DirectorResearch and School Improvement, the National College for School Leadership)and Helen Barrett (Research and Development Programmes Co-ordinator, theNational College for School Leadership) for their contributions to the production ofthe ‘Successful Leadership in Urban and Challenging Contexts’ Research and Develop-ment Programme Lea� et, and the ‘NCSL Research and Development ProgrammesOverview’ Lea� et, respectively.

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Leadership in Urban and Challenging Contexts 13

NOTES

[1] This section of the commentary has been adapted from ‘Braiding Knowledge for Impact:Metaphor and reality in NCSL’s research strategy’, Jackson, D. and Southworth, G. (2001)Paper presented to the UCEA Annual Conference, Cincinnati, November

[2] This section of the commentary has been adapted from ‘Mining Old Gold’ (NCSL WorkingPaper), Jackson, D. (2002). Nottingham: National College for School Leadership

[3] This section of the commentary is drawn from the ‘NCSL ‘Think Tank’ Report to GoverningCouncil’ (Hopkins 2001) presented in, ‘Successful Leadership in Urban and ChallengingContexts’ (NCSL Research and Development Programme Lea� et) Nottingham: NationalCollege for School Leadership (in press)

[4] This section of the commentary is drawn from ‘NCSL Research and Development ProgrammesOverview’ (NCSL Research and Development Programme Lea� et) Nottingham: NationalCollege for School Leadership (in press)

REFERENCES

DfEE (1998) Meet the Challenge, London: Department for Education and Employment.Greenhalgh R (2001) ‘Having a vision and taking risks’, Idr, 1, 38–39.Hopkins D (2001) ‘Think Tank’ Report to Governing Council, Nottingham: National College for

School Leadership.Hopkins D & Jackson D (2002) Building Capacity for Leading and Learning (in press).Jackson D (2002) ‘Distributed Leadership; the spaces between the pebbles in the jar’, Paper presented

to the Annual Primary Headteachers’ Conference ‘Leadership for Learning’, Blackburn withDarwen LEA, March.

Louis M & Miles K (1992) Improving the Urban High School: what works and why, New York:Teachers College Press.

NCSL (2001a) Research and School Improvement Group Internal Working Paper, Nottingham:National College for School Leadership.

NCSL (2001b) The Leadership Development Framework, Nottingham: National College for SchoolLeadership.

Notes on Authors

Karen Carter is Assistant Director (Research and School Improvement) at the National Collegefor School Leadership. Her recent research focuses on EAZ evaluation and the use of actionlearning in the small business sector. She is currently co-ordinating the ‘New Visions for EarlyHeadship’ research and development programme and the College’s work in the area of evaluation.Email: karen.carter@ncsl.org.uk

David Jackson is Director of Research and School Improvement at the National College forSchool Leadership. He was formerly a headteacher and has worked for the University ofCambridge and IMTEC in South Africa. He has published works on the themes of schoolimprovement, teacher development and leadership learning and recently co-led the introductionof the Networked Learning Communities initiative. Email: david.jackson@ncsl.org.uk

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