The promotion of distributed leadership in education at national level: Discursive change to maintain the old order – Lessons from Ireland

Abstract

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.