Implementing distributed leadership in Irish voluntary secondary schools from the principals' perspective.
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| Title: | Implementing distributed leadership in Irish voluntary secondary schools from the principals' perspective. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | O'Rourke, Maree1 (AUTHOR), O'Brien, Shivaun1 (AUTHOR) shivaun.obrien@dcu.ie |
| Source: | Irish Educational Studies. Mar2026, Vol. 45 Issue 1, p121-142. 22p. |
| Subject Terms: | *School principals, *Secondary schools, *Professional employee training, *Educational leadership, Policy analysis, Shared leadership, Leadership, Senior leadership teams |
| Geographic Terms: | Ireland |
| Abstract: | In 2018, the Irish Department of Education and Skills (DES) officially recommended a distributed leadership model as a new approach to leadership and management in post-primary schools. Policy implementation guidance was circulated to school management via DES circular CL003/2018. This study investigates the perspective of voluntary secondary school principals implementing CL003/2018 within the voluntary secondary school sector, where the role of the school principal is pivotal in its implementation. A pragmatic approach to the research methodology led to the adoption of a case study methodology within a mixed-method sequential quantitative > qualitative research design. The quantitative research instrument was an online survey distributed to a census population of voluntary secondary school principals in Ireland. Using Zoom, semi-structured interviews with ten voluntary secondary school principals informed the qualitative research. The findings are examined and interpreted within the literature on distributed leadership, with the concepts of power, accountability, and sustainability emerging from the research. The research identifies recommendations on professional learning for principals to develop sustainable leadership capacity within the voluntary secondary school sector, and the essential time to hold strategic leadership team meetings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Irish Educational Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 191802131 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Implementing distributed leadership in Irish voluntary secondary schools from the principals' perspective. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22O'Rourke%2C+Maree%22">O'Rourke, Maree</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22O'Brien%2C+Shivaun%22">O'Brien, Shivaun</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> shivaun.obrien@dcu.ie</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Irish+Educational+Studies%22">Irish Educational Studies</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 45 Issue 1, p121-142. 22p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+principals%22">School principals</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+schools%22">Secondary schools</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+employee+training%22">Professional employee training</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+leadership%22">Educational leadership</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Policy+analysis%22">Policy analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Shared+leadership%22">Shared leadership</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Leadership%22">Leadership</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Senior+leadership+teams%22">Senior leadership teams</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ireland%22">Ireland</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: In 2018, the Irish Department of Education and Skills (DES) officially recommended a distributed leadership model as a new approach to leadership and management in post-primary schools. Policy implementation guidance was circulated to school management via DES circular CL003/2018. This study investigates the perspective of voluntary secondary school principals implementing CL003/2018 within the voluntary secondary school sector, where the role of the school principal is pivotal in its implementation. A pragmatic approach to the research methodology led to the adoption of a case study methodology within a mixed-method sequential quantitative > qualitative research design. The quantitative research instrument was an online survey distributed to a census population of voluntary secondary school principals in Ireland. Using Zoom, semi-structured interviews with ten voluntary secondary school principals informed the qualitative research. The findings are examined and interpreted within the literature on distributed leadership, with the concepts of power, accountability, and sustainability emerging from the research. The research identifies recommendations on professional learning for principals to develop sustainable leadership capacity within the voluntary secondary school sector, and the essential time to hold strategic leadership team meetings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Irish Educational Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1080/03323315.2024.2374304 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 22 StartPage: 121 Subjects: – SubjectFull: School principals Type: general – SubjectFull: Secondary schools Type: general – SubjectFull: Professional employee training Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational leadership Type: general – SubjectFull: Policy analysis Type: general – SubjectFull: Shared leadership Type: general – SubjectFull: Leadership Type: general – SubjectFull: Senior leadership teams Type: general – SubjectFull: Ireland Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Implementing distributed leadership in Irish voluntary secondary schools from the principals' perspective. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: O'Rourke, Maree – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: O'Brien, Shivaun IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 03 Text: Mar2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 03323315 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 45 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Irish Educational Studies Type: main |
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