ABSTRACT
In chapter 3, Biddy Youell offers a psychoanalytic framework for understanding some of the emotional pressures and unconscious dynamics that are inherent within the headteacher’s role and that of other leaders within the school setting. The underlying assumption is that school effectiveness is directly related to the way the school is led and how the headteacher and leadership team harness the resources of staff and students and manage the many competing demands they face. The chapter explores some of the intra and inter-personal dynamics that play out in school settings, suggesting that leaders are better able to lead when they can recognize and understand their own emotional experience and that of their staff and students.
