ABSTRACT

Amidst a plethora of research studies and examples of the transformation of leadership capability in schools, in most instances, the thrust of the focus for transforming leadership capability has been on principals and the powerful influence provided through their leadership. In recent studies, however, a new realisation about developing organisational capability from the middle out suggests the importance of developing middle-level school leaders. This chapter highlights the possibilities for developing the transformation of the leadership capability of middle-level school leaders while ‘on the job’ so that these leaders become one of the main driving forces of school improvement within their schools. In the absence of skilled leadership expertise in the middle that matches up with a particular school’s improvement agenda, any initiative is short-lived. Through an examination of two case study schools in Melbourne, this study focuses on the need for these middle-level school leaders to be suitably equipped and empowered within their schools by the senior-level leaders at the school such as the school principal. Furthermore, through their leadership, these schools must become ‘strategically oriented learning organisations’ demonstrating the five critical transformations of the SCOPE Improvement Cycle (Fernandes, 2016). By using the four dimensions of transformational leadership as a framework (Bass, 1985), the chapter will outline how these dimensions were evident in these middle-level leaders and the positive effect it had on the school improvement processes present within the schools. The findings from this study suggest the importance of focused middle-level school leadership development as a part of a school’s improvement agenda, as this approach assists in the transformation of a school into a learning organisation. As a learning organisation, the school would then demonstrate a strong strategic intent (Hamel & Prahalad, 1989) and support the existence of effective professional learning communities that place greater emphasis on relationships, shared ideals and a strong school culture.