Definición de la educación basada en el cerebro

The present study found that both middle leaders and teachers perceived a lack of time as a challenge in professionally developing staff. Fitzgerald and Gunter (2006) discuss the challenge of time for a middle leader where leading teachers and learning requires time resources and opportunities. The teachers discussed time as having an impact on the classroom and interrupting students learning when having to take time out for professional development. They also discussed the impact on their personal time and the amount of preparation time needed to attend professional development courses to ensure their students were still learning in their absence. As a result, teachers viewed their personal time and the time in the classroom as having higher value than attending professional development courses. However, middle leaders struggled with not having enough time to develop relationships with their staff and to understand their professional learning needs and aspirations. This supports Fitzgerald (2009) findings that time allocated to a middle leader to perform their role can be significantly taken up with administrative demands such as getting the paper work completed. The teachers in the present study agreed that middle leaders needed more time to listen and evaluate the needs of their staff, as well as being provided with coaching and professional development opportunities themselves. Grootenboer et al. (2015) comment that time is not a new topic for discussion within the role of any leader, but it is a critical dimension of a middle leaders’ role due to the complexity of demands placed upon them. Having both classroom and formal responsibilities creates a tension between the time spent to ensure quality teaching programmes are being delivered while also effectively leading staff in professional learning. They claim that it is important not just to develop the middle leader to improve development conversations within a team; there is also a need for space and time to allow interactions amongst teachers and opportunities to participate in development activities that improve, develop and foster teacher practice.

75

A need for choice and interest in professional learning

In the present study, teachers placed high importance on personal and professional interest when making decisions on professional learning. Cardno (2012) views teacher appraisal as having a tension between accountability and development. She argues that both teachers and the school need to be accountable for teacher performance and focus on how the school and teachers can develop further, beyond just the appraisal system, to have a focus on improving teaching and learning. The teachers wanted to have more individual choice, tailored professional development sessions, sharing of practice and the opportunity to observe other teachers. They felt these activities could lead to more relevant learning occurring during professional learning sessions and increase engagement amongst teachers. Gurr and Drysdale (2013) suggest that middle leaders who are successful in leading staff in professional learning are those who have developed a “common purpose, collaboration and sense of team within their department” and are actively “foresting teacher learning” (p. 58). The importance of knowing staff and building trust, respect and emotional ground is one way for middle leaders to identify their staffs’ strengths and support their needs for professional development (Irvine & Brundrett, 2016).

Accountability and responsibility

The present findings identified that a major challenge for middle leaders was the uncertainty of responsibility and accountability allocation for professional development of staff. Not all middle leaders believed professional development accountability was expected, yet wanted to be accountable for the professional development of staff. Cardno and Bassett (2015) discuss the possibility of a disconnect between senior leaders’ and middle leaders’ understanding of role expectations in relation to developing staff. The middle leaders believed that knowing how to approach professional conversations, understanding the job requirements and knowing whether you are performing the job correctly are an important aspect of middle leadership when supporting professional development. However, not all middle leaders acknowledged the importance of their role in the professional development of staff, or had the

76

knowledge and skills required to undertake it. Adey (2000) suggested that, despite middle leaders not fulfilling their role for developing staff, there is a growing acceptance of change in a middle leader’s role to include the professional development of staff. However, support is needed in how this is achieved. Although there was a lack of skill or understanding on how to professionally develop staff, the middle leaders within the present study were still expected to make professional development decisions based on budget, benefits to faculty/school, faculty results, improvement in student practice, and relevance of professional development for school objectives and goals, not always on teacher wants or needs. This finding reflects research by Irvine and Brundrett (2016), who noted that middle leaders are a diverse group who can become conflicted between the requirements of the senior leaders and those of their team. Dinham (2007) identifies leaders of successful departments and teams as those who have had support of others as they have developed their own leadership capability. They suggest that taking on a leadership role within a school requires skills which differ from those of a classroom teacher. Teachers who are newly appointed to leadership roles and do not obtain suitable training towards developing the skills required for leadership may find it difficult and challenging to define the bounds of their role due to the lack of clear structure within the role.

77