The international COVID-19 pandemic produced three national lockdowns in England between 2020 and 2021, two of which involved unprecedented periods of school closures. Widespread school closure is an unheard-of phenomenon in the English school system, resulting in challenges to leadership not previously encountered. Due to the unprecedented nature of the circumstances, leadership research in this context is non-existent in the English school system. This research, which explores leadership in a rural primary school, also addresses another gap in the research literature: rural schools, which are underrepresented in both research and policy in recent history. This interpretative case study investigates one headteacher’s leadership style, role and priorities before, during and after lockdown. The headteacher was interviewed and their Senior Leadership Team completed a questionnaire. The results of both were analysed and comparisons between the three periods were drawn. Research findings illustrate that leadership styles remained largely unchanged, with an increased utilisation of the ethical model during lockdown; roles shifted between all three periods, with government policy leading to a focus on administration; and priorities moved from strategic to pastoral. This research posits that a change in the driving focus to children’s welfare and progress during lockdown was the prime factor in the wider changes seen and questions the efficiency of the administration-focused response dictated by government. Larger scale research in this area is recommended to verify findings.
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Owens, Gareth Edward
Rights Holders: Owens, Gareth Edward Supervisors: Browne, Liz
School of Education, Humanities and Languages
MA Education
2021
© Owens, Gareth Edward Published by Oxford Brookes UniversityAll rights reserved