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Reluctant leaders : an analysis of middle managers' perceptions of leadership in further education in England

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Gleeson, Denis and Knights, David. (2008) Reluctant leaders : an analysis of middle managers' perceptions of leadership in further education in England. Leadership, Vol.4 (No.1). pp. 49-72. ISSN 1742-7150

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1742715007085769

Abstract

The research that forms the basis for this article draws attention to a group of middle managers who are reluctant to become leaders because they seek more space and autonomy to stay in touch with their subject, their students, and their own pedagogic values and identities, family commitments and the balance between work and life. This reluctance is reinforced by their scepticism that leadership in Further Education (FE) is becoming less hierarchical and more participative. In a sector that has had more than its fair share of reformist intervention, there is some scepticism of the latest fad of distributed and transformative leadership as a new panacea to cure all the accumulated 'ills' of Further Education in England. Although focused primarily on this one sector in an English context, the article draws some inferences where there are parallels with wider sectors of public sector reform and where the uneasy (and incomplete) transitions from 'old' to 'new' public management have been underpinned by invasive audit, inspection and performance cultures.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management L Education > LC Special aspects of education > LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education L Education > L Education (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Centre for Education and Industry
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Education, Secondary -- England, Vocational education -- England, Middle managers -- Great Britain
Journal or Publication Title:	Leadership
Publisher:	Sage
ISSN:	1742-7150
Date:	2008
Volume:	Vol.4
Number:	No.1
Page Range:	pp. 49-72
Identification Number:	10.1177/1742715007085769
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
Description:	Final version (as published)
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/160