Supporting the development and professional growth of middle space educational leaders through mentoring (PDF)

This ebook focuses on international approaches to mentoring and coaching vice-principals, assistant principals, and deputy heads, these titles referring to the persons who serve directly below school principals in pre-primary through high school/upper schools. They work in the "e;middle space"e; position between teachers and senior school leaders, so in this ebook, we refer to them as middle space leaders. While countless research studies highlight the important role of the principal/head teacher as the instructional leader of the school and the need to mentor and support these individuals, important middle administrative leadership positions such as assistant principalships and deputy headships receive relatively little attention or support and continue to be neglected in leadership theory and practice literature. The deputy headship or assistant principal position is a key socialization point for upper management positions. Furthermore, because the deputy head position represents a stepping stone between the classroom teacher role and the principalship in many countries, it is usually where principals, superintendents, and other district leaders are first socialized into administrative roles and norms, and where they develop the early values, attitudes, skills, and behaviors that shape their career success and future leadership practices. Papers in this ebook discuss the importance of mentoring and coaching for middle space leaders in an international context.