Legalised Leadership : Law-based education reform in England and its effect on headteachers

In Legalised Leadership Dan Gibton explores the links between educational law and law-based reform that have a profound influence on the work and professional life of school headteachers.

Changes to educational law and new expectations of educational leaders are features of the current ongoing process of reform and debate in England's school system.

Introductory chapters summarise law-based reform regarding decentralisation, school-based management and headship in England from 1988 to 2003 and compare reforms in the USA and UK.

Further chapters present detailed reflections of English headteachers on what law-based reform has done and is doing to them, how it provides opportunities for leadership and entrepreneurship, how it creates divisions between strong and weak schools, and how it is an influence in local politics vis-a-vis education.

The book offers lawmakers and policymakers in England some pathways for strengthening the role of leadership in English law-based reform and empowering headteachers to advance policy and change.