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Middle school principals are essential to creating a successful learning environment. They should possess expertise in adolescent development, foster a diverse and equitable school community, and invest in teacher development. This review searched, organized, and analyzed the literature between 2019 and 2024 specifically regarding middle school principal preparation programs and leadership approaches. We sought to identify any alignment with the leadership and organization characteristics outlined in the Association of Middle Level Education’s The Successful Middle School: This We Believe framework The findings revealed a slight relationship between principal preparation programs and the leadership and organizational characteristics outlined by Bishop and Harrison. Our findings also revealed that many states lack specific credentialing requirements for middle school principals. To strengthen the field of middle school education, specifically principal preparation, further research will help educational leaders align their practices with middle school characteristics and advocate for the required credentials in this field.

PurposeThis paper aims to explore developments over the past 25 years in the knowledge base on instruction-oriented middle leadership in schools. The authors document the trends in the literature since middle leadership began to attract scholarly interest in the late 1990s and explore the shifting structural and content patterns in the knowledge base.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a topographic methodology to analyse both structural elements and major results drawing from 147 peer-reviewed journal articles.FindingsThe authors draw on the review's outcomes to propose a model that frames a core set of middle leaders' instructional leadership practices. They also identify the personal, departmental, organizational and external influences shaping middle leadership practices and identify a lack of research conducted outside Anglo–American societies. This gap in the literature suggests the need for the increased study of middle leadership in different national settings and systems and how these influence the practice and enactment of middle leaders around instruction. There is also a need to employ a greater range of methodologies to understand middle leaders' instructional roles.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper lays a foundation for the future development of middle leadership for instruction and highlights signposts to guide future inquiry.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the middle leader knowledge base by focussing on their enactment of instructional leadership.

PurposeThe present study aimed to investigate whether the sub-dimensions of transformational leadership are differently influenced by middle-leaders’ personality traits from the Big Five typology, namely, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, agreeableness, and neuroticism, and whether the sub-dimensions of transformational leadership influence teachers' professional and organizational commitment differentially.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from two sources: 114 middle-leaders and 282 teachers randomly chosen from elementary schools in Israel. Hierarchical regression analyses and structural equation modelling were used to test the research hypotheses.FindingsFirst, the findings indicated that the teachers perceived their middle-leaders as transformational leaders without distinguishing between the sub-dimensions. Second, transformational leadership was positively correlated to teachers' professional and organizational commitment. Finally, positive relationships were found between the middle-leaders personality traits of agreeableness and openness to experience and teachers’ commitment. The study findings point to two paths to facilitate teachers' professional and organizational commitment, either through the middle-leaders transformational leadership or their personality.Originality/valueAlthough recent research has shown that leaders' personal traits are critical components in leading a team effectively and promoting employee behaviors, few studies in the educational context have focused on the differential impact of the Big Five typology on middle-leaders’ tendency toward the sub-dimensions of transformational leadership (TL) and its implications for teachers' commitment. By integrating research from both educational and non-educational literature, the goal of the present study, then, is to address these important yet relatively unstudied issues.

On a global level, COVID-19 has shaken the foundations of every sector. In the South African education context, the traditional methods of teaching, learning, and managing schools changed drastically overnight and management roles and responsibilities were pushed to unprecedented levels. Moreover, the roles of middle leaders and managers took place within a more distributive framework, encouraging school leaders to adopt varying styles of leadership to cope with the demands of COVID-19. For this study, middle leaders constitute departmental heads, grade heads and subject heads. This study utilised a qualitative research design, adopting a case study approach within the interpretivist paradigm. Three departmental heads and seven post level one educators who occupy grade heads/leaders’ roles in a primary school constituted the sample. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with participants to gain their understanding of how distributive leadership was practiced during the pandemic. Four themes emerged, namely leadership styles and factors informing the leadership behaviour and leadership growth of middle leaders and managers in schools; middle leaders’ and managers’ perceptions of distributive leadership and the responsibilities of the different stakeholders; the impact of COVID-19 on distributive leadership as perceived by middle leaders and managers; and the advantages and disadvantages of distributive leadership practices. The study recommends that School Management Teams (SMTs) involve middle leaders and managers to a greater degree to secure an effective ‘buy-in’ to the concept of distributive leadership and that middle managers offer opportunities for others to lead, by developing leadership-specific courses for them. SMTs must also ensure that individuals have a stable working environment where their psychological, sociological, and emotional needs are respected, fulfilled, and validated during any pandemic.

PurposeInstructional leadership is a school leadership approach that places great emphasis on enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. This study explored the enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators.Design/methodology/approachThe participants in this qualitative study were 24 subject coordinators in elementary schools in Israel. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews, and data analysis included three stages: sorting, coding and categorizing.FindingsThe findings identified three significant enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators: pedagogical knowledge, relationship capability and support from the principal.Originality/valueThis study suggests that the enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators differ from those of instructional leadership in principals because of their different places in the school structure and explains the enablers of instructional leadership in subject coordinators as middle leaders.

This essay explores research on teacher and middle leadership. It begins by considering the definitions and the conceptual overlap between teacher and middle leaders and briefly considers the volume and sources of research information. Six areas in which trustworthy claims can be made about the roles are then explored: teacher and middle leader definitions, impact, interventions, leadership focus, identification, and supports/hindrances. The essay concludes by considering policy recommendations, practice recommendations and future research directions.

PurposeInstructional leadership is a school leadership approach that emphasizes improving teaching and learning. This study explores how school middle leaders – teachers holding leadership positions in schools, who are responsible for a particular area or discipline of the school's curriculum – fulfill their instructional leadership role.Design/methodology/approachThe participants in this qualitative study were 24 middle leaders (subject coordinators) in elementary schools in Israel. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews, and data analysis included three stages: sorting, coding and categorizing.FindingsThe current study points to three main characteristics of instructional leadership in school middle leaders: leading by expertise; leading by collaboration; and leading by example.Originality/valueAt present, there is only scant literature on instructional leadership in school middle leaders. This study suggests that principals and middle leaders, who work closely with each other to provide instructional leadership in their schools, do so in different ways.

This article deepens the knowledge of middle leaders’ impact on school improvement and organisation development. More precisely, it focuses on how middle leaders from comprehensive schools and preschools translated improvement strategies and tools from a municipal course on leading school improvement into their own organisations. It is based on interviews with middle leaders, teachers, and principals at two schools and two preschools. Translation theory is used as a theoretical frame. The findings show that the middle leaders translated improvement strategies based on local needs, and for several reasons: for clarification and reduction of roles and improvement areas; structuring improvement work; engaging and involving colleagues in school improvement; and developing a professional culture. When taking the role of translators, the middle leaders became central to progressing the developmental elements of local school organisations. The study recommends investing to provide middle leaders with improvement strategies and an understanding of translation theory to enable translations that aid the development of school organisations.

PurposeThe current study investigated the impact of organisational trust on emotional well-being and performance of middle leaders during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Design/methodology/approachA convenience sample of 265 middle leaders in kindergartens in China responded involving trust in schools (e.g. trust in principal and trust in colleagues), emotional well-being and job performance. Both confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used in the investigation.FindingsThree hypotheses on the relationships between the three constructs were verified. Trust in schools significantly influenced emotional well-being and job performance of middle leaders which correlated with each other. The interactive effects of trust in principal and trust in colleagues were discussed for improving the well-being and job performance of middle leaders. Relationships between the two kinds of trust and pride were also identified in the research.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies may put efforts towards improving these three outcomes synchronously.Practical implicationsBased on the evidence of the current study, future research may focus on how middle leaders act as a bridging role between different stakeholders such as principal and teachers, principal and parents, teachers and children, meanwhile how to boost the leaders' own well-being and performance in the early childhood education (ECE).Originality/valueThis study established the empirical linkages between school trusts, emotional well-being and job performance.

Middle leaders are acknowledged as important leaders within schools to support and improve teaching and learning. While middle leaders’ (MLs) knowledge and skills are foundational for contributing to school improvement, social emotional intelligence (SEI) has been identified as a crucial capability for developing and maintaining trusting relationships and collaborative teams, both of which are essential for leading school improvement, a central focus of ML work. To understand the empirical evidence base on MLs and SEI, a scoping literature review was conducted. Although empirical research was limited, SEI consistently emerged as a critical factor influencing a range of middle leadership (ML) outcomes. To extend the review findings, a problem-centered interview approach was undertaken with five MLs. The interviews sought to identify the SEI competencies perceived as supportive of ML practices and positive outcomes for both MLs and colleagues. Insights from the literature review and interviews converged to highlight empathy and emotional self-management as foundational SEI competencies. Both competencies were found to underpin several key leadership outcomes, including the regulation of emotions, both personal and interpersonal, for the development of collegial relationships, and the enhancement of ML wellbeing. Considering these findings, professional learning (PL) to foster ML SEI competencies is presented.