Leading for sustainable improvement: middle leadership revisited

Education systems globally continue to pursue educational reform as a means of improving the quality of learning outcomes. This opinion piece argues that middle and teacher leaders have a crucial role to play in leading and sustaining these improvements. Sustainability is essential for consistent improvements in student learning (Lambert, 2007). However, in order to succeed in playing these vital roles middle leaders need empowerment, through professional development to deal with the complexity of their role, and schools need to improve the conditions which support and facilitate learning and change. This opinion piece suggests three significant approaches to empowering middle leaders. The first approach relates to the professional development (PD) available to them. Second is the amount of senior leadership support and its impact on the learning culture. The final approach relates to the benefits and rewards attached to the middle leadership role. These practical recommendations are necessary to increase the impact middle leadership can provide in leading and sustaining school improvement.