Extending the career of the English primary school headteacher: a second headship

• Published in: Journal of educational administration 2009-07, Vol.47 (4), p.435-451
• Main Authors: Fidler, Brian, Jones, Jeff, Makori, Andrew
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Administrator Attitudes; Career advancement; Career Change; Career Choice; Career Development; Careers; Educational leadership; Elementary school teachers; England; Foreign Countries; Instructional Leadership; Interviews; Longitudinal studies; Primary schools; Principals; Professional Development; Questionnaires; Response Rates (Questionnaires); Retirement; School principals; Self Actualization; Studies; Teachers; Telephone Surveys
• ISSN: 0957-8234; 1758-7395
• DOI: 10.1108/09578230910967428

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to report findings from a national study of primary headteachers in their second headship in England. This investigated their reasons for moving schools, their choice of second school and a comparison of their experiences as heads of the two schools.Design methodology approach - The research design involved a national representative survey of primary school headteachers who were in a headship beyond their first. Questionnaire responses were obtained from 86 primary headteachers: a 74 per cent response rate. Follow-up telephone interviews with 20 of them obtained more detailed responses on the research questions.Findings - The reasons that heads gave for taking a second headship fell into three groups - personal, school and external. The over-riding reasons were to provide a fresh challenge and prevent feelings of stagnation. Movement between schools was complex and the clearest overall trend was a move to larger schools. Heads generally considered themselves more effective in their second school than their first and there were many accounts of the re-energising effect of taking on a new post.Practical implications - The findings suggest that second headship should be considered as a valuable means of contributing to the continuing development of headteachers. Headteachers should consider a second headship as a possible extension to their headship career. They may need to plan their career before and during their first headship in order to obtain their desired second headship.Originality value - This is the first large-scale study of headteachers in a second headship. The numbers of headteachers choosing to move to a second headship and their positive experiences suggest that further stages should be added to the current conceptualisations of the career of the headteacher.