System Leadership Across Three Nations: Insights from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales

Abstract

System leadership—the idea that school leaders work beyond their immediate contexts to support improvement across the wider education system—has become central to reform and renewal agendas internationally. Yet, while widely discussed in policy and theory, empirical evidence on how system leadership is understood and enacted in practice remains limited.

This webinar presents findings from the Comparing System Leadership – A Tri-Nations Research Project, a collaborative study conducted in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The research explored how system leadership is conceptualised, the barriers and opportunities for its development, the practices of system leaders in action, and the impact of these practices on professional learning and system improvement.

Members of the research team will share cross-country findings, highlighting convergences and divergences in policy, practice, and leadership development across the three jurisdictions. The session will also discuss the implications of these findings for future research, policy, and practice, with particular attention to how system leadership can support capacity building, innovation, and sustainable change.

Presenters:

Professor Alma Harris, FAcSS, FLSW, FRSA, is Professor of Leadership in Education at Cardiff Metropolitan University’s School of Education and Social Policy and Co-Director of the Centre for International Research into Leadership in Education (CIRLE). She is internationally recognised for her research on educational leadership, policy, and school improvement, particularly in the areas of distributed and system leadership. A former Senior Policy Adviser to the Welsh Government (2009–2012), she contributed to national education reforms, including the development of Professional Learning Communities and a master’s programme for new teachers. Her recent work continues to influence leadership policy and practice in Wales, Scotland, and internationally.

Dr Alan Gorman is Chair of the Doctor of Education (EdD) programme at Dublin City University (DCU), where he also serves as the Area of Professional Focus Leader for Professional Learning and Teacher Education on the EdD. He is a recipient of the prestigious DCU President’s Medal for Excellence in Teaching (2022). He has published widely in leading Q1 international journals. His research interests span policy analysis, educational leadership, professional learning policy, and teacher education, including the integration of artificial intelligence in teacher education.

Dr. Romina Madrid Miranda is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Leadership at the University of Stirling and Programme Director of the MSc in Educational Leadership. Her research examines how school leaders foster collaboration, equity, and system improvement. She leads international projects in Chile, the USA, and the UK on system leadership, youth climate action, and networked learning. Dr. Madrid Miranda co-convenes multiple leadership networks and serves on the editorial boards of journals focused on leadership and school improvement.