Keeping the Show on the Road?

Abstract

In a context where school leadership is identified as crucial to school performance and preparation for headship is expected, the role of the short-term acting head is increasingly anomalous and school leadership may be jeopardized. This article reports on a study of acting heads’ situations, experience and support in post. A range of reasons led to acting positions that were then held for widely varying periods and supported to very different degrees. Uncertainty on length of appointment, role boundaries and freedom to innovate led to some dissatisfaction and unwillingness to apply for permanent posts. The findings also raise issues for the maintenance of school performance in times of change and uncertainty.