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The quality of romantic relationships is associated with mental health and wellbeing throughout the life course. A number of programmes have been developed to support young people in navigating healthy relationships, and a larger role for relationship education was recently formalised in statutory guidance in England. This study aimed to systematically review the evidence base for relationship education programmes. Evaluations of relationship education programmes for young people, including charting of outcome domains and measures, were reviewed, followed by a focussed synthesis of data from studies that included outcome domains of relevance to healthy relationships. Thirty-six studies of seven programmes were found that focussed on one or more outcomes relating to healthy relationship skills, knowledge and attitudes, none of which were assessed as high quality. All evaluated programmes were developed in the US, and only one evaluation was conducted in the UK. The evaluations had a diverse set of outcome domains and outcome measures, few had longitudinal measures. No evidence was found for young people's involvement in programme or evaluation development. High-quality longitudinal evaluations and a core set of validated outcome measures are needed. This research also highlights the need to co-create programmes with young people, teachers and relationship experts that are feasible, acceptable and integrated into a mental health-informed curriculum.

Background: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and/or impulsivity. Young people with ADHD have poorer educational and social outcomes than their peers. We aimed to better understand educational experiences of young people with ADHD in the UK, and make actionable recommendations for schools. Methods: In this secondary analysis of qualitative data, we used Thematic Analysis to analyse information relating to experiences of education from 64 young people with ADHD and 28 parents who participated in the Children and adolescents with ADHD in Transition between Children's services and adult Services (CATCh-uS) study. Emerging patterns within and across codes led to organization of the data into themes and subthemes through an iterative process. Results: Two main themes were generated. The first described young people's early experiences of education, often within a mainstream setting; we labelled this "the problematic provision loop," as this was a negative cycle that was repeated several times for some participants. The second theme described young people's more positive progression through education once they progressed out of the problematic loop. Conclusions: Educational experiences for young people with ADHD are often negative and fraught with complication. Young people with ADHD often found themselves on a more positive trajectory after they were placed in an alternative form of education provision (mainstream or otherwise), or where they were able to study topics that interest them and play to their strengths. We make recommendations that commissioners, local authorities and schools could consider in order to better support those with ADHD.

Within political philosophy and particularly in the work of Chantal Mouffe and Hannah Arendt, "agonism" has been described as representing the notion of being able to challenge and dissent in a productive way. However, little is known about how agonism is used in the educational literature, other than some applications relevant to democratic education. This paper considers the use of agonism in the educational literature drawing on the findings of a systematic scoping review exploring how it has been used in the context of education. Five databases were searched for literature published using agonism within the context of education to map the existing body of work in a systematic fashion, and to explore how agonism has been differently conceptualised and utilised by researchers in the field of education. The findings suggest that there have been a range of attempts to apply agonistic principles in different educational sub-fields (including, citizenship education, early years education, initial teacher training, arts education and international education), and different interpretations of such principles into education based on different philosophical underpinnings (dissociative and associative approaches). As agonism is mostly explored in a theoretical way, we also discuss the potential of abstract theoretical agonistic principles from different philosophical traditions to be translated into meaningful practical applications for education in order to inform curriculum development, infuse democratic principles into classroom practice, and help to negotiate deep-running tensions amongst key stakeholders in education.

The study of disadvantages in education at all levels in Ireland is a well-researched field (Doyle and Keane 2019; Fleming and Harford 2021; Kellaghan 1995; Skerritt 2017; Tormey 2010). A variety of research approaches have been used by those involved in the endeavour to provide a range of valuable associated insights. We offer this paper at a time when other approaches yet again are called for as Ireland, like many other European countries, is hosting Ukranian children in schools as they seek to gain refuge from atrocities at home. In particular, we offer it as a response to an invitation to indicate how those insights can be enriched through the provision of expositions of a comparative nature so that Irish educationists can gain an international perspective on the national situation. Such expositions can be of various types, including those relating to the situation in other OECD nations. Expositions that provide stark contrasts are also helpful in that they can indicate where one's own circumstances are situated on a spectrum between those demonstrating extreme egalitarianism and those of extreme deprivation. This paper provides an exposition of the latter variety by detailing the results of a long-running research project orchestrated by the present authors on issues related to school leadership by school principals, deputy principals and local school-board members, in three such situations, namely, post-conflict contexts, extremely remote developing world contexts and disadvantaged post-communist societies.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition. As such most schools, Further Education colleges, vocational training and Higher Education settings will need to support affected children and young people. When young people who require ongoing treatment for ADHD are around 18 years of age, they must transition from child to adult mental health services. However, only a small proportion successfully transition. As significant educational transitions are often happening at the same time, there is a need to consider how education and health service transitions may impact on one another. This paper presents findings from a large UK qualitative study involving 144 semi-structured interviews with young people who had ADHD, parents and health professionals. Two themes were identified which support the notion that education transition can impact health transition. Firstly, transition to adult health services typically requires continued prescription of ADHD medication, yet many young people stop taking their medication due to a belief that it is only needed for education-based learning. Secondly, if a young person is continuing education post-18, a lack of joined-up planning between education and health (outside of special schools) or consistent support in Higher/Further Education can leave young people with ADHD in limbo between health services and struggling within education. Given these findings, we recommend regarding multi-agency service statutory health care transition, educational staff training and ongoing oversight of child to adult health service and adult to adult health service transition effectiveness.

This article is premised on the belief that research on educational leadership should embrace different settings. Accordingly, a Rwandan study is reported informed by three interrelated aims regarding primary school leadership: to understand its historical background from colonial times to 1994 (the genocide year), to understand developments occurring from 1994 to 2014, and to understand perspectives of primary school leaders on their concerns. Data gathering methods comprised interviews, document analysis, and observation. Key outcomes of the study are articulated according to propositions relating to each research aim illuminating the past, present, and future of primary school leadership in Rwanda.

Recently there has been an increasing recognition of the need to investigate how different contexts influence the nature and character of school leadership and to demonstrate how leaders in schools located within different environments shape their leadership accordingly. This has led to a growing body of work that has emerged from investigations into the ways leadership is understood and practiced in such distinctive environments. One such context that is likely to be revealing in this regard, yet which appears to have been somewhat neglected, apart from research on education along the border between the U.S.A. and Mexico, relates to leadership of schools located in 'borderlands'. By this, the authors mean schools that are situated at the confluence of different countries. A number of ways suggest themselves as to how to bring leadership in borderland education settings (other than in relation to the U.S.A.) out of the shadows. This paper is offered as a contribution by illuminating the nature of the various types of schools within these contexts, the issues and influences that their school leaders face, and the strategies that school leaders adopt to deal with the associated complexities. It is divided into four main sections. The first section examines the distinctive features of borderland contexts, especially in regard to the occurrence of recent developments and activities that have made them increasingly fluid. Secondly, the associated literature pertaining to education policies and practices in borderlands is interrogated. Thirdly, consideration is given to the implications that such complex contexts have for understandings and practices of school leadership. Finally, attention is turned to some ways in which school leadership may be nurtured in borderland contexts. In doing so, the authors highlight a variety of questions to pursue in conducting empirical projects which, they suggest, would help to establish a foundation for building a solid body of professional knowledge aimed at illuminating the complexity of leadership in borderland education settings and at encouraging others to rise to the challenge.

This paper presents the findings of a systematic scoping review spanning 30 years (1990-2020) that sought to understand the structures and processes influencing education research activities in UK higher education (HE). Review work of this scale has not previously been undertaken on the topic. The purpose of the review was to 'take stock' of research in the field, identify continuing and emerging areas of concern regarding education research as a profession, and point to directions for future research. Seven databases were searched and additional strategies included citation chasing and hand-searching. We located 114 peer-reviewed journal articles and one doctoral thesis. Six themes emerged relating to formal structures/processes: culture of performativity and accountability; funding regime; impact agenda; 'what works' agenda; heated debates; and professional bodies. A further six themes related to informal structures/processes: academic pressures; affective issues; non-traditional academics; second-career researchers; career stages; and departmental cultures. The themes were complex and appeared to interact with each other. Evidence of the negative influence of neoliberal regimes on working conditions and well-being emerged more strongly in the past decade. The review indicates that further research is required into the experiences and academic identities of education researchers from under-represented or non-traditional groups (i.e., women, ethnic minority, working-class, disabled, LGBTQ+ academics). There is also a need for more studies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to understand their unique political-economic-educational contexts. The findings have relevance to education researchers and policy-makers in countries across the globe, particularly in comparable HE systems (e.g., North America, Australia).

Assessing health-related quality of life (HQOL) for children or adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) to corroborate a diagnosis and monitor treatment outcomes, is usually relegated to parent, teacher and physician observation of the child/adolescent. Allowing adults to act as proxy reporters for children/adolescents increases the bias and contributes to subjective evaluation of the child/adolescent's HQOL. This article describes the development and validation of a HQOL scale that children or adolescents can complete themselves. The areas assessed included relationships with friends and family, reactions to medication, school achievement and ability to focus and attend. A factor analysis used to achieve construct validation yielded a 21 item scale. Reliability and criterion validation results were determined to be adequate. This new, short, self-report AD/HD HQOL scale for children and adolescents can be administered in a school setting or a physician's office by administrative staff to support other AD/HD assessment measures and monitor treatment outcomes. (Contains 2 tables.)

This paper presents the findings from an investigation aimed at understanding the leadership role of Western Australian network principals. Prior literature has indicated that there is a lack of empirical research on network leadership despite the substantive scholarly writing devoted to school networks. The qualitative study reported here revealed the contextual influences on the expectations of the role and that network principals' prime intention was to share network leadership with members. For the purpose of mobilising members, network principals employed a deliberate form of influence. In particular, four groups of strategies consisting of 'priming', 'locating', 'shaping' and 'adapting' were identified that supported this influence-based leadership. Additionally, new conceptual tools have been identified that analyse the way in which school network leadership encourages members to exert their efforts towards network purposes. The findings of this study offer fresh insights into the complexities of network leadership. They also have implications for policy, practice and future research in connection with this evolving role.

During the last 10 years, research into schools facing challenging circumstances has attracted the attention of researchers around the world. The aim of this study was to understand the challenges that school leaders face as they per form their work, the nature of the context in which these challenges arise, the strategies school leaders adopt to deal with the complexities of their work and the reasons behind these strategies. For this purpose, we investigated a single case study of a Chilean K8 school achieving extraordinary success despite its adverse circumstances. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with the principal, the vice-principal, the teachers, the students and the management team of the school. The interviews were focused on the challenges experienced by the school community, and on the strategies implemented in order to face them. The findings are organized around three key themes: first, the importance of nurturing high expectations among students and staff; secondly, the importance of enhancing teachers' morale; thirdly, the importance of setting and sharing a common vision for a preferred future. These key themes have been instrumental to the success of the school may be enlightening to other schools, that are facing comparable challenging circumstances, especially in Chile.

This paper examines leadership strategies that are most likely to engender success in schools that may be defined as facing challenging circumstances. First, it presents an overview of the relevant literature in order to illustrate distinctive challenges that tend to be encountered in these environments, as well as strategies that are adopted for dealing with such challenges. Secondly, the paper reports on a Western Australian qualitative study of four principals leading primary schools facing challenging circumstances. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications that may be drawn from the resultant theoretical and empirical insights for policy and practice as well as for future research endeavour.

In this article, we report on our initial work with the International School Leadership Development Network. In doing so, we present two cases of principals leading high-need schools, and conclude with some key observations in relation to what is distinctive about leading these schools. The first case features a principal leading a suburban school in the large metropolitan city of Melbourne prepared by Drysdale and Gurr. This school is the result of the closure and amalgamation of several failing secondary schools, in what was termed a "regeneration project." The second, prepared by Wildy and Clarke, is a personal account of a principal coping with leading a small school serving an Aboriginal community in a remote location (the nearest shop is 303 km away via an unsealed dirt road).

Studies which examine how educational leadership in faith-based schools is understood and practised are few and far between in the research literature. This is surprising given the important role faith-based schools play within the Australian school system and the controversy that has often surrounded them. Taking into consideration the gap in the research and the debates surrounding these types of schools it seemed timely to examine faith-based school leaders' perspectives on educational leadership. This article describes an interpretive study which sought to uncover how members of faith-based schools' management teams understood and practised leadership. Three different faith-based schools were selected for the study; a Catholic, Islamic and Greek Orthodox school. Four different qualitative data collection methods were used, comprising semi-structured interviews, concept mapping, document analysis and non-participant observation. Using a grounded theory approach for the data analysis it was found that the ways in which these faith-based school leaders understand educational leadership are underpinned by values which often had a faith dimension. In addition, it was found that the school leaders used this framework of faith-based values to guide their practice. It is further argued that the ways in which the school leaders' values and spirituality influenced their perspectives demonstrate the influence of context on leadership perspectives.

This study investigated both negative and positive staff perspectives of service user involvement on two clinical psychology training courses as part of an ongoing process of service evaluation. Ten clinical psychology staff from two training courses were interviewed over the telephone by a current trainee clinical psychologist using a semi-structured interview method. Data were coded into textual units of meaning and then analysed using content analysis. The categories most cited by participants regarding the positives of service user involvement were that service user involvement "develops trainees learning" and "challenges power differences". For opportunities of service user involvement to provide benefits to the training courses, most participants cited "meaningful versus tokenistic involvement", followed by "strategic involvement". Regarding negatives and barriers, those most cited were "differences of opinion or agendas" and "lack of resources". Whilst the findings suggested that the service user involvement initiatives on both courses have been well received, research is needed into how service users also experience the process. Interventions that facilitate staff reflection and processing of multiple perspectives were also recommended, particularly with regards to negative experiences of service user involvement.

This article presents a case study of one very small school in a remote location of Western Australia. The study is part of a larger programme, International Study of Principal Preparation, investigating the challenges facing novice principals in the first 3 years of appointment and the extent to which they felt they were adequately prepared to deal with the challenges they faced. The international study, of which this is part, involves cross-cultural comparisons of the experiences of novice principals in 13 different countries. The research described in this article addresses the question: What are the distinctive challenges facing leaders of small schools in bringing about changes to school cultures to improve student learning achievements? Two theoretical constructs were used as the lens through which to examine the culture of this small and isolated school: a culture of acceptance and a culture of inquiry. Using an interpretivist approach, data from interviews and observations were constructed into narrative accounts. These accounts demonstrate how the culture of this small remote school can be characterised as having low expectations of student learning low; staffing profiles that were likely to limit the potential of students to achieve at an national age-equivalent level; fragmented parent engagement with student learning and little evidence of innovative practice to challenge the culture of acceptance of low student achievement. The study indicates that close attention to processes devoted to the professional formation of school leaders is vital to promoting a culture of inquiry rather than one of acceptance for informing school improvement.

There is a robust body of work highlighting distinctive challenges encountered by leaders of small schools in pursuit of school improvement but this work has focused on the school as the unit of change and neglects the role of the district. As the district potentially influences what principals know and how they use their knowledge, this article examines how districts provide professional support for principals of small schools in rural or remote environments. The article identifies from the literature features of effective districts in supporting change and improvement in their schools. A case study is then presented of one district in Western Australia. This district's magnitude and remoteness yield rich insights into strategies assisting principals to enhance performance and vitality of rural or remote schools and their communities. Finally, suggestions are made for strengthening these strategies referring to the new model of supporting schools on the cusp of its implementation in Western Australia.

Purpose: This paper aims to highlight what principals consider their most severe challenges in the first three years of appointment and the extent to which they believe they were adequately prepared to meet these challenges. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reports on the initial Western Australian findings of a survey developed for Phase Three of the International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP). The survey was designed as a common instrument across international contexts to investigate those aspects of principals' work perceived to be most challenging in the early years in the position and the extent to which principals believe they were prepared for these challenges. The survey was administered to 45 novice principals in Western Australia. Findings: The preliminary results of the survey have yielded some insights that draw attention to what principals regard as their main challenges and the extent to which they felt prepared to deal with them. Research limitations/implications: The sample size is a little small for some of the analyses and results need to be treated with caution. Practical implications: The insights derived from responses to the survey have clear implications for the efficacy of role preparation and development. Originality/value: The paper helps to clarify those aspects of the work of novice primary principals which they find most problematic, relative to other aspects and the extent to which they felt prepared to deal with them. (Contains 4 tables and 3 figures.)

Part of a 13-nation, cross-cultural study of the extent to which principals perceive their pre-appointment experiences had prepared them for the job, the International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP), this paper compares the responses of novice principals in Turkey and Western Australia. Using a survey based on data from case studies of principals in their first 3 years, the views of 50 Western Australian and 60 Turkish principals were examined in terms of the difficulty of the problems they faced and the extent to which they felt prepared for these problems. Responses were analysed by sex, qualification, age at appointment, school size, and school location. Respondents from both countries found that managing the budget and achieving work/life balance presented challenges for them while working with parents and acquiring adequate resources were not challenging. For Turkish respondents, building positive relationships with staff was more challenging than it was for the Australian respondents. Surprisingly respondents felt well prepared for the tasks they faced, with Australians, females, principals of small schools in rural and remote locations reporting significantly more positive views about their preparation than their counterparts.

This paper examines the theories of organisation that have informed our understanding of schools as complex social worlds and the practice of school leadership that seems to be required in such environments. This understanding has, in turn, determined the research approach we have adopted for investigating principals' work and for ascertaining the utility of existing approaches to their initial preparation. The paper argues that the extent to which preparation processes align with principals' professional needs will depend on the extent to which they are able to connect with the realities of workplaces found in schools as well as the environments in which they are located. For this purpose, it is desirable to pursue the kind of enquiry that is capable of revealing what schools leaders know and brings them to a new stage in their thinking about practice. (Contains 72 footnotes.)

According to Hargreaves and Fink (The seven principles of sustainable leadership, 2003; Sustainable leadership, 2006), sustainable leadership matters, spreads and lasts, and is fundamental to enduring and widespread school improvement. This observation is especially germane to the context of leading small primary schools in rural locations, where challenges encountered by principals in engaging with the complexities of continuous improvement are often accentuated. This article looks at the applicability of certain aspects of sustainable leadership to the circumstances surrounding small rural schools. First, reasons are given for devoting attention to the specific context of leadership in small rural primary schools, especially in Australia. The article then examines the distinctive challenges encountered by principals of small rural schools that appear to compound the difficulties of pursuing sustainable leadership. The next section draws from a Queensland study (Clarke and Stevens, Small schools leadership study. Leading and teaching in small schools: confronting contextual complexity in work practices, 2004) that has generated vignettes depicting the complexity of novice teaching principals' work in rural environments. Taking cognizance of Hargreaves and Fink's analysis of sustainable leadership, selections from these vignettes are used to sharpen understandings of ways in which sustainable leadership plays out in this context and the factors that either promote or impede its development.

This paper provides an example of the application of the cognitive interview, a qualitative tool for pre-testing a survey instrument to check its cognitive validity, that is, whether the items mean to respondents what they mean to the item designers. The instrument is the survey used in the final phase of the International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP http://www.ucalgary.ca/~cwebber/ISPP/index.htm). This study involving researchers in 13 countries investigates those aspects of principals' work perceived by them to be most challenging in their early years in the position and the extent to which principals believe they were prepared for these challenges. Both probing and think aloud approaches to the cognitive interview were used and revealed a small number of items requiring amendment.

This introductory article examines the elusive concept of Europeanisation and discusses the implications of this process for educational leadership, especially as it applies to the formation of school leaders. With an eye to Europeanisation, the article also investigates four pertinent themes extrapolated from the scholarly discussion contained in this special issue of the European Educational Research Journal that may be relevant to the broader context of European educational leadership. These themes are: European understandings of the nature and purpose of educational leadership; the practice of educational leadership in the contemporary European policy environment; the preparation, development and support of school leaders according to a European coordinated approach; and the veracity of a Europeanised educational leadership.

Political, market and historical forces within Australia have produced a supportive environment for creating a new marketplace for schools, including those that are affiliated with a range of different faiths. Indeed, this sector has now become a significant feature of the Australian educational landscape. This article argues that the increasing significance of faith-based schools in combination with their complexity, distinctiveness and controversy makes them a particularly fertile setting for research endeavour; an endeavour which seems to have become an imperative, given that current understandings of these schools are heavily influenced by the media. (Contains 3 tables.)

This paper examines the complex matter of initial principal preparation in a context where traditionally beginning principals have learned their role from experience, on the job. Using data from both novice and experienced primary principals it was found that while what was needed in the job was agreed upon--how to deal with place, with people, with the system and with the sense of self--there was little understanding of what would constitute an appropriate or suitable way of learning the skills or mastering the knowledge to be able to meet these challenges as effectively as possible.

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to the literature on beginning the principalship by identifying and illustrating key challenges that novice principals encounter in their first year for which they would benefit from improved preparation. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is a synthesis of a decade of research focusing on the principal with the general aim of analysing ways in which principals can work more effectively within the realities of schools as highly complex organizations. Throughout this work, the narrative account has been used as the main approach for depicting principals understandings of the contexts in which they find themselves and their interpretations of the experiences that confront them in their roles. Findings: A range of findings generated from the research as a whole has been refined into the conceptualisation of four distinct but interrelated challenges facing novice principals in exercising their roles. Originality/value: The paper proposes a conceptual framework that can be used as a heuristic tool for informing the preparation of principals, especially in the Australian context.

This article examines recent Australian progress in the advancement of a national agenda for developing the quality of school leadership. The article falls into three main sections. First, the reasons for the unprecedented attention devoted to the quality of school leadership in this country are discussed. Secondly, the article describes the logistics of promoting a national approach to the quality of school leadership according to the complex sharing of responsibilities for education that exists between the Federal level of government and the States and Territories. Thirdly, the article reports some promising initiatives in shaping a national agenda for enhancing school leadership.

This article is concerned with the nature of novice teaching principals' interactions in Queensland rural communities. Stories selected from case accounts are used to provide insights into the teaching principals' interrelationship with the community. The article concludes with a discussion of some implications for practice suggested by these insights into the experience of rural teaching principals in the context of their communities. (Contains 2 notes.)

This paper proceeds from the basis that leadership can only be understood in context and by viewing it from the inside. In particular, it argues that the contextual complexity of small school leadership warrants attention from researchers, policy makers and system administrators and describes the nature of this complexity as depicted in the literature. It, then, reports a study being conducted in two states of Australia, which examines the ways novice principals of small schools located in rural and remote areas make sense of, and deal with, the contextual complexity of their work. Finally, the paper discusses the implications of the study for promoting understanding of small school leadership and for developing authentic means of professional learning.