Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers: The crucial connection of middle leadership

Middle leadership is a pivotal yet challenging position in educational sites, often described as a bridge connecting senior leaders with teachers, policy with implementation. While bridges provide safe and reliable structures of connection, opportunities to expand journeys into new areas and make it possible to overcome barriers, without the right foundations and support they bend or break under an unevenly distributed load and insufficient support. Drawing on insights from both national and international research studies, and using the metaphor of a bridge, this spotlight session explores the key challenges and essential supports and foundations that empower middle leaders to actively contribute to student outcomes and organizational success.

In the accompanying workshop, participants will interactively explore practical strategies that enable middle leaders, senior leaders, and teachers to collaboratively evaluate and co-design the school-based foundations and structures that support middle leader’s effective bridging work.

Kylie Lipscombe

Kylie Lipscombe is an associate professor in educational leadership at the University of Wollongong. For over 24 years she has actively contributed to education as a schoolteacher, middle leader, senior leader, system leader, lecturer, and researcher across public, catholic, and independent sectors. She is the academic leader in the NSW DoE Senior Leader Aspiring Principals program and co-leader in the NSW Middle Leadership Development Program. She serves on the editorial board of Leading and Managing (ACEL). Kylie’s research interest includes middle leadership, school leadership development, and collaboration.

Darren Bryant

Darren Bryant is a Professor in Curtin University’s School of Education and Dean of Learning Futures in the Faculty of Humanities. He is a Senior Research Fellow in the Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change (APCLC). Previously he was Head of the Department of Education Policy and Leadership, and Associate Director of the APCLC at The Education University of Hong Kong. He serves as Associate Editor of the International Journal of Educational Management. Darren publishes on middle leaders’ situated development, and their efforts to build others’ leadership capacity.