Deputy principals, a hidden asset in schools?
Maynooth University is conducting research into the role of deputy principals in Irish schools, primary and post-primary, and are inviting deputy principals to engage through an online questionnaire or interview. If you are a deputy principal or know of one who may be interested, please read on.
Recent discourse on school leadership has emphasised the value of ‘distributed leadership’. Deputy principals are key players in re-imagined understandings of school administration, management and leadership. However, the literature on the position consistently contends that deputy principalship is ‘under-researched’. Primarily – though not exclusively – through the eyes of deputy principals, our research seeks to construct an understanding of how the position is enacted in Irish primary and post-primary schools and how its potential might be more fully realised in post Covid-19 school environments.
Initially, deputy principals are invited to complete an online questionnaire at https://forms.office.com/e/9Ex7NK1Eh6 before 17th March 2023.
Furthermore, anyone interested in taking part in an interview about their experience as a deputy principal is invited to send an e-mail to dpresearch@mu.ie.
The researchers, Carmel Lillis and Gerry Jeffers, are grateful to Educate Together for their co-operation in this study.
