Background

Swedish municipal adult education, MAE, is facing severe challenges in terms ofquality, and there is a call for research from a school improvement perspective (Mufic& Fejes, 2020). This paper aims to meet this call, and reports on a study that focusedon school leaders in MAE and their professional learning about their pedagogicalleadership practices while initiating local school improvement using action research.The study has been conducted in the context of a one-year advanced continuingprofessional development course organised by Karlstad University in 2021 – 2022, incollaboration with Mid Sweden University and Stockholm University. The course wasdeveloped for and directed towards school leaders in Swedish MAE specifically, asrequested by the Swedish National Agency for Education. The content of the course focused on the research field of adult education and school improvement, pedagogical leadership, theories of leadership practice, leading school improvement based onscientific foundation and proven experience, in accordance with the Swedish educationact (SFS 2010:800, chapter 1 §5) and action research. As there is no coherent definition of leading schools based on scientific foundation and proven experience (Forssten Seiser, 2019) or school leaders’ pedagogical leadership (Grice, Forssten Seiser & Wilkinson, 2023), the course was set up as an action research project and aimed to explore, collectively as well as individually, MAE school leaders’ pedagogical leadership while initiating local school improvement, based on local challenges, using actionresearch. Teaching included group as well as individual supervision. Towards the end of the course, the school leaders wrote individual articles about their local actionresearch processes and reflected on the influence of their pedagogical leadershippractices on other practices and how changing the former may enable local school improvement processes.

The purpose of the study is to explore MAE school leaders’professional learning about their pedagogical leadership during the course through the lens of theory of practice architecture (Kemmis et al, 2014). The research questions are:- What constitutes MAE school leaders’ practice architecture as pedagogicalleaders while initiating local school improvement?- What insights did the school leaders have into their pedagogical leadership of what enables and constrains their local school improvement efforts?

Method

Qualitative data consist of seven school leaders’ individual written reports. Data were coded into sayings, doings, and relatings in accordance with the theory of practice architecture (Kemmis et al., 2014). The analysis focused on the interrelatedness between arrangements related to sayings, doing, and relatings, in which the practice architecture and its enabling as well as constraining traits emerged.

Expected Results

Expected findings reveal a practice architecture in which enabling and constraining traits seem to be mostly influenced by social-political arrangements. In particular, school leaders’ views of themselves as pedagogical leaders, how they relate to the legal demand to lead education based on scientific foundation and proven experience, and how they understand action research as an approach to school improvement influence their leadership practices. Desired school improvement is constrained by school leaders’ interpretation of pedagogical leadership as equivalent to instructional leadership. Contrastingly, school improvement is enabled by school leaders who interpret pedagogical leadership as setting the arrangements for other professions to become co-owners of the improvement process.

The most significant aspect of the school leaders’ professional learning in the course may be their insights into the importance of making arrangements to pave the way for school improvement, then stepping back and allowing other professions to take the lead, and still remaining activein the process. Results may be discussed in relation to Kemmis’ (2023) idea of themosaic of leadership.

Conclusions

By understanding their pedagogical leadership as system players, MAE school leaders influence practices within local MAE in a way that reinforces the professionalisation process of the teaching profession.

Relevance to the research field of work and learning

The study contributes to the research field of work and learning by illuminating MAE school leaders’ professional learning and its potential influence on other practices that altogether have an impact on quality within local MAE.

References

Forssten Seiser, A. (2019). Exploring enhanced pedagogical leadership: an action researchstudy involving Swedish principals. Educational action research, pp. 1-17https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2019.1656661

Grice, C., Forssten Seiser, A., & Wilkinson, J. (2023). Decentring pedagogicalleadership: educational leading as pedagogical practice. Journal of EducationalAdministration and History. Volume 5, 2023 – Issue 1, pp. 89 – 107.

Kemmis, S., Wilkinson, J., Edwards-Groves., Hardy, I., & Grootenboer, P. (2014). Changing Practices, Changing Education. Singapore: Springer

Kemmis, S. (2023). In Söderström, Å., & Forssten Seiser, A., (2023). Etiska perspektiv på skolledarskap. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

Mufic, J., & Fejes, A. (2022) ‘Lack of quality’ in Swedish adult education: a policystudy, Journal of Education Policy, 37:2, 269 -284, DOI: 10.1080/02680939.2020.1817567Educational legal act (SFS. 2010: 800). Stockholm: The Department for Education