In this blog, Caitlin Lamont challenges the kind of neoliberal individualism that so often shapes professional life, where success is assumed to mean continual progression, competition, and advancement up an organisational hierarchy. Against this backdrop, the blog offers a refreshing alternative perspective that for many educators, professional fulfilment comes not from moving ever upwards, but from remaining close to the core work of teaching and learning.
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The global shortage of senior leaders in schools, or those willing to join their ranks, is a complex, long-term problem (Barty et al., 2005; Gronn, 2003; Harvie et al., 2025). The traditional, linear pathway where middle leaders are looked upon as senior-leaders-in-waiting (Lamont, 2025) is important preparation for headship (Thompson & Stokes, 2023), however the career ladder for many middle leaders does not extend beyond the middle for one key reason; the love of teaching.
The love of teaching is a vital part of middle leadership practice which cannot be overlooked.
Middle Leaders Are Not Simply Senior Leaders In-Waiting
In research investigating middle leadership capacity building in a regional Australian school, two thirds of middle leader participants (n=6) discussed, unprompted, their love of the classroom. For some, stepping into the classroom was the highlight of their job. For others, their love of teaching was the main reason they chose not to pursue a senior leadership position. An important factor for each of these leaders’ career progression was a desire to stay connected to the classroom. One of these leaders even stepped down from a senior position and returned to a middle leadership position because they missed teaching. Knocking down the career ladder in order to maintain a love of the job seems a worthwhile pursuit. The experience of these middle leaders is in line with other research where effective middle leaders may be tapped on the shoulder and asked to consider senior leadership positions (Lamont, 2022). However, there is limited consideration in this discourse for middle leaders who desire to be effective career middle leaders who are active in the classroom; “I was really encouraged to be on Senior Leadership next year and I actually said no. I said I’m happy being a middle leader and then I was asked, well, surely you want more than that in your career and I said what’s wrong with just wanting to be a good teacher and a good [middle curriculum] Leader?” (Lamont, 2022, p.78).
“And So Most Days, The Best (Part) of the Day Is to Actually Walk into the Classroom”
When considering the career progression of leaders in schools, classroom teaching is the foundation (Thompson & Stokes, 2023). The middle leaders in the capacity building study each had some leadership responsibilities and some teaching responsibilities. The teaching responsibilities were so desirable for these leaders that some taught outside their curricular areas and described the rapport building opportunities present in the classroom as more appealing than the ability to practice content knowledge. At the case school, senior leaders, too, had teaching responsibilities as part of their role. Even with this, one middle leader participant turned down a senior leadership position as they did not want to give up the pastoral responsibilities they held with their middle leadership position. One long serving middle leader who actively explained that the classroom was their impetus not to seek a senior leadership role over their career reflected that they consider it a shame that their senior colleagues were excellent teachers and yet did not get to spend much time in the classroom. These three examples show teaching was so desirable for participants that maintaining teaching responsibilities was a career priority.
Connection to Classrooms Enhance Middle Leadership Practice
Being an effective middle leader requires similar leadership practices to senior leaders, however viewed through a different lens (Lamont, in development). An important element of the middle leader lens is the connection to classroom practice and to students (Lipscombe, Tindall-Ford, & Grootenboer, 2020). For the two thirds of participants who advocated for their love of the classroom in this study, considering the student experience of their varied initiatives was investigated in their own classrooms. It is the connection to students and the everyday activities of a school, therefore, which positions middle leaders to consider their role through the dual and inseparable lenses of leader and teacher (Lamont, 2022). Whilst the love of the classroom may keep middle leaders in the middle, it is their classroom role which can provide scope to consider the impact of their leadership practice.
School Leaders Are Teachers First
So, despite middle leadership being seen as a gateway to senior leadership (Lamont, 2025; Thompson & Stokes, 2023) there is value in highly effective middle leaders who enjoy their connection to teaching, learning, and students. Not only do middle leadership roles keep school leaders in and connected to the classroom (Bryant & Walker, 2024), but the tangible benefits position middle leaders as expert leaders in schools. The value in knocking down the career ladder at the middle, therefore, is ultimately for the benefit of the students. Greater consideration for ways teaching enhances middle leadership, then, needs to enter the zeitgeist.
Barty, K., Thomson, P., Blackmore, J., & Sachs, J. (2005). Unpacking the issues: Researching the shortage of school principals in two states in Australia. The Australian Educational Researcher, 32(3), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03216824
Bryant, D. A., & Walker, A. (2024). Principal-designed structures that enhance middle leaders’ professional learning. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 52(2), 435-454. DOI: 10.1177/17411432221084154
Gronn, P. (2003). The new work of educational leaders: Changing leadership practice in an era of school reform. Sage.
Harvie, J., Robertson, Z., & Brack, K. (2025). Preparing, recruiting and retaining school principals: Lessons from into headship, the Scottish headteacher preparation programme. In D. Gurr & P. Liu (Eds.), Educational leadership preparation and development: An international and future focused perspective, (pp. 219-236). Springer
Lamont, C. (in development). Understanding ways middle leaders evidence the development and impact of their leadership in a targeted capacity building environment [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. The University of Melbourne.
Lamont, C. (2022). Fit for purpose: the extent to which perceptions of effective curriculum leadership aligns with the AITSL Lead Standards [Master’s thesis, The University of Melbourne]. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/321976
Lamont, C. (2025). Middle leaders are positioned as learners of leading, but is that enough? Australian Educational Leader, 47(3), 48-51. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.T2025092900002901398196241
Lipscombe, K., Tindall-Ford, S., & Grootenboer, P. (2020). Middle leading and influence in two Australian schools. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 48(6), 1063-1079. DOI: 10.1177/1741143219880324
Thompson, P., & Stokes, H. (2023). Perspectives of women as they navigate their path to principalship in Australian secondary schools. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 53(6), 1741-1440. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432231218820
Artificial Intelligence has not been used at any stage in the development of this work.
