Edge Hill University
Improving the life Chances of School Leaders When all Hope is Lost: Towards a Restorative-Regenerative Model of Supervision
In a context where the life chances of school leaders are under threat from the stress and distress of work and systemic support is lacking, colleagues continue to lose hope and in the most tragic cases take our own lives. In the absence of clinical level supervision to which other caring professions are entitled, this paper argues that we need to be proactive in developing skills of self-care and peer supervision. One way of achieving this is explored that integrates holistic modes of educational leadership and leader development that can then be applied to appropriate forms of support for mental health and wellbeing.
To this end a meta-model of restorative-regenerative educational leadership is presented that integrates eight advanced theories of educational leadership: Authentic leadership to address motivation, Positive leadership to transform difficult emotions, Ethical leadership to keep focused on core values, Mindful leadership to train attention, Spiritual leadership to refine awareness, Culturally-relevant leadership to develop wisdom, Servant leadership to restore compassion, and Sustainable leadership for long term planetary wellbeing. It is maintained that when school leaders are in crisis it is these regenerative capacities that are diminished with detrimental and sometimes catastrophic consequences and that it is the same capacities that need restorative forms of support, including supervision as caring professionals. In conclusion, a restorative-regenerative approach to such supervision is outlined based on John Heron’s 6 Category Intervention framework that highlights both its educative and therapeutic applications.
For colleagues in the partnership considering studying our MA in Education, this meta-model can be explored in more depth in one of the leadership modules on offer, PRL4047 Leading Educational Change.