Faith in School Leadership

Faith in School Leadership is a pioneering book by Dr Tim Luckcock Head of an Anglican school about the theory and practice of leading a church school.It is unique in being written from the viewpoint of a practising Head Teacher who sought to deepen his understanding of the calling to lead a voluntary aided school of Christian character in ways that are both distinctive and inclusive.With degrees in Theology and Educational Management he wanted to bring both academic disciplines together in pursuing doctoral research so as to integrate spirituality, ministry and administrative philosophy in his practice.In so doing he has made a valuable and original contribution to scholarship in both school leadership studies and the theology of education developing a synthesis of spiritual and secular models of leadership without succumbing to the ideology of managerialism but looking above all to historic models of ecclesiastical leadership for inspiration.In reading this imprint of his PhD thesis you will learn:1) A Practical Theory of Church School Leadership - suitable for ecumenically-minded reflective practitioners, policy makers and post-graduate students of church school leadership, particularly in voluntary aided Anglican schools.2) A personal and at times intimate reflection on the spiritual experience of school leadership - drawing on the classic spiritual disciplines outlined by the Quaker Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline.3) How spirituality, ministry and administrative philosophy may be integrated in practice - connecting the spiritual disciplines to Stephen Crofts portrayal of Ministry in Three Dimensions and Christopher Hodgkinson's thinking on the Philosophy of Leadership.4) A theological model of Christian leadership to counteract the ideology of managerialism - drawing on traditional Christian models of leadership of the church to counterbalance the secular models by which Heads are being trained by the government's National College.5) Motivation to reflect on the vocation to lead teaching and learning as a form of pastoral ministry - recognising the Way Ahead's Report proposal that the Head's ministry of leadership is one of Servant, Invitational and Transformational Leadership.6) How to reconceive the theology of education more appropriately for practising Christians in education - advocating a range of models of contextual theology more conducive for reflective practitioners in schools of religious character.