Measuring middle level leadership: the development of the middle leadership roles questionnaire

Middle leadership continues to be an under-researched and under-theorised concept in the broader field of educational leadership. A shift in terminology from ‘middle management’ to ‘middle leadership’ over the last decade suggests that the roles of middle level leaders in schools are evolving. But without a theoretical point of reference it is difficult to examine how that evolution is occurring and almost impossible to identify implications for school organisation and effectiveness. In an era when the achievement of our students compared to those in other OECD nations is becoming ever more a cause for concern, middle leaders are becoming more important as links between the vision of principals and school leadership teams and the daily work of teachers at the ‘chalkface’.

This paper brings new and innovative thinking to the concept of middle leadership through a recently developed model of the roles of middle leaders. Reflection on practical implications of the model and a review of the extant literature resulted in the development of a new research instrument, the Middle Leadership Roles Questionnaire (MLRQ). The MLRQ is presented and explained. The paper concludes with practical implications of its use for theorising as well as investigating middle leadership in education.