Becoming a middle leader : accidental, aspirational, or anointed

Middle leadership is a critical feature of school-based development, but the pathways of middle leaders into their roles are varied and diverse. This article presents findings from a series of in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with 28 middle leaders (who teach) from primary and secondary schools across Australia as part of a large school research project examining middle leaders' practices. Thematic analysis revealed that teachers' journeys to become middle leaders formed part of their ongoing professional trajectory; but, more distinctively, the raison d'etre to lead learning among colleagues was associated with three distinguishing pathways: (1) accidental or happenstance, where at a particular place and opportune time there was a need, and the teacher happened to be there, available, and "qualified" to a greater or lesser degree; (2) aspirational or those teachers with an ambition to lead and who were deliberatively and strategically working towards a formal leadership position; and (3) anointed or those teachers who were identified, nominated, selected, and then appointed by a senior leader without a formal application process. Once appointed, regardless of the pathway, it was evident middle leaders engaged in a range of similarly experienced orientation and development practices that enabled their ongoing becoming as a middle leader; these were often self-initiated and involved critically reflective professional practices. The findings have implications for the development of educational middle leaders, and how they can be supported in their becoming a pedagogical and curriculum leader in their school.