{"id":{"repo_id":"uwtsd","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:3923"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwtsd/oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:3923","repository":{"repo_id":"uwtsd","name":"University of Wales Trinity Saint David","base_url":"https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/cgi/oai2"},"display":{"title":"An Exploration of the Terms Educational System Leader and Educational System Leadership","abstract":"This thesis explores the concept and practice of system leadership within the context of Welsh education reform. In the context of significant policy change and curriculum transformation, the study investigates how leadership that transcends individual schools can contribute to system-wide improvement. It specifically examines the terms educational system leader and educational system leadership, using an interpretivist approach (Thomas, 2017) to understand how these are perceived by educational leaders, advisers and policy influencers. Grounded in sociocultural theory (Rogoff, 1990, 1995, 2003), the research is framed by two central questions: What is understood by the term educational system leader? What is understood by the term educational system leadership? To address these questions, the study employed two qualitative data collection methods: an online questionnaire distributed to a purposive sample of global education professionals and follow-up interviews with four headteachers from across Wales. Reflexive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2022), supported by Rogoff’s (2003) analytic framework, led to the development of seven themes. These findings culminated in the identification of five core principles of a system leader and eight essential aspects of system leadership, together forming an empirically derived model of system leadership in action. The study argues that system leadership in Wales is not merely an extension of traditional within-school leadership, but a distinct and necessary form of leadership that supports collaboration, coherence and reform across the education system. It contributes to the field of educational leadership by offering a contextually grounded understanding of system leadership and its role in driving sustainable change. The model developed through this research provides valuable insights for policy, practice and future research, particularly in supporting the ongoing transformation of education in Wales.","abstract_html":"This thesis explores the concept and practice of system leadership within the context of Welsh education reform. In the context of significant policy change and curriculum transformation, the study investigates how leadership that transcends individual schools can contribute to system-wide improvement. It specifically examines the terms educational system leader and educational system leadership, using an interpretivist approach (Thomas, 2017) to understand how these are perceived by educational leaders, advisers and policy influencers. Grounded in sociocultural theory (Rogoff, 1990, 1995, 2003), the research is framed by two central questions: What is understood by the term educational system leader? What is understood by the term educational system leadership? To address these questions, the study employed two qualitative data collection methods: an online questionnaire distributed to a purposive sample of global education professionals and follow-up interviews with four headteachers from across Wales. Reflexive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2022), supported by Rogoff’s (2003) analytic framework, led to the development of seven themes. These findings culminated in the identification of five core principles of a system leader and eight essential aspects of system leadership, together forming an empirically derived model of system leadership in action. The study argues that system leadership in Wales is not merely an extension of traditional within-school leadership, but a distinct and necessary form of leadership that supports collaboration, coherence and reform across the education system. It contributes to the field of educational leadership by offering a contextually grounded understanding of system leadership and its role in driving sustainable change. The model developed through this research provides valuable insights for policy, practice and future research, particularly in supporting the ongoing transformation of education in Wales.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ellis, Tegwen"],"institution":"University of Wales Trinity Saint David","degree_name":"other","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-09","date_published":"2025-09","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:53:08Z","subjects":["LB Theori ac arfer addysg"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.grantnumber","label":"Dc Identifier Grantnumber","values":["UWTSD"],"render_values":[{"text":"UWTSD","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00003923","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.sponsor","label":"Sponsor","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ellis, Tegwen"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-09-03"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-09"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.commercial","label":"Dc Publisher Commercial","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Traethodau PhD","Institute of Education and Humanities: Centre for Professional Learning and Leadership"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/3923/"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Gosodiad"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["other"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["LB Theori ac arfer addysg"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00003923"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.grantnumber","label":"Dc Identifier Grantnumber","values":["UWTSD"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/3923/1/3923Ellis_T_Thesis.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores the concept and practice of system leadership within the context of Welsh education reform. 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Reflexive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2022), supported by Rogoff’s (2003) analytic framework, led to the development of seven themes. These findings culminated in the identification of five core principles of a system leader and eight essential aspects of system leadership, together forming an empirically derived model of system leadership in action. The study argues that system leadership in Wales is not merely an extension of traditional within-school leadership, but a distinct and necessary form of leadership that supports collaboration, coherence and reform across the education system. It contributes to the field of educational leadership by offering a contextually grounded understanding of system leadership and its role in driving sustainable change. The model developed through this research provides valuable insights for policy, practice and future research, particularly in supporting the ongoing transformation of education in Wales."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["text"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An Exploration of the Terms Educational System Leader and Educational System Leadership"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.sponsor":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"],"dc:creator":["Ellis, Tegwen"],"dc:date":["2025-09-03"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-09"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis explores the concept and practice of system leadership within the context of Welsh education reform. In the context of significant policy change and curriculum transformation, the study investigates how leadership that transcends individual schools can contribute to system-wide improvement. 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