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Rowe, Philip (2025) ‘Critical friends?’: an examination of the relationship between headteachers and Chairs of Governors in English secondary schools. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

Few relationships in English school leadership are as important as that between the headteacher and the Chair of Governors [CoG]. This can be a fruitful, high-functioning co-created partnership; alternatively, it has the potential to be fractious and inharmonious, negatively affecting not just the school but also the individuals involved. Literature on the subject is limited and focused more on the rationale for the relationship than its practice.

The thesis focuses on eight headteacher-CoG relationships in English secondary schools, in both the state-funded and independent sectors, to examine how they are forged and developed, so as to identify indicators of successful ways of working. A relational leadership perspective is adopted, specifically developing Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) to focus on a relationship where both parties possess leader and follower identities. The research’s methodology is based on Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), due to a desire to investigate the participants’ lived experience of the relationship alongside that of the researcher.

What emerges is a portrait of a relationship that is as much about the personalities involved as it is about the institutional roles they occupy. The headteacher-CoG dynamic is portrayed as a living, evolving partnership: a relationship that is shaped by individual character, previous experiences and the organic process of learning through interaction. Whilst the term ‘critical friend’ still maintains some validity, it does not completely reflect the high level of support that both parties can give to each other nor the capacity for considerable professional and personal intervention. It concludes that the most effective relationships are those in which both parties are willing to invest time, energy and emotional openness into building a foundation of mutual respect and shared purpose. This, in turn, has a ripple effect on the wider governance of the school, enhancing not only the efficiency of day-to-day decision-making but also the strategic capacity of the governing body as a whole.

The paper additionally hopes that LMX, and relational leadership in general, can be utilised more extensively in order to highlight the role that positive and healthy relationships can play in improving school leadership and the lives of school leaders.

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors:	Greany, Toby Richardson, Kevin
Keywords:	Headteacher, Chair of Governors, English secondary schools, Leader-Member Exchange Theory, LMX, Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, IPA, relational leadership
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB1603 Secondary education. High schools
Faculties/Schools:	UK Campuses > Faculty of Social Sciences, Law and Education > School of Education
Item ID:	82687
Depositing User:	Rowe, Philip
Date Deposited:	31 Dec 2025 04:40
Last Modified:	31 Dec 2025 04:40
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/82687

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