Towards coherence: Mapping and rethinking post-primary school leadership networks in Ireland

This article examines the complex landscape of post-primary school leadership networks in Ireland at a time of increasing policy attention to leadership sustainability and system reform. Despite the prominence of networks for post-primary principals and deputy principals in Ireland, conceptual ambiguity persists regarding their purpose, function and impact. Offering social capital as a useful perspective for interpreting the relational dynamics within these networks and using a documentary meta-mapping approach, the article identifies the range of formal leadership networks available to principals and deputy principals. This ‘meta-landscape’ of networks is shown to offer opportunities for collaboration and professional support, while also potentially contributing to fragmentation, and a need for discernment on the part of school leaders. The article highlights both the potential benefits and the ‘dark side’ of networks, including the risk of reinforcing existing hierarchies. It concludes by identifying implications for research, policy and practice, particularly the need to better understand how leaders navigate network engagement and to assess the impact of networks on leadership practice and capacity.