A literature informed competency framework for curriculum middle managers in post compulsory education

The Post-Compulsory Education (PCE) curriculum middle manager is a role often overlooked. Support and development initiatives are commonly geared towards senior leaders or teachers. The last set of UK professional standards for teachers in post-compulsory education were published in 2014 by the Education and Training Foundation. In comparison the last, and now forgotten, set of professional standards for PCE curriculum middle managers were created by FENTO in 1999.

This paper builds on both management and post-compulsory education research to devise a literature informed competency framework for PCE curriculum middle managers. The paper reviews three management competency frameworks each themselves grounded in theory, and considers how a management competency framework could be applied to a PCE curriculum middle manager. It establishes that management theory alone is insufficient in developing a competency framework. As such, the paper utilises published research on management in post-compulsory education to propose a contextualised competency framework for PCE curriculum middle managers in the sector.

The significance of this literature-based research is that it provides the platform from which empirical research will stem. Following this paper, the next stage of research will evaluate and adapt the literature informed competency framework by those who occupy the role (curriculum middle managers) and those who recruit to it (human resource managers). It is anticipated that the finalised framework would be used to support the development of new and existing middle managers to understand and fulfil the requirements of their role.