Using Participatory and Social Network methods to gain authentic insight into the role of relationships and networks on the capitals, agency and resilience of middle leaders in secondary schools.

This paper discusses a study designed to understand the role of relationships and networks in the workplace and the impact these had on the capitals, agency, and resilience which middle leaders in secondary schools experienced as part of their work. Capturing the authentic voices of participants through the research process can be problematic. Extensive research highlights a problem in semi-structured interviewing in that they are more likely to result in formal rather than informal responses. Therefore, the use of mediating objects are commonly used to help participants connect with their experiences and understand issues and alternative perspectives more clearly.
In this paper, I explore the use of Social Network Analysis and Participatory Mapping techniques to create such objects as part of the interview process and generate conversation as the participants explore and reconcile their lived experiences.The resulting narratives provided a rich insight into the working lives of middle leaders in England and the wide variation of experiences in the ways they drew from the emotional support in their reciprocal and trusted relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. The level of sharing throughout the networks was surprising and the way this influenced the sense of agency and ability to enact change are a significant contribution to our understanding of the influence relationships and networks have as schools manage the political landscape of curriculum change and inspection reforms. These findings, and those around the ‘darker side’ of relationships through social control within school structures, should be of interest to those working within education, whether this be school leaders, teachers, or policy makers, as we understand what influences the motivation and commitment for people to stay and thrive within our schools.