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This paper is one of four related to our project on ‘Networked management learning for educational leaders’. In this first paper we will focus on the question, what is networked management learning, and why is it potentially important or significant for leadership development in the learning and skills sector? A prior issue to address is that of what notion or concept of leadership we are seeking to develop through networked management learning. As Keith Grint argues, leadership is a contested concept ‘because it remains contested exactly how we recognise, train and exert leadership depends fundamentally on that first definitional step’ (Grint, 2005) It is not our intention in this paper to review possible definitions and ways of thinking about leadership, as other [Centre for Excellence in Leadership] CEL projects have already done this to great effect. Instead, we intend to simply explain the view we take to leadership, we feel this is important when considering networked management learning as a development approach for educational leaders in the learning and skills sector.

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This paper is one of four related to our project on ‘Networked management learning for educational leaders’. In the first paper in this series, we defined leadership as a relational process that takes place within a ‘relational space’. We believe that in order for learning to take place, it is important to create a safe space for people to engage in dialogue, share ideas, and reflect on their professional experience. Our research shows that people in the learning and skills sector are already involved in creating online spaces in order to network, reflect on shared practices, and stay in touch. By engaging with the technologically supported networks that already exist for people in the sector, our research aims to: (1) understand how people in the sector are already creating learning spaces and find out what this tells us about their learning styles and preferences; and (2) suggest ways in which we could draw on this understanding to create learning spaces that address the needs of current and future leaders in the sector. To sum up, we are interested in understanding how people learn in online spaces, both formally and informally. Our research sees online networks not just as a resource that is used by people who happen to be leaders, but as a relational space where people construct their identities as leaders through a process of dialogue and reflection.

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This paper is one of four related to our project on ‘Networked management learning for educational leaders’. In this working paper we explore in more depth networks and networked learning and the possibility of relationships involving weak ties and looser and less focused groupings. We take the view that strong and weak links are not mutually exclusive but rather that we might find that the strong ties found in community and collaboration are special cases of a rather more general set of phenomena found in networks and involving ties with a variety of forms and strengths.

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This paper draws on the work of Mikhail Bakhtin and Norman Fairclough to show how dialogue is central to the construction of identity in networked management learning. The paper is based on a case study of a networked management learning course in higher education and attempts to illustrate how participants negotiate issues of difference, inclusivity and belonging through relational dialogue.

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The responsibility for providing [a] conducive environment for forest management primarily rests with [the] Forest Department (FD). Due to the changing nature of forest management practices and policies and also pressures of global/national/local forces, there is a constant need to cope with the changes in order to keep abreast with the development that takes place rapidly. In view of the National Training Policy, the FD is duly engaged in developing their own human resources by sending forest officers for different training/management development programs. In spite of the newly emerging training scenario in the field of forestry, trainers of different institutions are observing that forest officers are not giving due importance to attending the training. In view of [the] above, the need for a systematic study to find out various training perceptions of forest officers and assessment of their current training needs and wants, was realised. Results indicated that there is a need for incorporation of [a] participatory approach in the training process, which should include all the three stakeholders, namely the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), state forest departments and the forest officers. Besides, the synchronisation of [the] broader mandate of MOEF with state forest departments and the forest officers' training needs is also required in this regard.

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This paper is one of four related to our project on 'Networked management learning for educational leaders'. In papers one and two in this series, we laid out the thinking behind our project, describing both how a networked management learning approach works and how it could be used for leadership development. The next two papers focus directly on the learning and skills sector. In this paper, we develop the ideas outlined so far and explain how we believe they are relevant for the development of leaders in the sector. The fourth paper outlines one case study, which looks at the ways in which [further education] FE principals are already involved in learning and reflection through an online network.

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