The professional development needs of appointed middle leaders in education and training board, post-primary schools.

Professional Development is an intrinsic element to ensure that teachers are effective. It supports teachers to effectively evolve and adapt in their classroom practice to respond to change; in society, curricula and student needs. However, achieving high quality PD which simultaneously meets the needs of the teacher and the school community is a complex matter and one which has been described as a “wicked problem” (Louis et al., 1999, p.56). When teachers assume an appointed, middle leader role, they have the potential to influence both policy and practice and are central to the implementation of new practices. This role requires an additional skillset to that needed by a classroom teacher. However, many teachers do not receive appropriate training or guidance (Irvine and Brundrett, 2016). Pressures from the top and the bottom of the school system make the role of ML a challenging one (Irvine and Brundrett, 2016) and specific development and support is required to ensure MLs are to reach their potential (Fleming, 2012). A thematic literature review of relevant peer-reviewed literature from the past ten years and seminal work in the field of middle leaders and teachers’ PD was undertaken for this study. This pragmatic research involved exploratory sequential Quantitative > qualitative elements. The Quantitative research was informed by a set of five semi-structured interviews that were used as an instrument development for the online surveys. It was envisaged that the use of both methods would increase the validity of the research and provide a deeper understanding of AP1 post holders PD needs. The focus however was clear; the quantitative data from the web interviews was paramount. The findings were subsequently presented to 10 post holders to verify them and to gain further insight. The development of MLs can be supported by five elements: career selfmanagement, principal support, provision of leadership programmes, supportive school culture and clearly defined roles (Gurr and Drysdale, 2013). These needs are reflected in the findings and subsequent recommendations of this study