Improving Practice in Subject Departments: The experience of secondary school subject leaders in Wales

This paper is an account of a research-based study of the experience of subject leaders (SLs) in Wales in improving the practice of members of their departments. Seventeen SLs from secondary schools in South Wales were interviewed in depth. The findings reveal that the SLs worked to create a culture of collaboration that both controlled the development of practice and contained the anxiety and emotions associated with teaching, organising and practice improvement. A significant issue was the SLs' attempts to improve the practice of those department members whose practice was unsatisfactory.