Keyword: school leaders

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to contextualise the notion of leadership for learning within the Maltese educational landscape, while highlighting the systemic challenges the country faces in enhancing professional learning among educators. It is argued that successful reform needs to start with looking at the notion of collaboration and so at the system and school level. Two main shifts are proposed. Firstly, a partnership between schools as networks and central leadership is proposed, one that is based on new forms of governance. A second shift is that of enhancing the professional capital of teachers and leaders. In this way, teachers’ professionalism and professional identity are redefined. This paper explores how leadership and governance shape our perception of educational reform and the cultivation of professional learning in Maltese schools. It argues that meaningful change relies fundamentally on nurturing trust as a guiding principle across both systemic and institutional levels. Ultimately, without a genuine shift in mindset, reform efforts will fail to achieve a lasting impact where it matters most, student learning.

ABSTRACT: Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping school leadership within Education 4.0, offering enhanced decision-making and organisational efficiency while intensifying ethical concerns regarding transparency, bias, and accountability. Existing research has largely treated these opportunities and risks as separate phenomena, overlooking the relational processes through which AI is enacted in practice. This paper advances a process-based conceptualisation by positioning trust as the central mediating mechanism in AI-enabled school leadership. It argues that AI does not produce outcomes directly; rather, its effects are contingent on how it is accepted, interpreted, and enacted within school contexts. The proposed framework shows that trust shapes whether AI leads to constructive outcomes, including ethical use, professional engagement, and improvement, or to disruptive consequences such as resistance and mistrust. Leadership is conceptualised as a key antecedent of trust, highlighting the centrality of relational governance in the effective and responsible integration of AI in schools.

ABSTRACT: Teacher burnout has become a critical issue in education, threatening the sustainability of schools by diminishing the well-being and effectiveness of educators. This qualitative study explores the causes, consequences, and potential interventions for teacher burnout through in-depth discussions with eleven participants. The study draws on thematic analysis to uncover key stressors, including excessive workload, lack of administrative support, and systemic pressures. Our findings highlight the impact of burnout on classroom management, teacher-student relationships, and institutional cohesion. The discussion underscores the importance of strategic planning by school districts, emphasizing the need for well-paced, teacher-friendly programming to support educators. The study concludes that reducing administrative burdens and fostering a supportive work environment is essential to mitigating burnout and ensuring a sustainable education system.