Network staff
Paul Close
Course leader, BA Hons, Dip Ed, MSc, MSc
Phone 0114 225 5169
Email p.close@shu.ac.uk
Paul's main research interest is in multi-agency leadership, i.e. how education professionals learn to work effectively with other professional groups, such as health and social care, in providing services for children and young people. A former head of English and advisory teacher, Paul has also been a research fellow in organisation development at the Sheffield Business School, and a founder company director of Organisation Development Associates, where he specialised in projects involving multi-agency working.
Paul's research has been rated as 'a significant contribution to the field' by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. His consulting work with OD Associates resulted in successful bids for multi-agency projects totalling £200,000 over a two year period.
Since joining the Faculty of Development and Society, Paul has contributed to the Centre for Education and Inclusion Research on six successful bids for evaluation of professional development programmes, five for the National College for School Leadership and one for the Teacher Development Agency on wider workforce development in schools.
Paul is a member of the Education Policy and Leadership Research Group in the faculty and of BELMAS (British Educational Leadership and Management Association), where he is a regular conference paper presenter. He teaches and supervises on the EdD programme and is external examiner for the Msc Leadership and Management in Education course at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Selected recent publications
Close, P (2012) Developing multi agency leadership in education. School Leadership and Management (forthcoming).
Close.P and Wainwright, J ,( 2010) Who's in charge?. Leadership and culture in extended service contexts. School Leadership and Management. vol.30. no. 5. November. 435-450.
Close , P, and Raynor, A (2010) Five literatures of organisation: Putting the context back into educational leadership. School Leadership and Management. vol.30. no.3. July. 209- 224 cont….
Simkins , T, Close, P , Smith, R (2009) Workshadowing as a process for facilitating leadership succession in primary schools. School Leadership and Management. vol. 29. no.3. July. 239-51
Close, P. (2009) From transition to transformation:-Leading the management of Change. chapter 5. in Mckimm, J and Phillips, K (eds) Leadership and Management in Integrated Services. Exeter.Learning Matters.
Simkins, T, Coldwell, M, Close, P , Morgan, A. (2009) Outcomes of In School Leadership Development Work:-. A study of three NCSL programmes. Educational Management, Administration and Leadership. January.37. 29-50
