Mandated cross-school networks as policy infrastructure: empowering principal leadership and system change in China’s MPD initiative
Yulian Zheng, Shuangye Chen, Haiyan QianPurpose
This study challenges the Western voluntarism paradigm in school networks by examining how China’s state-orchestrated Master Principal Development (MPD) initiative constructs policy infrastructure to drive principal leadership development and system change, specifically targeting educational equity.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing content analysis of policy documents and in-depth interviews with 33 participants (master principals, studios’ participants) across six multi-tiered Master Principal Studios (MPS), the research analyzes the design, governance and operation of the MPD.
Findings
The analysis reveals: (1) Strategically mandated equity-focused policy infrastructure transforms hierarchical directives into collective action; (2) Principals leverage this infrastructure through dual-axis leadership development, blending vertical (expert-led) mentorship with horizontal peer collaboration to redistribute expertise and build capacity; (3) Boundary-spanning activities within the MPS networks translate leadership growth into scalable, contextually embedded educational improvements.
Originality/value
This research makes a significant theoretical contribution to the literature on professional capital by demonstrating how state-enabled network infrastructure effectively cultivates and mobilizes professional capital – specifically, social capital and decisional capital in service of equity goals. It empirically challenges the assumption that professional capital development primarily relies on voluntary collaboration, offering a novel model where state capacity strategically fosters professional autonomy and systemic equity at scale. The study provides emerging economies with a replicable framework for balancing state orchestration with localized discretion to build professional capital and achieve sustainable system-wide improvement.