Dr Mike Cowie
A former secondary school teacher, Michael has considerable experience at all levels in comprehensive schools in different parts of Scotland, and in Botswana. Michael has also 7 years experience as a research and development officer in education authorities. His development work and research interests mainly centre on headteacher development, school leadership, school management and governance, and school improvement. He was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and Director of the North of Scotland Headteacher Preparation Consortium, a partnership of nine education authorities and two universities (Aberdeen and Dundee) prior to joining CEL.
Current Research Projects
Michael helped instigate The International Study of the Preparation of Principals (ISPP). This study involves researchers in several countries and is intended to address the question "How useful are principal preparation programs to novice principals?"
Michael is also the Co-Principal Investigator on the Measuring School Performance project and involved in research activity focused on policy formulation in respect of school management and governance, both of which are within the School Management and Governance network of the Applied Educational Research Scheme (AERS) in Scotland. Michael also serves on the SMG Network Committee.
With Philip Woods at the University of Aberdeen, Michael is currently leading research commissioned by Learning and Teaching Scotland to identify the Continuing Professional Development needs of headteachers in Scotland.