This paper compares two institutional mentorships in the West African context: one is an institutional affiliation required by the National Accreditation Board (NAB) between a mentor public university and mentee private university in Ghana; the second one is a university-led mentorship between a mentor private university in Ghana and a mentee private university in Niger. The research questions are the following: How do the two models of institutional mentorship contrast? What is the role of the mentor and mentee in ensuring the effectiveness of institutional mentorship? To investigate these questions, qualitative data was collected through document analysis and interviews of key informants, who were involved in the mentoring relationship across the three institutions. Goleman’s (2000) leadership styles theory was applied as the theoretical framework in analyzing the case studies. The NAB institutional affiliation was coercive and created a disempowering and constraining effect upon the mentee, whereas the university-led mentorship displayed an authoritative leadership style and empowered the mentee through the inspirational example of the mentor. The understanding of responsibilities of the mentor and mentee in ensuring effective mentoring was regulations-driven under the NAB affiliation model and values-driven under the university-led model. The study showed the importance of the sense of agency of both the mentor and mentee in contributing to the mentoring relationship and what both forms of institutional mentorship could learn from each other. The findings of this study are important and relevant in informing the NAB to improve its institutional affiliation program and for new universities that are seeking models for building mentoring relationships with other institutions to expand their potential and impact.
{"title":"Institutional Mentorship in West Africa: Comparing Government-Regulated and University-Led Models","authors":"T. Mino","doi":"10.30828/real/2020.3.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2020.3.7","url":null,"abstract":"This paper compares two institutional mentorships in the West African context: one is an institutional affiliation required by the National Accreditation Board (NAB) between a mentor public university and mentee private university in Ghana; the second one is a university-led mentorship between a mentor private university in Ghana and a mentee private university in Niger. The research questions are the following: How do the two models of institutional mentorship contrast? What is the role of the mentor and mentee in ensuring the effectiveness of institutional mentorship? To investigate these questions, qualitative data was collected through document analysis and interviews of key informants, who were involved in the mentoring relationship across the three institutions. Goleman’s (2000) leadership styles theory was applied as the theoretical framework in analyzing the case studies. The NAB institutional affiliation was coercive and created a disempowering and constraining effect upon the mentee, whereas the university-led mentorship displayed an authoritative leadership style and empowered the mentee through the inspirational example of the mentor. The understanding of responsibilities of the mentor and mentee in ensuring effective mentoring was regulations-driven under the NAB affiliation model and values-driven under the university-led model. The study showed the importance of the sense of agency of both the mentor and mentee in contributing to the mentoring relationship and what both forms of institutional mentorship could learn from each other. The findings of this study are important and relevant in informing the NAB to improve its institutional affiliation program and for new universities that are seeking models for building mentoring relationships with other institutions to expand their potential and impact.","PeriodicalId":41311,"journal":{"name":"Research in Educational Administration & Leadership","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2020-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49172256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Principal turnover has become topic of discussion, attracting attention not only in media, but also among scholars. Research indicate that high turnover rate is problematic for several reasons. First, it jeopardises stability of school management, which is crucial for schools, not only to function well but also to develop as organisations. Second, since studies indicate that principals have an important, yet indirect, effect on student learning, it is reasonable to expect high turnover to impact negatively on both student and school performance. The aim of the study was to map out and describe national variations in principal turnover in Sweden and thus provide a basis for practice-oriented research. To determine the level of turnover and the extent to which particular municipalities or types of municipalities are facing substantially higher turnover than others, statistical data from Statistics Sweden (SCB) were used. Results show that the average principal has worked in the same municipality for approximately six years and changed schools less than once. Yet, results differ between different types of municipalities, i.e. metropolitan, urban, rural and sparsely populated areas. The results raise fundamental, yet often, overseen questions, namely: When and for whom is principal turnover a problem?
{"title":"Principal Turnover: When is it a Problem and for Whom? Mapping Out Variations Within the Swedish Case","authors":"Katina Thelin","doi":"10.30828/REAL/2020.2.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30828/REAL/2020.2.4","url":null,"abstract":"Principal turnover has become topic of discussion, attracting attention not only in media, but also among scholars. Research indicate that high turnover rate is problematic for several reasons. First, it jeopardises stability of school management, which is crucial for schools, not only to function well but also to develop as organisations. Second, since studies indicate that principals have an important, yet indirect, effect on student learning, it is reasonable to expect high turnover to impact negatively on both student and school performance. The aim of the study was to map out and describe national variations in principal turnover in Sweden and thus provide a basis for practice-oriented research. To determine the level of turnover and the extent to which particular municipalities or types of municipalities are facing substantially higher turnover than others, statistical data from Statistics Sweden (SCB) were used. Results show that the average principal has worked in the same municipality for approximately six years and changed schools less than once. Yet, results differ between different types of municipalities, i.e. metropolitan, urban, rural and sparsely populated areas. The results raise fundamental, yet often, overseen questions, namely: When and for whom is principal turnover a problem?","PeriodicalId":41311,"journal":{"name":"Research in Educational Administration & Leadership","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2020-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44748176","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Education of democratic citizens is a fundamental aspect of Danish primary and secondary schooling. However, policymakers push school principals' agency towards professional leadership by encouraging specific methods for assessing student learning outcomes. Enactment of a learning management system (LMS) supports the transition towards professional leadership and leads to self-regulation by all actors within schools. While supporting the professional agency of school principals, this transformation is at the expense of core elements of democratic practice. This article argues that schooling's democratic purpose tends to be forgotten in the shift towards the professionalization of principals' agency. In this process, an LMS is a powerful tool because principals can keep track of what teachers are doing digitally at all times. The concept of professional agency is used in this article to denote how the actions of school principals become distanced from the educational practice within the schools. The article is based on a qualitative study at four schools, comprising 31 semistructured interviews with principals, teachers, and civil servants. Bourdieu's thinking tools -field, habitus, and capital - will be used along with the concept of governmentality to explore principals' professional agency and self-regulation and to conduct a thorough analysis of practice
{"title":"Does the Combination of Professional Leadership and Learning Management Systems Signal the End of Democratic Schooling?","authors":"Ronni Laursen","doi":"10.30828/real/2020.2.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2020.2.2","url":null,"abstract":"Education of democratic citizens is a fundamental aspect of Danish primary and secondary schooling. However, policymakers push school principals' agency towards professional leadership by encouraging specific methods for assessing student learning outcomes. Enactment of a learning management system (LMS) supports the transition towards professional leadership and leads to self-regulation by all actors within schools. While supporting the professional agency of school principals, this transformation is at the expense of core elements of democratic practice. This article argues that schooling's democratic purpose tends to be forgotten in the shift towards the professionalization of principals' agency. In this process, an LMS is a powerful tool because principals can keep track of what teachers are doing digitally at all times. The concept of professional agency is used in this article to denote how the actions of school principals become distanced from the educational practice within the schools. The article is based on a qualitative study at four schools, comprising 31 semistructured interviews with principals, teachers, and civil servants. Bourdieu's thinking tools -field, habitus, and capital - will be used along with the concept of governmentality to explore principals' professional agency and self-regulation and to conduct a thorough analysis of practice","PeriodicalId":41311,"journal":{"name":"Research in Educational Administration & Leadership","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2020-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42216364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Smartphone applications have become increasingly popular, influencing functioning in all life domains. This study investigated the influence of the WhatsApp application on decision-making processes among kindergarten-managers. The research aimed to investigate the types of decisions made using WhatsApp. To examine this, a 3-phase mixed-method research was applied: (1) 23 semi-structured interviews with kindergarten managers. (2) Analysis of 74 WhatsApp managers-parents conversations. (3) A questionnaire administered to 324 kindergarten-managers. The managers reported a constant pressure for an immediate reaction and rapid decision making. Despite the pressure, managers claim they can limit the decision making to simple decisions and postpone complex decision making to off-line procedures. Yet, analysis of the questionnaire results indicate that this claimed ability to differentiate and limit the decision making to simple ones, is not the general case: managers who benefited more from WhatsApp tended to broaden the decision-making scope to all types of decisions. The expectation is that, as WhatsApp benefits to managers become more and more evident and the pressure to respond quickly increases, the barriers will tend to fall down, and more complex decision will be made on-line with the evident implications.
{"title":"Decision-Making Processes Using WhatsApp","authors":"Emanuel Tamir, R. Etgar, D. Peled","doi":"10.30828/real/2020.1.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2020.1.4","url":null,"abstract":"Smartphone applications have become increasingly popular, influencing functioning in all life domains. This study investigated the influence of the WhatsApp application on decision-making processes among kindergarten-managers. The research aimed to investigate the types of decisions made using WhatsApp. To examine this, a 3-phase mixed-method research was applied: (1) 23 semi-structured interviews with kindergarten managers. (2) Analysis of 74 WhatsApp managers-parents conversations. (3) A questionnaire administered to 324 kindergarten-managers. The managers reported a constant pressure for an immediate reaction and rapid decision making. Despite the pressure, managers claim they can limit the decision making to simple decisions and postpone complex decision making to off-line procedures. Yet, analysis of the questionnaire results indicate that this claimed ability to differentiate and limit the decision making to simple ones, is not the general case: managers who benefited more from WhatsApp tended to broaden the decision-making scope to all types of decisions. The expectation is that, as WhatsApp benefits to managers become more and more evident and the pressure to respond quickly increases, the barriers will tend to fall down, and more complex decision will be made on-line with the evident implications.","PeriodicalId":41311,"journal":{"name":"Research in Educational Administration & Leadership","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2020-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141206082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
P. Volante, R. Jeldres, K. Spero, C. Llorente, Michael C Johanek
This article describes the process of designing and creating six computer-based simulations for school leadership training programmes, in the context of the Chilean school system. For the design and construction of the simulations, six scenarios were selected from case analysis of principals with formal training and experience in different contexts. These scenarios were turned into stories with decision branches, and scores were assigned to the decision-making events according to national and international leadership standards. Finally, the scenarios were coded and installed onto a platform, which was adapted to capture quantitative and qualitative data. The simulations were applied to principals and candidates for school leadership positions. The process of creating and implementing the simulations demonstrated that it is possible to introduce a tool specifically designed to improve the decisionmaking abilities of school principals and leaders, replicating the Chilean educational context. This is a step forward in efforts to facilitate learning experiences based on decision-making situations contextualised and relevant to the training of school leaders. Finally, the use of computer-based simulations has great potential to scale the exchange of knowledge and make it universally accessible as a complement to other training opportunities in the careers of school leaders.
{"title":"Simulations for the Learning of Decision Making in Educational Leadership in the Context of the Chilean School System","authors":"P. Volante, R. Jeldres, K. Spero, C. Llorente, Michael C Johanek","doi":"10.30828/real/2020.1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2020.1.1","url":null,"abstract":"This article describes the process of designing and creating six computer-based simulations for school leadership training programmes, in the context of the Chilean school system. For the design and construction of the simulations, six scenarios were selected from case analysis of principals with formal training and experience in different contexts. These scenarios were turned into stories with decision branches, and scores were assigned to the decision-making events according to national and international leadership standards. Finally, the scenarios were coded and installed onto a platform, which was adapted to capture quantitative and qualitative data. The simulations were applied to principals and candidates for school leadership positions. The process of creating and implementing the simulations demonstrated that it is possible to introduce a tool specifically designed to improve the decisionmaking abilities of school principals and leaders, replicating the Chilean educational context. This is a step forward in efforts to facilitate learning experiences based on decision-making situations contextualised and relevant to the training of school leaders. Finally, the use of computer-based simulations has great potential to scale the exchange of knowledge and make it universally accessible as a complement to other training opportunities in the careers of school leaders.","PeriodicalId":41311,"journal":{"name":"Research in Educational Administration & Leadership","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2020-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41941819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Teacher unions worldwide are being criticized for disregarding their responsibility as professionals towards education and students. Critics have claimed that teacher unions tend to protect incompetent teachers, place their own needs and interests above their students, and continuously demand for financial increases even when there is more urgency to elevate teacher professionalism and improve teacher quality. This statement does not take into consideration the political, social and economic aspects that influence unions’ decisions. Therefore, this study utilizes a qualitative research design, specifically a grounded theory approach to investigate the challenges facing teacher unions in Lebanon from the perspective of union leaders and union members. Data was collected from seventeen public school union leaders and twenty-one teachers. Findings have revealed that teacher unions have assumed a social justice role limited to raising awareness. There are organizational, legal, political, educational, social, and economic barriers that prevent teacher unions in Lebanon from assuming a more active role as a union.
{"title":"The Struggle of Lebanese Teacher Unions in a Neoliberal Period","authors":"E. Ghosn, R. Akkary","doi":"10.30828/real/2020.1.8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2020.1.8","url":null,"abstract":"Teacher unions worldwide are being criticized for disregarding their responsibility as professionals towards education and students. Critics have claimed that teacher unions tend to protect incompetent teachers, place their own needs and interests above their students, and continuously demand for financial increases even when there is more urgency to elevate teacher professionalism and improve teacher quality. This statement does not take into consideration the political, social and economic aspects that influence unions’ decisions. Therefore, this study utilizes a qualitative research design, specifically a grounded theory approach to investigate the challenges facing teacher unions in Lebanon from the perspective of union leaders and union members. Data was collected from seventeen public school union leaders and twenty-one teachers. Findings have revealed that teacher unions have assumed a social justice role limited to raising awareness. There are organizational, legal, political, educational, social, and economic barriers that prevent teacher unions in Lebanon from assuming a more active role as a union.","PeriodicalId":41311,"journal":{"name":"Research in Educational Administration & Leadership","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2020-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47355910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Educational administrators are consistently challenged to find the right mix of leaders and to identify potentials that can be harnessed to expand the cadre. In both the academic and research communities, there has been much dialogue surrounding the way in which leadership is developed in organisations. These discourses continue to provide avenues for researchers to identify and recommend best practices for leadership development. Varied types of leadership could be explored as a means of expanding leadership capacity and sustaining a cadre of leaders suited to meet the growing needs in educational communities and other spheres. This study investigated perceptions of staff concerning distributed leadership as a possible strategy for enhancing succession planning, expanding leadership capacities, and ensuring that social justice is practiced within their organisation. Two main questions were explored in this study to uncover participants’ perceptions of current leadership practices and distributed leadership; and to have them suggest how distributed leadership could be used within their academic unit to expand leadership capacity and to practise social justice. This research provides valuable information regarding how distributed leadership can be used to augment leadership capacities, enhance succession planning, and expand leadership capacity to ensure social justice is practised within the specified context.
{"title":"Expanding Leadership Capacity toward Social Justice","authors":"Nola P. Hill-Berry","doi":"10.30828/real/2019.3.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2019.3.10","url":null,"abstract":"Educational administrators are consistently challenged to find the right mix of leaders and to identify potentials that can be harnessed to expand the cadre. In both the academic and research communities, there has been much dialogue surrounding the way in which leadership is developed in organisations. These discourses continue to provide avenues for researchers to identify and recommend best practices for leadership development. Varied types of leadership could be explored as a means of expanding leadership capacity and sustaining a cadre of leaders suited to meet the growing needs in educational communities and other spheres. This study investigated perceptions of staff concerning distributed leadership as a possible strategy for enhancing succession planning, expanding leadership capacities, and ensuring that social justice is practiced within their organisation. Two main questions were explored in this study to uncover participants’ perceptions of current leadership practices and distributed leadership; and to have them suggest how distributed leadership could be used within their academic unit to expand leadership capacity and to practise social justice. This research provides valuable information regarding how distributed leadership can be used to augment leadership capacities, enhance succession planning, and expand leadership capacity to ensure social justice is practised within the specified context.","PeriodicalId":41311,"journal":{"name":"Research in Educational Administration & Leadership","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2019-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48734096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article advances compelling information about deficits in training for inclusive school leaders, and presents viewpoints along with options intended to help support their efforts to lead others through cultural challenges and conflicts. It asserts that social justice on a whole and related values and norms have increasingly been caught up in added complexity and challenge that inclusive leaders may not have been prepared to lead through. The article also presents a rationale and supporting data for better developing overlooked administrator abilities. Finally, noting a lack of currently available resources to expedite training and foster important growth in key skill areas, this article ultimately advocates for expanded informal but qualified mentoring support being offered to inclusive school administrators.
{"title":"Mentoring School Leaders through Cultural Conflict","authors":"T. Hughes","doi":"10.30828/real/2019.3.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2019.3.6","url":null,"abstract":"This article advances compelling information about deficits in training for inclusive school leaders, and presents viewpoints along with options intended to help support their efforts to lead others through cultural challenges and conflicts. It asserts that social justice on a whole and related values and norms have increasingly been caught up in added complexity and challenge that inclusive leaders may not have been prepared to lead through. The article also presents a rationale and supporting data for better developing overlooked administrator abilities. Finally, noting a lack of currently available resources to expedite training and foster important growth in key skill areas, this article ultimately advocates for expanded informal but qualified mentoring support being offered to inclusive school administrators.","PeriodicalId":41311,"journal":{"name":"Research in Educational Administration & Leadership","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2019-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46528909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study investigates the role of content, context and process variables in the socialization of new faculty members. The study was designed as a phenomenological study and utilized interview as the data collection technique. A total number of 40 new faculty members working in 12 different public universities in Turkey participated in the study. The results of the study suggest that culture, power dynamics, reward and remuneration systems, social interaction, role models, organizational trust and trust in top management as contextual factors; knowledge sharing, networking and participation as process factors playing role in the socialization of the new faculty members. When the institutions provide the conditions for context and process factors, the new faculty members express positive statements about their adaptation to the new work setting while negative statements are evident in the opposite case. It is argued that the context and process dynamics are critical in reaching affective outcomes, which are basic to ensure productive behaviors (e.g., positive attitudes toward work, high level of motivation, and job involvement) and eliminating unproductive behaviors(e.g., turnover intentions).
{"title":"Socialization at the University: A Qualitative Investigation on the Role of Contextual Dynamics in the Socialization of Academics","authors":"Yaşar Kondakçı, Ç. Haser","doi":"10.30828/real/2019.2.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2019.2.3","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates the role of content, context and process variables in the socialization of new faculty members. The study was designed as a phenomenological study and utilized interview as the data collection technique. A total number of 40 new faculty members working in 12 different public universities in Turkey participated in the study. The results of the study suggest that culture, power dynamics, reward and remuneration systems, social interaction, role models, organizational trust and trust in top management as contextual factors; knowledge sharing, networking and participation as process factors playing role in the socialization of the new faculty members. When the institutions provide the conditions for context and process factors, the new faculty members express positive statements about their adaptation to the new work setting while negative statements are evident in the opposite case. It is argued that the context and process dynamics are critical in reaching affective outcomes, which are basic to ensure productive behaviors (e.g., positive attitudes toward work, high level of motivation, and job involvement) and eliminating unproductive behaviors(e.g., turnover intentions).","PeriodicalId":41311,"journal":{"name":"Research in Educational Administration & Leadership","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2019-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44387477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The article is based on a study whose purpose was to examine the lived experience of school leaders in Saskatoon with newcomers to whom English is an additional Language (EAL). Phenomenology as a methodological approach was used to gather and analyze data from leaders representing two school divisions. What was common in their accounts was synthesized to establish the essence of the leaders’ experience with EAL newcomers. Findings revealed that the nature of the experience manifests as a celebration, a learning opportunity and as a challenge. Its essence requires school leaders to have knowledge, skills and dispositions for acknowledging and responding appropriately to difference and the associated stereotypes, cultural diversity with its infinite variations, relations between dominant and minority cultures, the role of parents, communities and inter-organizational partnerships in school leaders-newcomer relationship. The essence also calls for school leaders to have self-knowledge, to be more reflective, and to embrace cognitive dissonance as learning opportunities.
{"title":"Towards School Leadership Development: The Essence of Working with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Newcomer Families in Saskatchewan","authors":"J. Okoko","doi":"10.30828/real/2019.2.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2019.2.1","url":null,"abstract":"The article is based on a study whose purpose was to examine the lived experience of school leaders in Saskatoon with newcomers to whom English is an additional Language (EAL). Phenomenology as a methodological approach was used to gather and analyze data from leaders representing two school divisions. What was common in their accounts was synthesized to establish the essence of the leaders’ experience with EAL newcomers. Findings revealed that the nature of the experience manifests as a celebration, a learning opportunity and as a challenge. Its essence requires school leaders to have knowledge, skills and dispositions for acknowledging and responding appropriately to difference and the associated stereotypes, cultural diversity with its infinite variations, relations between dominant and minority cultures, the role of parents, communities and inter-organizational partnerships in school leaders-newcomer relationship. The essence also calls for school leaders to have self-knowledge, to be more reflective, and to embrace cognitive dissonance as learning opportunities.","PeriodicalId":41311,"journal":{"name":"Research in Educational Administration & Leadership","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2019-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49001494","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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