Educational Leadership As A Culturally Constructed Practice

This edited book collection disrupts received notions of educational leadership, culture and diversity as currently portrayed in practice and theory. It draws on compelling studies of educational leadership from the global north and south, as well as from a range of ethnic, religious and gendered perspectives and critical research approaches. In so doing, the book powerfully challenges contemporary leadership discourses of diversity that reproduce essentialising leadership practices, binary divisions and asymmetrical power relations. The various chapters contest and move beyond exhortations for leadership in increasingly diverse societies; revealing through their rich portraits of the hybridity of leadership practice, the shallowness of diversity discourses that are framed as something "we" (the culturally homogenous) leader do to (heterogenous) ‘others’. The volume is more than critique. Instead it offers readers new directions and possibilities through which to understand, theorise and practise educational leadership in the twenty first century. In portraying leading as a "relational practice in contexts of cultural hybridity" (Blackmore, this volume), it extends critical theories for and of leadership practice, examining the intersectionality between leadership and a range of social categories, and challenging notions of leadership as a singular construct. Compelling research narratives reveal educational leadership practice as nuanced, temporal, site specific and prefigured by traditions and cultural understandings that reach beyond a simplification of educational leadership as understood through unitary lenses of race, gender or ethnicity. This book is essential reading for academics and students of educational leadership and management, as well as administrators.

The exploration of the intersection of leadership practices from the school principal and other educators, the school culture, and the school success across different high-need contexts and cultures make this volume unique. Chapters in this volume present original investigations or reanalysis of empirical research enhancing our understanding of the interrelationship between leadership, culture and success through descriptions of practice that can contribute to lessons in leadership for school improvement. When considering a culture of success, leadership that focuses on impacting schools in high-need areas bring about lessons on how to create sustainable environments for student learning in challenging contexts. High-need schools include not only socioeconomic challenges influencing the performance of students. It includes multiple external and internal factors impacting leaders, teachers, students, and their families, affecting the management of structures, processes, and most importantly, learning. In the quest to improve high-need schools, and understand strategies for principals dedicated to a variety of contexts, this volume brings lessons with application for researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners who want to join in the quest to improve the quality of education among worldwide communities.

This edited collection documents and deconstructs the concept of educational leadership within various education settings across the Mediterranean region, exploring the intersection of education, culture and geopolitics as shaped by the distinct social, religious, national, cultural and geographic contexts.

This book shows how school leaders at all levels – from the most senior manager to the classroom teacher – can help to build learning communities through collaborating and negotiating with their colleagues, students and students’ parents and carers, as well as with external agencies and local communities, to sustain and develop the enjoyment of successful learning among the members of a school. It looks at how positive cultures can be constructed that support inclusive and exciting teaching, enthusiastic teachers and engaged students, parents and carers. Drawing on research, the book examines topics such as the nature of leadership, especially distributed and teacher leadership; the politics of education management; the construction of inclusive cultures in schools; school improvement; and the construction of collaborative and inclusive work groups. It uses a range of critical perspectives to examine processes of change and the relationships of people in school communities to each other and to their social, economic and policy contexts. The book argues that it is essential to develop inclusive education in order to promote student engagement, social justice and equity within formal education. Understanding Educational Leadership is key reading for teachers, headteachers, school leaders, policy makers, Education students and practitioners, and others who have an interest in improving schooling.

This book provides the theoretical and analytical resources for an urgent rethinking of the social project of educating and educational leading. It examines what educational leadership is, namely the politics and power of leadership as a practice, and what it can and should be, offering a pedagogical and praxis-informed approach to educational practice. Drawing on research conducted at various Australian schools and education districts, it argues for a reframing of educational leadership as pedagogical practice/praxis to transform theorising and practice in the field. The book provides a rich account of educational leading through a practice lens, bringing into dialogue the theory of practice architectures with site ontologies, Bourdieu’s thinking tools and feminist critical scholarship. The book tracks the practices and praxis of educational leaders as they grapple with the changing landscape and forces of educational policies that have informed Australian education. It reimagines education leadership by integrating Continental and Northern European understandings of pedagogy and praxis as being morally and ethically informed, as opposed to the narrower Anglophone notions of pedagogy as teaching and learning. The book adds to the body of knowledge on the “actual work of leadership” as a “distinct set of practices” that is morally and ethically informed. Readers will find a more holistic understanding of educational leadership practice and praxis, based on the everyday accounts of educational leaders, teachers and students in schools and education districts.

This book offers a richly observed study of three principals working in some of the most disadvantaged primary schools in Victoria, Australia. It explores their social justice understandings and practices in working to improve the educational outcomes for children in their schools, through autobiography, biographical interviews, in-depth interviews and observations. The work looks into their life histories, the formation of their primary and secondary habitus, and uncovers and examines their encounters with the public education field. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice and his ‘thinking tools’, the book investigates how the principals’ understandings of social justice are shaped by the intersection of their life and work histories. This book is of interest to educational leadership scholars interested in the application of critical theory to studies of leadership. The book provides an exemplar for the application of Bourdieu’s theory of practice, and it makes a strong contribution to Bourdieusian scholarship, social justice scholarship and educational leadership scholarship.

This text calls for a broader approach to comparative educational administration: one which uses culture as the principle means of analysis. The articles collected by Allan Walker and Clive Dimmock detail the educational practices and outcomes of other systems while taking into account the mediating influence of culture. In this way, these essays stress the specific aspects of the cultures studied, and map out common ground for the study of administrators' values, beliefs, and actions.

This book documents and deconstructs the concept of educational leadership within various education settings originating from diverse global environments. It focuses on presenting different readings of educational leadership via distinct theoretical and methodological applications. It takes forward the idea of critical leadership studies and uses creative analytic practices to present layered readings of educational leadership. The book offers leadership studies dealing with various education settings across a wide spectrum with international perspectives. It provides examples of educational narratives through somewhat unconventional modes of representation. This book is beneficial to readers interested in the study of educational leadership and using qualitative methodologies in educational research.