Subversive leadership and power tactics

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 398-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Wang
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Secondary School Principals ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Metro Vancouver ◽  
The Status ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Relational Harm

Purpose Principals’ leadership has become a subversive activity that is carried out strategically to challenge and disrupt the status quo and resist policies and practices that are counterproductive to their work. The purpose of this paper is to reveal subversive tactics principals use in pursuit of justice and equity in schools and identify challenges and risks associated with their subversive leadership practices. Power tactics were used as a conceptual framework to guide the analysis of subversive activities by school principals. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study focuses on 18 elementary and secondary school principals from six district school boards in the Metro Vancouver area who participated in the semi-structured interviews on their practices that epitomize different tactics in response to increasing demand and accountability. Findings The power tactics identified in this study illuminate many of the dilemmas principals face in their work and demonstrate the various ways principals exercise their political acumen to “act strategically to determine which tactics to use, when, and with whom.” In exercising ethics of subversion and critique, participants are more likely to use soft, rational, and bi/multilateral rather than hard, non-rational, and unilateral power tactics. Such tendency reveals their concern about causing relational harm and shows their strategic avoidance of direct confrontation. Research limitations/implications Considering the limitations on the sample size and the research context, more research is needed to examine to what extent subversive practices are exercised and how they play out in different contexts. Originality/value The study shows that leadership involves upholding morals and values, even if this means having to use subversive practices to ensure inclusive, equitable, and just outcomes.

Accountability in the financial management practices of school principals

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agrippa Madoda Dwangu ◽  
Vimbi Petrus Mahlangu
Keyword(s):  
Financial Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
School Principals ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Status

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to investigate the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms employed in financial management practices of school principals in the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Education. The strengths and weaknesses of the systems and mechanisms of the processes to hold school principals accountable are explored in detail in this study. The argument that this article seeks to advance is that accountability of the school principal to the school governing body (SGB) does not yield the best results in terms of efficiency. It creates a loose arrangement in terms of which the school principal takes part in financial mismanagement in schools.Design/methodology/approachData collection was made through semi-structured interviews whose purpose was to draw experiences from SGBs, particularly the finance committees who are in fact the sub-committees of the SGBs; as well as literature review. The finance committee is made up of the chairperson of the SGB, the secretary of the SGB, the treasurer of the SGB, and the financial officer who is a clerk responsible for the keeping and the management of financial records of the school. The process started with semi-structured interviews, then transcribing, coding, developing themes, making meaning of the themes and subsequently developing a principle.FindingsMechanisms employed by schools and the Department of Education to hold principals accountable for their financial management practices fail to make them fully accountable and effectively face the consequences of acts on their part that are illegal and unlawful. The mechanisms need a great deal of overhauling. The argument that this article seeks to advance is that this account of the school principal to the SGB does not yield the best results in terms of efficiency. It creates a loose arrangement in terms of which the school principal easily gets away with a crime when financial mismanagement occurs in the school.Research limitations/implicationsParticipants could possibly not be comfortable and willing, to tell the truth as it is. Participants might have the fear that telling the truth could land them in trouble with the law. Whilst participants were assured by the researchers of their anonymity and the confidentiality of the information given by them, there was no guarantee that the fear of being exposed would subdue completely. There was also a possibility that some participants would not be willing to say the truth as it is for fear of being victimised by other participants for exposing the status quo in their schools.Practical implicationsThe findings and recommendations from this study may be used by the Department of Basic Education as a source of information for policymakers and stakeholders to understand the effectiveness of their mechanisms to ensure the accountability of school principals on issues of financial management. On the basis of this study, policymakers will then be able to revisit their policies for the purpose of strengthening them. The principal is therefore responsible for the day-to-day administration and management of school funds because of this mandatory delegation. However, when things go wrong, it is the SGB that is held liable.Social implicationsSchool principals hold dual accountability in terms of which they are accountable to the employer only in so far as their professional responsibilities are concerned on financial management in the first instance. They are by no means accounting officers in schools. In the second instance, they are fully accountable to the SGB for issues relating to financial management. Section 16A of SASA lists the functions and responsibilities for which the principal as an employee of the Department of Basic Education, and in his official capacity as contemplated in Sections 23(1) and 24(1) (j) of the same Act, is accountable to the head of department (HOD).Originality/valueThe study provides a theoretical and empirical contribution to the existing literature on the effectiveness of the mechanisms employed to ensure the accountability of school principals in their financial management practices in schools. It offers practical recommendations putting in place mechanisms that effectively hold school principals wholly accountable for their financial management practices in schools. Most of the time, it is easy for the principal to get away with a crime even in instances where he or she is called upon to account for alleged financial mismanagement.

The creation, preservation and transmission of Shuishu archives in China

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 1192-1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiying Lian
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Community Culture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Status ◽  
Activation Mechanisms ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Ethnographic Methodology ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a qualitative study exploring the conditions associated with the creation, preservation and transmission of Shuishu archives in China, and the crises today in their preservation and transmission and the reasons behind them. It also proposes activation mechanisms to shift Shuishu archives from jeopardized collective memory to preservable cultural memory. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews and ethnographic fieldwork were conducted over the course of a month in 2015. Findings The creation, preservation and transmission of Shuishu archives in the community of the Shui rely upon the community’s closed system. But this system has been broken as a result of modernization and wide use of new media in China. To preserve and transmit Shuishu archives to future generations, there needs to be mutual trust and equitable cooperation between government archives and the Shuishushi. The “cultural consciousness” of the Shui needs to be stimulated, and more members of the Shui and the whole of society need to participate in the preservation and transmission of this distinctive memory. Practical implications The study can provide a provocative example for education in preservation and LIS about community culture and archiving, and the preservation of social memory, identity and culture. The activation mechanisms seek to aid in the preservation and transmission of Shuishu archives and other similar community memory. Originality/value The study uses semi-structured interviews and ethnographic methodology to develop a rich understanding of the history and the status quo of the preservation and transmission of Shuishu archives. It redefines Shuishu archives and sheds light on the roles government archives should play in the preservation and transmission of Shuishu archives.

Responsibility, authority, and accountability in school-based and non-school-based management

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Grinshtain ◽  
Dan Gibton
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Based ◽  
Primary School Principals ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
School Based Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how primary school principals in Israel cope with the gaps between authority and responsibility in their work, deriving from partially implemented decentralization processes, and how this relates to school-based management (SBM) and accountability principles. Design/methodology/approach Using the qualitative method, 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with school principals from one district in Israel. Thematic analysis was used in order to identify themes in the interviews that enable creating codes for the characteristics of authority and responsibility and for the principals’ strategies. Findings Gaps were found between authority and responsibility, with particularly low levels of authority alongside high levels of responsibility. Coupled with the demand for accountability, those gaps led principals to adopt three strategies – active, partly active, and passive – to help reduce the tension resulting from them. The SBM definition has links to the specific strategy that principals used. Originality/value The results indicate the importance of clear definitions of authority and responsibility in principals’ work. The current study deepens the understanding of the gaps between these concepts as key for understanding accountability at decentralized schools; tensions that principals cope with as a result of those gaps; and the strategies that enable principals to ease the tension for the benefit of all those involved in the principals’ work.

Principals' intentions and anticipated challenges in implementing nutrition education

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fozia Ahmed Baloch ◽  
Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail ◽  
Nazir Ahmed Jogezai
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Secondary School Principals ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Mixed Method Design

PurposeThis study aimed to know principals' intentions of implementing nutrition education (NE) and explore the challenges they may anticipate while implementing NE in their respective schools.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a sequential mixed-method design using a questionnaire and interviews to collect data. The quantitative data were collected from 378 secondary school principals, while 16 school principals were interviewed.FindingsThe study found principals with positive intentions towards implementing NE. The results also highlighted challenges related to capacity building, resources (both human and physical), policies and plans, roles, and responsibilities of the implementers (teachers and principals), support from higher authorities, community participation and teachers' unions. This study concludes that principals' intentions remain central to the implementation of NE in schools. However, it is necessary to overcome those challenges before its implementation.Research limitations/implicationsThe study sought to ascertain principals' intentions rather than their actual behaviour of NE implementation and hence remains limited in this area, which future research may consider. Furthermore, the research is limited to the principals' opinions on the anticipated challenges associated with NE implementation. The study did not solicit the opinions of other stakeholders, such as education managers, policymakers, teachers and communities.Originality/valueThe article is significant in terms of NE being implemented in schools to improve students' physical and academic wellbeing. The critical role of principals has been investigated by determining their intentions and the anticipated challenges associated with implementing NE. The authors declare the originality of the data.

Blockchain in your grocery basket: trust and traceability as a strategy

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghassan Yacoub ◽  
Maria Castillo
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Business Application ◽  
Secondary Data Sources ◽  
Increasing Demand

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gain insights and explicate how blockchain technology enables trust and traceability building from a real business use case. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a qualitative case study of a leading global French grocery retail firm that has started to integrate blockchain into their supply chain and products. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and secondary data sources. Findings This paper developed a conceptual framework in unboxing the mechanism by which blockchain enables trust and explicating how information flows in a blockchain-based system compared to a traditional one in a real business application scenario through three main elements, namely, system architecture, data recovery and communication. Originality/value Given the upside potential of emerging technologies such as blockchain coupled with the current increasing demand for business use cases, the paper is timely in integrating the business and technological aspects of trust in formulating a firm-level blockchain strategy.

Learning from failure or failing to learn: perspectives of school principals

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Caliskan
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Complete Loss ◽  
Business Organizations ◽  
Educational Organizations ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial Practices ◽  
Learning From Failure ◽  
Heavy Workload

PurposeEducational organizations confront a number of failures along with successful practices. Although a potential learning source for organizations, failures encountered are not normally welcomed and utilized to improve future practices. However, the existing literature emphasizes that individuals and organizations can learn a lot from their failure by adopting a pragmatic understanding toward the concept of failure and implementing a learning-from-failure (LFF) approach in their practices. Drawing on these assumptions, the purpose of this study is to explore how school principals identify educational failures and implement an LFF approach in their managerial practices.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a qualitative research paradigm. The research was conducted in a middle-sized city in Turkey. The data for the study came from individual semi-structured interviews conducted with 12 school principals. The interview data were coded and analyzed using a conceptual coding framework.FindingsFindings indicated that school principals’ definitions of failure are classified as learning related and nonlearning related. Failures were generally considered to be a learning opportunity rather than a complete loss, although principals’ identification of important examples of failure varied across school levels. In operating an LFF approach at schools, certain limitations existed such as a lack of institutional policy and professional skills, heavy workload and limited autonomy.Originality/valueThis study attempted to explore domains of educational failures and the application of an LFF approach at educational organizations. The LFF approach has previously been studied and discussed in business organizations. This study applied the concept to the education field.

Death by a thousand cuts

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-167
Author(s):  
Tom P. Abeles
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Lower Cost ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Post Secondary Institution ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
The Cost

PurposeThe purpose of this foresight editorial is to explore the changing nature of the traditional post‐secondary institution under increased pressure at the intersection of expanding demand for access and the maturation of the internet to allow international delivery to meet this demand.Design/methodology/approachThis is an opinion piece.FindingsThe cost of basic knowledge assets, with the rise of “big data” and the internet, are asymptotically approaching zero, questioning why the increasing demand for access cannot be met at lower cost at the gates of the “Ivory Tower”. This is and will continue to have increased impact on how basic baccalaureate knowledge is delivered and certifiedSocial implicationsThe “bar” for job entrance has been raised beyond the secondary school diploma. At the same time, the removal of bottlenecks for post‐secondary certification, internationally, will change the nature of employment of graduates and also the entire infrastructure of the bachelor‐level institutional programs.Originality/valueThis is a contrarian foresight essay designed to provoke discussion at the systems level of education in general and post‐secondary programs in particular.

Principals as socio-religious curators: progressive and conservative approaches in Islamic schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 677-695
Author(s):  
Melanie C. Brooks ◽  
Jeffrey S. Brooks ◽  
Agus Mutohar ◽  
Imam Taufiq
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
School Site ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Islamic Schools ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Religious Thinking

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate how socio-religious dynamics influence (and are influenced by) principals in Islamic schools.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative case study took place in Semarang, Indonesia. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with school leaders along with school site observations. To frame the study, we drew from both Indonesian and international scholarship to understand extant perspectives on the context and on the ways that principals influence socio-religious thinking and practices in schools.FindingsFindings suggested that principals' personal experiences and beliefs are central to the ways that socio-religious thinking and practices are manifest in their school. Principals practice more progressive or conservative leadership by influencing the degree to which the school is (a) an open or closed system, (b) inclusive or exclusive in their practices and (c) plural or unitary in their teaching. In making decisions along each of these continua, principals in Islamic schools “curate” a socio-religious educational environment.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature on principals and socio-religious dynamics in schools by discovering specific continua of practice that collectively suggest a more conservative or progressive interpretation of Islam. As this area is understudied in educational leadership, the study makes a foundational empirical contribution, suggests theoretical constructs heretofore unexplored, and advances the notion of principal as curator of educational practice.

The implications of loneliness among school principals

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peleg Dor-Haim ◽  
Izhar Oplatka
Keyword(s):  
Work Performance ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Secondary School Principals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Research Methodology ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Positive Perspective

PurposeThis paper explores the subjective interpretations of school principals' experiences of loneliness in the workplace and the implications of those experiences. The study poses two questions: (1) How do school principals perceive that their experience of loneliness affects their emotional well-being? (2) How do school principals perceive that the experience of loneliness influences their performance at work?Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 elementary and secondary school principals in Israel. A qualitative research methodology was employed to collect and analyze the data.FindingsData analysis resulted in four overarching themes, which captured the subjective consequences of principals' experiences of loneliness at work: a negative effect on work performance, emotional distress, physical health consequences and a positive perspective on loneliness.Originality/valueExpanding upon the current knowledge regarding principals' perceived outcomes of loneliness may help to deepen our understanding of principals' emotional experiences and functioning at work. This examination is of great value as previous research has demonstrated the central role of principals on school success.

Involving parents in secondary schools: principals’ perspectives in Greece

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angeliki Lazaridou ◽  
Aspasia Gravani Kassida
Keyword(s):  
Parental Involvement ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Secondary School Principals ◽  
School Reforms ◽  
Parental Participation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vice Principals ◽  
Parental Involvement In Schools

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report findings from an investigation of Greek principals’ attitudes and perceptions concerning parental involvement in schools – research prompted by the belief that the information will be useful in attempts to make Greek schools more effective. Design/methodology/approach – The participants of the study were secondary school principals and vice principals from one Prefecture in Central Greece. The questionnaire used elicited information about the participants’ demographics, the main features of the schools they were serving in, and their views concerning existing and preferred school-family partnerships. Findings – The principals in the investigation seemed to be not only in favor of parental participation, but also saw a need to increase it. In general, then, the findings support others’ reports that parents’ participation in schools – in this instance secondary schools – tends to be less than satisfactory. Originality/value – In Greece, the issue of parental involvement in schools has not received adequate attention until recently. The latest school reforms emphasize the notion of parental involvement as a significant factor for the effectiveness of the Greek schools.

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