scholarly journals Six ways of understanding leadership development: An exploration of increasing complexity

Leadership ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 434-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Kjellström ◽  
Kristian Stålne ◽  
Oskar Törnblom
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Organizational Development ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Development Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Collective Leadership ◽  
Organizational Contexts

Leadership development is a multifaceted phenomenon with a multitude of definitions and meanings requiring closer exploration. The aim of this study was to identify and investigate qualitatively different ways of understanding leadership development and categorize them from a complexity perspective. We conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with professionals and managers. Analysis using a phenomenographic approach revealed six categories and different ways of understanding leadership development: (1) one’s own development, (2) fulfilling a leadership role, (3) personal development, (4) leader and organizational development, (5) collective leadership development, and (6) human development. The categories were arranged hierarchically according to increasing complexity. Our contribution recognizes more nuanced interpretations than previously identified and highlights underlying structures of complexity. The results help to empirically ground and elaborate current theories and distinctions within the field of leadership development research where similar patterns can be observed. They may assist researchers in making both their own and other’s assumptions on leadership development explicit, as well as informing the practice of tailoring leadership development activities to better match individuals and organizational contexts.

Building the confidence of first-time middle leaders in New Zealand primary schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 749-760
Author(s):  
Martin Bassett ◽  
Nicholas Shaw
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
School Context ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
First Time ◽  
Middle Leaders

Purpose Middle leaders play an important role in the education landscape, first and foremost as teachers, and second as leaders. The purpose of this paper is to identify the expectations and challenges experienced by first-time middle leaders in New Zealand primary schools, and identify the leadership development and support they were provided with. Design/methodology/approach This was a small qualitative study designed to collect data from the perspectives of first-time middle leaders and principals in New Zealand primary schools. Three methods were employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six middle leaders who had been in the role for one to three years. These participants were identified through an analysis of recent public appointment records and then e-mailed with an invitation. Four principals from a local principals’ association were invited to comprise a focus group and relevant documents were analysed. Findings The findings from this study are presented in three sections: expectations, challenges and leadership development and support. Whilst the principals described wide and varied role expectations the middle leaders highlighted the importance of their teaching role with leadership responsibilities as secondary. From both perspectives time to do the administrative work was an overwhelming difficulty. A key finding was related to a lack of confidence to undertake the role in spite of efforts to provide and receive support. Overall, there was agreement that further development for new middle leaders was essential. Research limitations/implications This small, limited study highlights the central role that middle leaders play in leading learning and teaching, and the existence of a lack of confidence. Further research is needed to delve into conditions that would enable new middle leaders to manage the challenges of time and confidence. Practical implications The research recommends that practitioners who are new to a middle leadership role be allocated dedicated time for performing the administrative tasks and participating in an ongoing induction programme. The middle leaders themselves and their schools would benefit from efforts to strengthen middle leadership development. Originality/value Although a great deal has been written about middle leadership, there is only a small amount of research about primary schools. This research adds valuable new information in a primary school context and breaks new ground in researching early career, first-time middle leaders in this context.

scholarly journals Women in Education Management in Kosovo: A Hard Road Less Travelled

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Linda Ukimeraj Harris ◽  
Anita Trnavčevič
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
School Management ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Management Positions

This article presents limited yet significant findings of a pilot study of the experience of potential female leaders in education in Kosovo. It explores a small-scale qualitative study of the barriers to women’s accession in school management positions and the under-representation of women in management positions in primary schools in Kosovo. A qualitative, multiple case study approach is employed. Semi-structured interviews are employed to explore the experiences of four female teachers who have engaged in a leadership development scheme, and two government officials. In spite of being qualified for promotion to school management positions, none of the participants had applied for a school leadership role and opted to remain class teachers. Mirroring other contexts, the study found a mixture of factors acting on their decision not to progress into a management role. A lack of aspiration was influenced by their perception of the primacy of maternal and uxorial roles, political interference in school leadership appointments, gender stereotyping, and the constraining forces of social expectations in Kosovo. These constraints were only thinly balanced by the positive influence of familial support and female role models, encouraging women to engage in leadership roles.

The deputy principal instructional leadership role and professional learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Leaf ◽  
George Odhiambo
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Team Building ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Instructional Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on a study examining the perceptions of secondary principals, deputies and teachers, of deputy principal (DP) instructional leadership (IL), as well as deputies’ professional learning (PL) needs. Framed within an interpretivist approach, the specific objectives of this study were: to explore the extent to which DPs are perceived as leaders of learning, to examine the actual responsibilities of these DPs and to explore the PL that support DP roles. Design/methodology/approach The researchers used multiple perspective case studies which included semi-structured interviews and key school document analysis. A thematic content analysis facilitated qualitative descriptions and insights from the perspectives of the principals, DPs and teachers of four high-performing secondary schools in Sydney, Australia. Findings The data revealed that deputies performed a huge range of tasks; all the principals were distributing leadership to their deputies to build leadership capacity and supported their PL in a variety of ways. Across three of the case study schools, most deputies were frequently performing as instructional leaders, improving their school’s performance through distributing leadership, team building and goal setting. Deputy PL was largely dependent on principal mentoring and self-initiated but was often ad hoc. Findings add more validity to the importance of principals building the educational leadership of their deputies. Research limitations/implications This study relied upon responses from four case study schools. Further insight into the key issues discussed may require a longitudinal data that describe perceptions from a substantial number of schools in Australia over time. However, studying only four schools allowed for an in-depth investigation. Practical implications The findings from this study have practical implications for system leaders with responsibilities of framing the deputies’ role as emergent educational leaders rather than as administrators and the need for coherent, integrated, consequential and systematic approaches to DP professional development. Further research is required on the effect of deputy IL on school performance. Originality/value There is a dearth of research-based evidence exploring the range of responsibilities of deputies and perceptions of staff about deputies’ IL role and their PL needs. This is the first published New South Wales, Australian DP study and adds to the growing evidence around perceptions of DPs as instructional leaders by providing an Australian perspective on the phenomenon. The paper raises important concerns about the complexity of the DP’s role on the one hand, and on the other hand, the PL that is perceived to be most appropriate for dealing with this complexity.

Has Lean improved organizational decision making?

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 536-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Simons ◽  
Jos Benders ◽  
Jochen Bergs ◽  
Wim Marneffe ◽  
Dominique Vandijck
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Lean Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Organizational Decision Making ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Sustainable Improvement ◽  
Care Processes ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Sustainable improvement is likely to be hampered by ambiguous objectives and uncertain cause-effect relations in care processes (the organization’s decision-making context). Lean management can improve implementation results because it decreases ambiguity and uncertainties. But does it succeed? Many quality improvement (QI) initiatives are appropriate improvement strategies in organizational contexts characterized by low ambiguity and uncertainty. However, most care settings do not fit this context. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a Lean-inspired change program changed the organization’s decision-making context, making it more amenable for QI initiatives. Design/methodology/approach – In 2014, 12 professionals from a Dutch radiotherapy institute were interviewed regarding their perceptions of a Lean program in their organization and the perceived ambiguous objectives and uncertain cause-effect relations in their clinical processes. A survey (25 questions), addressing the same concepts, was conducted among the interviewees in 2011 and 2014. The structured interviews were analyzed using a deductive approach. Quantitative data were analyzed using appropriate statistics. Findings – Interviewees experienced improved shared visions and the number of uncertain cause-effect relations decreased. Overall, more positive (99) than negative Lean effects (18) were expressed. The surveys revealed enhanced process predictability and standardization, and improved shared visions. Practical implications – Lean implementation has shown to lead to greater transparency and increased shared visions. Originality/value – Lean management decreased ambiguous objectives and reduced uncertainties in clinical process cause-effect relations. Therefore, decision making benefitted from Lean increasing QI’s sustainability.

Holistic Leader(ship) Development: An Integrative Process Model of Leader and Leadership Development

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Michael Schwartz ◽  
Pooja Khatija ◽  
Diana Bilimoria
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Leader Development ◽  
Leadership Capacity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Leader Identity ◽  
Capital Development

The question of how to efficiently, holistically, and successfully develop leaders has been the focus of scholars and practitioners for several decades. Embedding the process of leader development in organizational contexts allows participants to develop and apply leadership knowledge, skills, and identity awareness. Embeddedness facilitates the holistic integration of the interactive processes of leader development (which focuses on increasing the leadership capacity of an individual) and leadership development (which focuses on increasing the leadership capacity of an organization), which is referred to in this article as leader(ship) development (LD). Two sub-processes involved in LD (i.e., general and situational identity development and knowledge/skill/social capital development) and four mechanisms of embeddedness that facilitate holistic LD (i.e., leader identity integration, opportunities to learn and develop in the organization, organizational support and feedback, and helping relationships) will be described. A discussion on the ways by which management education pedagogy can integrate and facilitate embeddedness and provide guidance for future research will follow.

scholarly journals Final exam: what is the result of studying at school?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Alekseevna Tolkacheva ◽  
Vasilisa Fedorovna Tolkacheva ◽  
Evgenii Iurevich Gurov
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
School Education ◽  
Educational Technologies ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
School Based ◽  
The Individual

What should be considered and evaluated in modern technological conditions as a result of school education? What are the consequences of "informational expansion of the individual"? How digitalization affects the fundamental psychophysiological processes of personal development. Without an answer to these questions, it is impossible to talk about understanding the significance of the development of digital educational technologies. It is proposed to identify invariants of learning outcomes in school based on the psychophysiology of human development.

scholarly journals QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF COACHES’ PERSPECTIVES ON MORAL EDUCATION IN SPORT

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (107) ◽  
pp. 46-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saulius Šukys ◽  
Živilė Dargenė ◽  
Diana Karanauskienė
Keyword(s):  
Moral Education ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Career Planning ◽  
Professional Knowledge ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Football Coaches ◽  
Moral Behaviour ◽  
Moral Competences

Background. Moral behaviour and moral education of young athletes still remain an important issue in sports context. This study was designed to examine coaches’ perspectives on moral education in sport. Methods. In this study, aiming at establishing the perspectives of coaches on the moral education of athletes in sports activities, qualitative research was selected. Primary data were collected via semi-structured interviews with nine basketball and football coaches of different experience and age. The data were analysed applying thematic analysis. Results. Thematic analysis indicated that coaches identified goals of athletes’ education as the development of athletes’ personality, motivation, the development of sports excellence and the encouragement to achieve victory. Coaches defined moral education as the development of the authority of an athlete, fair play, compliance with rules, and integrity. The most common means coaches used for moral education were explanation, discussion, lectures, meetings, personal examples, case analyses. Such means are important for athlete’s personal development, pursuit of results, and career planning. The qualities of good coach were professional knowledge, authority, competences of creating motivational climate, and also moral competences. Conclusion. A central finding of the study is that coaches define moral education in sport through the education of moral values and the goals set by coaches related not only to the sports results, but also to the development of the personality of athletes. Personal role of coaches in moral education encompassing professional knowledge and moral competences of athletes is of great importance.

scholarly journals Cultural Access to the Educational system in Iraq and its Impact on Human Development: Cultural Anthropology Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (126) ◽  
pp. 232-263
Author(s):  
Thakra Abd Manaam Ibraheem
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Cultural Anthropology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Comprehensive Development ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Descriptive Method

This paper concern with the cultural access to the educational system as a base for human development within Iraqi society. Students of Anthropology understand that culture would always shape the components of the society according to the cultural perspective, including educational system who reflects the cultural heritage in some way. This study is an attempt to study the impact of Iraqi culture as a base to rehabilitate and rebuild educational system to bring about and contribute to the continues development in relation to human resources recruitment in order to run the socio-economic aspects of the comprehensive development in the country depending on the educational system who play essential role in every society’s development; technically, scientifically and socially. The researcher adopted the descriptive method of data collection, including participant observation, semi-structured and structured interviews on a random sample of 160 respondents on Alsuha District of Alshaab City in Baghdad and Alshammasia district in Aladhamyah city. This is the only available way to collect data.

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