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Examining leadership-as-practice in a rural Saskatchewan school

Date

2020-04-17

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

ORCID

0000-0002-7231-9390

Type

Thesis

Degree Level

Doctoral

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore leadership-as-practiceduring the implementation of a school improvement initiative in a k-12 Saskatchewan school. Using a practice lens, which characterizes leadership as a socially constituted phenomenon, my objective was to examine the interactions of the rural school actors as they implemented the initiative to understand how leadership-as-practiceunfolded as they worked together. Specifically I wanted to observe: 1) how the practice of leadership was enacted in this rural school; 2) how the factors in the socio-material context influenced the practice of leadership, and; 3) how the activities of leadership-as-practiceenabled the successful implementation of the school improvement initiative. A qualitative case study was undertaken to study leadership-as-practicein this rural school. Data were collected over a three-month period incorporating non-participant observation of five team meetings over the school term, semi-structured interviews of 12 participants who worked within the initiative, and document analysis of project documents and meeting minutes. The key findings from this inquiry revealed that leadership-as-practicein this rural school unfolded in a collective and collaborative manner as the team engaged in several problem-solving opportunities during the execution of the improvement initiative. Leadership-as-practicewas supported by: (a) a culture of trust engendered by the rural school context; (b) the REORDER framework that guided the implementation of the initiative, and; (c) the resources that structured and supported information and or processes as the team worked together. A process of double loop learning also enabled the team to improve the ways in which members worked as they implemented the project or made changes to it. Findings from this study pinpoint the significant role that the close knitted and familial context of the rural school played in supporting the shared form of leadership evidenced during the implementation of the personalized and blended learning philosophy. Additionally, the leadership-as-practice perspective elucidates and captures the important contribution that is made by teachers to the leadership process of rural schools during the implementation of improvement initiatives. The findings of the study also support the need for leadership development that is contextually responsive and includes not only the principal, but all parties involved in the leadership practice in rural schools.

Description

Keywords

Rural School Leadership, Leadership-as-Practice

Citation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Educational Administration

Program

Educational Administration

Part Of

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DOI

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