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Feeling the Future of School Leadership: Learning to lead with the emotions in mind
Abstract and Figures
A discussion of challenges and opportunities in school leadership and associated implications for leadership preparation and development. points to the transformational power of breaking the silence on emotion. The article presents an argument for positioning inner leadership, relational connectedness and collaborative reflective processes that foster them, as foundational to successful educational professionalism and the principal's role in developing social capital and promoting social cohesion to optimise learning conditions for students. Reviewed is a synthesis of some of the author's research in this area, which considers the experiences of teachers, leaders and students. Emergingfrom the reconsideration offindingsfrom these and other studies is a fresh perspective on leadership preparation that is grounded in a focus on emotional preparedness, personal resilience and well being of leaders and persons in their care. The approach challenges traditions of isolation and self-denial as leaders learn how to create school cultures that revitalise their own, as well as teachers' and students' working and learning conditions. Conclusions reflect the position that reconnecting with the power of emotional meaning making benefits all concerned, including and especially the students.
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... Emotions are central to education (Beatty, 2007;Crawford, 2009) and shape leaders' understandings of their practices (Tenuto et al., 2016), decisions, actions and relationships with other school members (Yamamoto et al., 2014). However, research in the context of educational reform is focused on leaders' rejection or acceptance of changes and effects on adaptation, rather than the sense making or emotional labor involved (Sutton and Wheatley, 2003;van Veen and Sleegers, 2009;van Veelen et al., 2017;Schmidt and Datnow, 2005). ...
... It also allows for understanding how they personally and collectively make sense of the demands of reform (Ganon-Shilon and Schechter, 2017). Understanding school leaders' emotions is considered essential for effective capacity building and implementation (Fullan, 2001;Hargreaves, 2005;Beatty, 2007;Agote et al., 2016). Emotional reactions affect the success and effectiveness of leadership practices, school improvement initiatives and organizational change (Hargreaves, 2005;Oreg et al., 2011). ...
... In fact, the study found that emotions, which are considered integral to individual and collective experiences of educational change (Beatty, 2007;Fullan, 2016;Hargreaves, 2005;Harris, 2004), were indeed influenced by the type of change and environmental conditions, which in turn influenced the effectiveness of coping strategies and their ability to sustain commitment to change (Agote et al., 2016;Beatty, 2007). Moreover, participants' emotional responses were influenced by relational processes to the reform. ...
Purpose
Emotions of school leaders influence school culture and structure. Understanding emotions is under-researched and under-theorized in non-western contexts, especially during educational change. The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of the leadership team’s (LT’s) emotional responses to change, their coping strategies and conditions that maintain their commitment to change.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used intrinsic case study research, drawing on data from interviews and a focus group that illuminated perceptions of the LT in a school. The data set was analyzed following the general inductive approach.
Findings
The LT’s experienced three critical incidents (CI) of educational change that provoked a range of intense negative and positive emotions, a national curriculum reform. Despite the team’s attempt to cope with the national curriculum reform (i.e. CI1), negative emotions and unsupportive conditions challenged their commitment to change. In CI2, supportive conditions and effective personal coping strategies helped elicit positive emotions, which led to sustained commitment to change. Emotions experienced during the capacity-building program (i.e. CI3) were predominantly positive due to support from the school principal and coaches, resulting in sustained commitment to change.
Research limitations/implications
Findings from this small-scale case study in Lebanon are not generalizable to other contexts. The time lag could have affected the recollection of experiences. All participants were female, and their experiences might not reflect those of other school members affected by the changes.
Practical implications
Examining emotions during change uncovers insight into school leaders’ subjective experience, facilitates a more nuanced understanding of change, and supports change implementation. Considering emotions during change informs the development of tailored interventions that provide effective support.
Originality/value
This study examines how emotions affect the success of educational change. Contrary to common understanding, change does not always generate negative emotions that impede implementation. School-based improvement creates structural and cultural conditions for effective change as it considers practitioners’ socio-emotional needs, eliciting positive emotions.
... The integration of emotions in leadership lies at the core of successful leadership practices which derived from small and large scale study results (Day & Leithwood, 2007). According to Beatty (2007), leading with people in mind motivated leaders to make a difference to the life of their school community. Head teachers sustained success by infusing their life with passion. ...
... I would suggest the inclusion of reflective professional practices and personal development. Beatty (2007) suggested how novices should be equipped with skills like emotional preparedness and personal resilience, because apart from nurturing people around them, novices should also look after their own well being. They should also become familiar with how to create, reshape or revitalize school culture and learning conditions in their school. ...
This case study explored the nature of emotional experiences of a female newly appointed head teacher, the Novice, in a public Cypriot lower secondary school in Cyprus. Coping strategies and the development of interpersonal relationships with teachers, in association with trustworthy leadership, were followed in terms of a step by step process. The study draws upon qualitative research methods, rooted within the naturalistic paradigm in order to illuminate the emotions associated with the professional and organizational socialization of the Novice in the context of Cyprus. Data were collected through head teacher observation and semi- structured interviews, as well as semi-structured interviews and questionnaires with teachers. Emotional experiences were associated with challenges faced throughout transition and were classified according to four adaptation phases, accompanied by intense Emotional Labour. During the first phase, the Novice realizing the ultimate responsibility that was associated with the role, felt shocked, isolated and lonely. During the second phase, feelings of anger, anxiety, frustration and bitterness prevailed. Mental and physical exhaustion were tied in with being sad, depressed, desperate and feeling sorry for herself. Finally, during the last phase when the Novice accepted the situation, feelings of assertiveness and contentment finalized the successful adaptation to the new environment as she had successfully built trust, becoming a trustworthy leader.
... The interest of it is how members of the social group organize, perceive and load meaning (Şişman, 1998). As it is understood, this approach focuses on how members of the community create and make sense of the contexts they live in (Beatty, 2007a(Beatty, , 2007b. Therefore, educational organizations are seen as social facts that the creators of them agree with socially and perceive uniquely. ...
The purpose of this study is to identify emerging trends and tendencies of educational administration in Turkey and abroad after the 2000s. It is aimed to analyze the articles published in the journals of educational administration from a thematic perspective and to draw comparative results. With the thematic analysis of the articles published in selected journals which are considered important in the field of education administration, it is aimed to reach general assessments of the situation by uncovering the trends in Turkey and the world and examining the similarities and differences in these trends. Leadership as an emerging theme was the most frequently studied category, school improvement, school psychology, administrative structure, and processes followed this. While the themes such as racism, equality, women managers, and gender differences were among the most examined themes in the foreign articles, the situation was the opposite in local articles. In local articles, resolving organizational conflicts and ensuring unity of organization, the members of the organization being attached to the organization, maintaining the order of school and classroom, and ensuring student discipline were underlined. Articles published in the local journal are much more about other educational issues than administration and leadership.
... For instance, the introduction of change in schools can create worries and anxieties among the staff. The management of emotions and affects is an important part of principals' leadership which have to pay attention to these different subjective dimensions for supporting the emergence of a new professional culture (Beatty 2007). The creation of spaces for discussion and deliberation is also an important dimension of principalship. ...
French principals are exposed to paradoxes. Their ethics and values lead them to maintain a republican moral stance by affirming their attachment to public services and secularism. Their membership to a professional group within a bureaucratic organization does not predispose them to endorse managerial ideas and practices. However, as the New Public Management enters the education system, they are increasingly being required to focus on school organization and improvement. They have therefore to assume hybrid roles and responsibilities, between administration, management, and leadership, while the organizational structure remains relatively inflexible, and resources such as support are lacking. This creates a series of tensions that are presented in this chapter along with the moral agency that many principals adopt in their relationships within schools. Between hierarchical prescription and autonomy, between cooperation and conflict, between citizenship and pedagogy, they seek ways for capacity building and school improvement in a civic and egalitarian perspective. Although they are trained mainly as administrators and State representatives, they learn by doing to become managers and leaders without much recognition for their creativity and innovation. They also hardly reflect on themselves as leaders despite leadership practices that can be observed in their daily activities.
... For instance, the introduction of change in schools can create worries and anxieties among the staff. The management of emotions and affects is an important part of principals' leadership which have to pay attention to these different subjective dimensions for supporting the emergence of a new professional culture (Beatty 2007). The creation of spaces for discussion and deliberation is also an important dimension of principalship. ...
... For instructional leaders, the core of their work is to ensure all students' academic achievement (Ovando and Cavazos, 2004). School leaders are a critical architect of a school's culture (Beatty, 2007). For teachers to engage in collaborative inquiry and work around teaching and learning, school leaders need to ensure that the culture they create provides teachers with social and emotional safety to "encourage creativity, bold selfcritique, rigorous practices and genuine collaborative inquiry" (Beatty, 2007, p. 48). ...
COVID-19 forced a sudden closure of schools, prompting a hasty and unplanned reaction of educators to deliver educational content. Inspired by Ivan Illich's book Deschooling Society, where he argues for the delivery of educational content by utilizing technology and forging intentional partnerships with parents and communities to assist in the delivery of educational content, we reflect on how these ideas impact school leadership and preparation of school leaders. This “forced” deschooling has offered educators an opportunity to rethink the true purpose of education, and redesign flexible, creative and innovative instructional strategies for delivering educational materials and knowledge, as well as rethinking the role of and preparation of educational leaders. While we do not offer quick solutions, our intent is to revisit Illich's Deschooling Society as a means to examine and question our school system introspectively and collectively.
... An initial first step in this regard might be to "acknowledge and even honour the centrality of the emotions to the processes" (Hargreaves, 1998, p. 333). of coaching, learning, performance, and caring in practice. While various educational strategies could be utilised to achieve this goal (see Beatty 2004Beatty , 2006Beatty , 2007, the overarching intent should be "to put the heart back into" coaching, learning, and leading in a sincere manner and for the benefit of all (Hargreaves, 1998, p. 333). ...
The notion of school leadership is far from being stabilized and, beyond its global dissemination, its realization varies according to policies and local contexts. There is a large agreement for assuming that this English-speaking paradigm, carried by International Organizations, faces different cultural and institutional traditions in Europe as well as in Latin America, and that leading school organizations cannot be reduced to neo-managerial perspectives. However, leadership remains a heuristic concept to reflect on the emergence of new roles and responsibilities between principals and teachers at school level.
In this chapter, the authors investigate the social skills that school principals ought to exhibit in order to be more effective in the complex environment that characterizes modern schools. Thus, the main aim of this chapter is to provide an in-depth exploration of those social skills that are needed in order for school principals to become more flexible to external and internal requirements and to balance the need for change with stability. Therefore, an attempt is made to investigate the linkages between school leadership, emotional intelligence, political skill, and teachers' job satisfaction, as well as to examine the correlation of emotional and political skills of principals with the job satisfaction of their teachers.
In this chapter, the authors investigate the social skills that school principals ought to exhibit in order to be more effective in the complex environment that characterizes modern schools. Thus, the main aim of this chapter is to provide an in-depth exploration of those social skills that are needed in order for school principals to become more flexible to external and internal requirements and to balance the need for change with stability. Therefore, an attempt is made to investigate the linkages between school leadership, emotional intelligence, political skill, and teachers' job satisfaction, as well as to examine the correlation of emotional and political skills of principals with the job satisfaction of their teachers.
Case studies of site-based governance councils in Salt Lake City, Utah, provided the basis for testing whether building-based councils with broad jurisdiction, formal policymaking authority, parity protections, and training provisions actually enable teachers and parents to exert substantial influence on school policy. Despite the existence of these highly favorable arrangements, teachers and parents did not wield significant influence on significant issues in these decision arenas. Other factors, notably the composition of the councils, the relative power and role orientations of principals and professionals, norms of propriety and civility, the nature of district oversight and support, a congenial culture, and stable environment intervened to transform policymaking bodies into auxiliary units, convert teacher-parent parity to principal-professional control, and maintain rather than alter the influence relationships typically and traditionally found in schools. The implications of this research for those who advocate site-based governance as a potent reform strategy are discussed.
Educational reform networks are becoming increasingly important as alternative forms of teacher and school development in this time of unprecedented reform of schools. These networks appear to be a way of engaging school-based educators in better directing their own learning; allowing them to sidestep the limitations of institutional roles, hierarchies, and geographic locations; and encouraging them to work with many different kinds of people.
In a study of sixteen educational reform networks, we found that they shared organizational themes relating to: (1) purposes and direction; (2) building collaboration, consensus, and commitment; (3) activities and relationships as important building blocks; (4) leadership as cross-cultural brokering and facilitating; and (5) dealing with the funding problem.
Regardless of their differences, the sixteen networks we studied appear to have in common agendas more often challenging than prescriptive; learning that is more indirect than direct; formats more collaborative than individualistic; work that is intentionally more integrated than fragmented; leadership more facilitative than directive; thinking that encourages more multiple perspectives; values that are both context-specific and generalized; and structures more movement-like than organization- like.
As any school principal or adminstrator can tell you, the responsibilities of school leadership can take a person from inspired moments to crisis in an instant. How does a school leader with good intentions preserve a healthy sense of self in the face of a crisis which in the best of times challenges the self, and in the worst of times can lead to deep wounds of the heart? How can good leaders minimize the impact of these crises and remain open to learn and grow from these difficult experiences? These are the questions at the heart of the stories contained in The Wounded Leader.Through compelling stories that illustrate many of the common dilemmas faced by school leaders, the authors highlight the many paths to healing, and show how sometimes the most painful experience can be an opportunity for growth.
Reviews Breaking the silence, a book designed to provide insightful and meaningful information for aspiring and practicing teachers and school administrators who wish to become informed and effective educators in schools. The chapters cover: the problem of principal mistreatment of teachers; the many faces of principals' abusive behaviors as well as the possible causes of such behavior; authoritarian and control-oriented types of leaders and why people consent to such attempts to control them; the most severely aggressive forms of principal mistreatment behaviors; and the effects of principal mistreatment of teachers.
This article reports on a broad-scale study in the field of leadership and gender. It isbased on research into some 400 male and female principals in Victoria, Australia,between 1996 and 1999. While confirming previous claims that there are significant differencesin the perceptions and beliefs of male and female leaders, it acknowledges theimportance of organizational cultures and values systems. It argues for a sophisticatedresearch lens which comprehends the complex interactions between principals and thecontexts in which they work. Findings with regard to students, teachers and parents areexplored with reference to variables such as level and size of schools, sectorial values andstudent gender. These are linked to an argument that male and female leadership inAustralian schools takes multiple forms and that differences within a gender can be asimportant as differences between them.