Learning to Lead: Using Collaborative Self-study to Develop Educational Leadership
Date
2014-09-30
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Abstract
This work explores how autobiographical stories help to reveal the influences that inform educational leadership. The five participants in this study were educational leaders committed to tackling the problem of how to expand their leadership capacity. The purpose of this research was to understand the experiences of school leaders in rural settings and how those experiences shape their practice. By using collaborative self-study methodology within an ethic of care framework, participants shared autobiographical stories of the influences of school and prior leadership experiences. Displaying trust, vulnerability, courage and integrity, they were committed to collaboration as a foundational piece in their desire to become better leaders. During focus group meetings, participants searched for common themes in an effort to uncover meaning and deepen understanding of themselves and their leadership. They also reflected deeply on the stories of success and challenge that were faced in their professional lives. The findings that emerged from this study indicate salient linkages in three areas: (1) private reflections and self-knowledge, (2) knowledge of self and leadership development, and (3) leadership development and private reflections. Those linkages created a circular feedback loop and led to five conclusions of how the power of dialogue could further self-knowledge and develop trusting relationships that improve educational leadership. The resulting four recommendations may show how leaders can grow from being independent to interdependent and may point to important ways to build leadership capacity in other settings. Key words: autobiography, self-study methodology, reflection, collaboration, educational leadership, leadership development
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Education, Education
Citation
Bell, S. A. (2014). Learning to Lead: Using Collaborative Self-study to Develop Educational Leadership (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26742