Through the eyes of the big man: experiences of contemporary educational leaders in Papua New Guinea

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dc.contributor.advisorLaGrange, Annette V.
dc.contributor.authorMacleod, Catherine Jane
dc.date.accessioned2017-12-18T22:28:25Z
dc.date.available2017-12-18T22:28:25Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.descriptionBibliography: p. 174-188en
dc.description.abstractBy nature, Small Island Developing States are negotiating a permeable traditional societal culture and an engulfing globalization. Although the body of research is expanding, there is limited literature on the identity of contemporary indigenous educational leaders as they mediate their praxis, primarily based on Western theory, and their traditional cultural belief systems. This qualitative single-case study, conducted onĀ­site over a three year period, investigated the perceptions and experiences of 14 indigenous educational leaders in a Westernized organization in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Three findings emerged from the study. One, both postcolonial and globalizing influences are salient to the experiences of the leaders and data confirm existing research on cross-cultural educational leadership in that PNG local culture effectively and powerfully filters and mediates individual and collective leaders' thoughts and actions. Two, research uncovered manifestations of the Melanesian Big Man as identified in existing socio-cultural and anthropological research on the identity and subsequent leadership practices of the current day leaders. Data analysis suggest the legacy and prevalence of four distinctive traditional leadership characteristics: (a) respect; (b) influence and power; (c) loyalty and obligation; and (d) opportunism and ambition. Participant experiences and reflections about these four attributes augur a change in understanding leadership in Papua New Guinea and require further investigation to explore the extent to which these plausible shifts in understanding indigenous leadership are reflective in other developing nation contexts. Three, a hybrid leadership identity is emerging in PNG. Research data highlight that local leaders, acknowledging past contributions and models of expatriate colleagues, are profoundly conscious of the influence and value of PNG cultural beliefs and practices on their actions as educational leaders. The contemporary PNG leader's role is that of the rounded self-adjusting fulcrum, oscillating and balancing the influences of Western organizational policy and expectations with tangible and intangible cultural values and assumptions about traditional PNG leadership. Participant reflections as indigenous leaders in a Westernized educational organization indicate that they are bridging traditional and contemporary leadership assumptions and practices and co-creating a distinct localised leadership responsive to the unique and diverse social and cultural context existing in Papua New Guinea today.
dc.format.extentx, 199 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.en
dc.identifier.citationMacleod, C. J. (2012). Through the eyes of the big man: experiences of contemporary educational leaders in Papua New Guinea (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/4592en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/4592
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/105593
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.titleThrough the eyes of the big man: experiences of contemporary educational leaders in Papua New Guinea
dc.typedoctoral thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineEducational Research
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Education (EdD)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
ucalgary.thesis.accessionTheses Collection 58.002:Box 2074 627942918
ucalgary.thesis.notesUARCen
ucalgary.thesis.uarcreleaseyen
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