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Context counts Viewing small school leadership from the inside out

Context counts Viewing small school leadership from the inside out This paper proceeds from the basis that leadership can only be understood in context and by viewing it from the inside. In particular, it argues that the contextual complexity of small school leadership warrants attention from researchers, policy makers and system administrators and describes the nature of this complexity as depicted in the literature. It then reports a study being conducted in two states of Australia which examines the ways novice principals of small schools located in rural and remote areas make sense of, and deal with, the contextual complexity of their work. Finally, the paper discusses the implications of the study for promoting understanding of small school leadership and for developing authentic means of professional learning. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Educational Administration Emerald Publishing

Context counts Viewing small school leadership from the inside out

Simon Clarke; Helen Wildy
Journal of Educational Administration , Volume 42 (5): 18 – Oct 1, 2004
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0957-8234
DOI
10.1108/09578230410554061
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This paper proceeds from the basis that leadership can only be understood in context and by viewing it from the inside. In particular, it argues that the contextual complexity of small school leadership warrants attention from researchers, policy makers and system administrators and describes the nature of this complexity as depicted in the literature. It then reports a study being conducted in two states of Australia which examines the ways novice principals of small schools located in rural and remote areas make sense of, and deal with, the contextual complexity of their work. Finally, the paper discusses the implications of the study for promoting understanding of small school leadership and for developing authentic means of professional learning.

Journal

Journal of Educational Administration – Emerald Publishing

Published: Oct 1, 2004

Keywords: Leadership; Complexity theory; Schools; Australia

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