Examining Leadership Perceptions and Practices to Deliberate on Educational Policy Implementation - an Interdisciplinary Approach

Authors : Stefan RATHERT, Yasemin KIRKGÖZ

Pages : 1-10

View : 51 | Download : 14

Publication Date : 2017-05-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The importance of leadership preparation, development and informed practice as well as leaders’ explicit and implicit perceptions of leadership for the understanding of principle-based and effective educational innovation is uncontested. Problems reported in educational policy implementation, however, strongly suggest that leadership principles are often neglected or applied insufficiently. Starting from this observation, this study aimed to elicit the perceptions three Turkish leaders in different occupational domains hold on leadership, and to identify practices potentially conducive to implement educational policy. Perceptions and reported practices were then taken as a starting point to critically examine current problems of curricular innovation taking the case of English language teaching policy in Turkey as an example. For this reason, a standardized interview guide informed by the relevant literature was developed, and professionals in leadership positions were interviewed. The results emphasize the importance of leadership preparation and development and implicate the need to apply participative forms of leadership, so that English teachers, as copers of change, can attach meaning to educational reforms by relating them to existing beliefs about teaching and learning.
Keywords : Leadership preparation, Leadership development, Leadership practice, ELT policy

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