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New Leaders: A New Paradigm in Educational Leadership

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analyze the strategy of changing a successful existing program in an established organization to create a model that is more scalable and financially sustainable
consider the opportunities and challenges of a partnership to scale impact
understand a variety of revenue models for social impact organizations
unpack common trade-offs and tensions between financial sustainability, efficacy and scale; and identify conditions and strategic choices that can support organizations maximize financial sustainability, efficacy and scale.

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Review article, strategy and strategic leadership in education: a scoping review.

1 Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Research Centre for Human Development, Porto, Portugal
2 Universidade de Évora, Évora, Portugal

Strategy and strategic leadership are critical issues for school leaders. However, strategy as a field of research has largely been overlooked within the educational leadership literature. Most of the theoretical and empirical work on strategy and strategic leadership over the past decades has been related to non-educational settings, and scholarship devoted to these issues in education is still minimal. The purpose of this scoping review was to provide a comprehensive overview of relevant research regarding strategy and strategic leadership, identifying any gaps in the literature that could inform future research agendas and evidence for practice. The scoping review is underpinned by the five-stage framework of Arksey and O’Malley . The results indicate that there is scarce literature about strategy and that timid steps have been made toward a more integrated and comprehensive model of strategic leadership. It is necessary to expand research into more complex, longitudinal, and explanatory ways due to a better understanding of these constructs.

Introduction

Strategy and strategic leadership are critical issues for school leaders ( Davies and Davies, 2006 ; Davies and Davies, 2010 ; Eacott, 2010a ; Eacott, 2011 ). However, strategy as a field of research has largely been overlooked in educational leadership literature ( Davies and Davies, 2006 ; Eacott, 2008a ; Eacott, 2008b ; Davies and Davies, 2010 ; Eacott, 2011 ). Most of the theoretical and empirical work on strategy and strategic leadership over the past decades has been related to non-educational settings, and scholarship devoted to these issues in education is still very limited ( Cheng, 2010 ; Eacott, 2011 ; Chan, 2018 ).

The concept of strategy appeared in educational management literature in the 1980s; however, little research was produced until the 1990s (cf. Eacott, 2008b ). Specific educational reforms led to large amounts of international literature mostly devoted to strategic planning ( Eacott, 2008a ; Eacott, 2008b ; Eacott, 2011 ). For a long period, the concept of strategy was incomplete and confusing. The word “strategy” was often used to characterize different kinds of actions, namely, to weight management activities, to describe a high range of leadership activities, to define planning, or to report to individual actions within an organization ( Eacott, 2008a ).

Strategy and strategic planning became synonymous ( Eacott, 2008b ). However, strategy and planning are different concepts, with the strategy being more than the pursuit of a plan ( Davies, 2003 , Davies, 2006 ; Eacott, 2008a ; Eacott, 2008b ; Quong and Walker, 2010 ). Both phases of plans’ design and plans’ implementation are related, and the quality of this second phase highly depends on planning’ quality ( Davies, 2006 ; Davies, 2007 ; Eacott, 2008a ; Eacott, 2008b ; Eacott, 2011 ; Meyers and VanGronigen, 2019 ). Planning and acting are related and must emerge from the strategy. As stated by Bell (2004) .

Planning based on a coherent strategy demands that the aims of the school are challenged, that both present and future environmental influences inform the development of the strategy, that there should be a clear and well-articulated vision of what the school should be like in the future and that planning should be long-term and holistic (p. 453).

Therefore, it is necessary to adopt a comprehensive and holistic framework of strategy, considering it as a way of intentionally thinking and acting by giving sense to a specific school vision or mission ( Davies, 2003 , 2006 ; Eacott, 2008a ; Eacott, 2008b ; Quong and Walker, 2010 ).

The works of Davies and colleagues ( Davies, 2003 ; Davies, 2004 ; Davies and Davies, 2004 ; Davies and Davies, 2006 ; Davies and Davies, 2010 ) and Eacott (2008a , 2008b) , Eacott (2010a , 2011) were essential and contributed to a shift in the rationale regarding strategy by highlighting a more integrative and alternate view. Davies and colleagues ( Davies, 2003 ; Davies, 2004 ; Davies and Davies, 2004 ; Davies and Davies, 2006 ; Davies and Davies, 2010 ) developed a comprehensive framework for strategically focused schools , comprising strategic processes, approaches, and leadership. In this model, the strategy is conceptualized as a framework for present and future actions, sustained by strategic thinking about medium to long term goals, and aligned to school vision or direction.

Strategic leadership assumes necessarily a relevant role in strategically focused schools. Eacott (2006) defines strategic leadership as “leadership strategies and behaviors relating to the initiation, development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of strategic actions within an educational institution, taking into consideration the unique context (past, present, and future) and availability of resources, physical, financial and human” (p. 1). Thereby, key elements of strategic leadership can be identified as one that: 1) acts in a proactive way to contextual changes; 2) leads school analysis and response to changing environment; 3) leads planning and action for school effectiveness and improvement in face of contextual challenges and; 4) leads monitoring and evaluation processes to inform decision making strategically ( Cheng, 2010 ). This brings to the arena a complex and dynamic view of strategic leadership as it is a complex social activity that considers important historical, economic, technological, cultural, social, and political influences and challenges ( Eacott, 2011 ).

Along with these authors, this paper advocates a more comprehensive and contextualized view of strategy and strategic leadership, where strategy is the core element of any leadership action in schools ( Davies and Davies, 2010 ; Eacott, 2011 ). Here, strategic leadership is not seen as a new theory, but an element of all educational leadership and management theories ( Davies and Davies, 2010 ). Even so, these concepts can inform and be informed by diverse leadership theories, a strategy-specific framework is needed in the educational field.

Considering all the above, strategy can be identified as a topic that is being researched in education, in the recent decades. Nonetheless, there is still scarce educational literature about this issue ( Davies and Davies, 2006 ; Davies and Davies, 2010 ; Cheng, 2010 ; Eacott, 2011 ; Chan, 2018 ). After 10 years of Eacott’s analysis of literature on strategy in education, it seems that this educational construct is being overlooked as there is still no consensual definition of strategy, different studies are supported in diverse conceptual frameworks and empirical studies about this topic are scarce ( Cheng, 2010 ; Eacott, 2011 ; Chan, 2018 ). Moreover, despite the interest of a multidisciplinary vision of strategy and strategic leadership, we agree with Eacott (2008b) about the need for a meaningful definition of strategy and strategic leadership in education, as it is a field with its specifications. Hence, research is needed for a clear definition of strategy, an integrated and complete framework for strategic action, a better identification of multiple dimensions of strategy and a comprehensive model of strategic leadership that has strategic thinking and action as core elements for schools improvement (e.g., Eacott, 2010a ; Hopkins et al., 2014 ; Reynolds et al., 2014 ; Harris et al., 2015 ; Bellei et al., 2016 ). This paper aims to contribute to the field offering a scoping review on strategy and strategic leadership in the educational field.

A clear idea of what strategy and strategic leadership mean and what theory or theories support it are of great importance for research and practice. This scoping review is an attempt to contribute to a strategy-specific theory by continuing to focus on ways to appropriately develop specific theories about strategy and strategic leadership in the educational field, particularly focusing on school contexts.

This study is a scoping review of the literature related to strategy and strategic leadership, which aims to map its specific aspects as considered in educational literature. Scoping reviews are used to present a broad overview of the evidence about a topic, irrespective of study quality, and are useful when examining emergent areas, to clarify key concepts or to identify gaps in research (e.g., Arksey and O’Malley, 2005 ; Peters et al., 2015 ; Tricco et al., 2016 ). Since in the current study we wanted to explore and categorize, but not evaluate, information available concerning specific aspects of strategy in educational literature, we recognize that scoping review methodology serves well this purpose.

In this study, Arksey and O’Malley (2005) five-stage framework for scoping reviews, complemented by the guidelines of other authors ( Levac et al., 2010 ; Colquhoun et al., 2014 ; Peters et al., 2015 ; Khalil et al., 2016 ), was employed. The five stages of Arksey and O’Malley’s framework are 1) identifying the initial research questions, 2) identifying relevant studies, 3) study selection, 4) charting the data, and 5) collating, summarizing and reporting the results. In the sections below, the process of this scoping review is presented.

Identifying the Initial Research Questions

The focus of this review was to explore key aspects of strategy and strategic leadership in educational literature. The primary question that guided this research was: What is known about strategy and strategic leadership in schools? This question was subdivided into the following questions: How should strategy and strategic leadership in schools be defined? What are the main characteristics of strategic leadership in schools? What key variables are related to strategy and strategic leadership in schools?

Identifying Relevant Studies

As suggested by Arksey and O’Malley (2005) , keywords for the search were defined, and databases were selected. Key concepts and search terms were developed to capture literature related to strategy and strategic leadership in schools, considering international perspectives. The linked descriptive key search algorithm that was developed to guide the search is outlined in Table 1 .

TABLE 1 . Key search algorithm.

Considering scoping review characteristics, time and resources available, inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed. Papers related to strategy and strategic leadership, published between 1990 and 2019, were included. Educational literature has reported the concepts of strategy and strategic leadership since the 1980s ( Eacott, 2008a ; 2008b ). However, it gained expansion between 1990 and 2000 with studies flourishing mostly about strategic planning ( Eacott, 2008b ). Previous research argues that strategy is more than planning, taking note of the need to distinguish the concepts. Considering our focus on strategy and strategic leadership, studies about strategic planning were excluded as well as papers specifically related to other theories of leadership than strategic leadership. A full list of inclusion and exclusion criteria is outlined in Table 2 .

TABLE 2 . Inclusion and exclusion criteria.

The following six electronic databases were searched to identify peer-reviewed literature: ERIC, Education Source, Academic Search Complete, Science Direct, Emerland, and Web of Science. Additionally, a manual search of the reference lists of identified articles was undertaken, and Google Scholar was utilized to identify any other primary sources. The review of the literature was completed over 2 months, ending in August 2019.

Study Selection

The process of studies’ selection followed the Preferred Reporting of Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement ( Moher et al., 2009 ). Figure 1 illustrates the process of article selection.

FIGURE 1 . PRISMA chart outlining the study selection process.

With the key search descriptors, 1,193 articles were identified. A further number of articles were identified using Google Scholar. However, a large number of articles were removed from the search, as they were duplicated in databases, and 231 studies were identified as being relevant.

The next phases of studies’ selection were guided by the inclusion and exclusion criteria presented above. A screening of the titles, keywords, and abstracts revealed a large number of irrelevant articles, particularly those related to strategic planning (e.g., Agi, 2017 ) and with general ideas about leadership (e.g., Corral and Gámez, 2010 ). Only 67 studies were selected for full-text access and analyses.

Full-text versions of the 67 articles were obtained, with each article being reviewed and confirmed as appropriate. This process provided an opportunity to identify any further additional relevant literature from a review of the reference lists of each article (backward reference search; n = 2). Ultimately, both with database search and backward reference search, a total of 29 articles were included to be analyzed in the scoping review, considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. During this process of study selection, several studies were excluded. As in the previous phase, examples of excluded papers include studies related to strategic planning where the focus is on the planning processes (e.g., Bennett et al., 2000 ; Al-Zboon and Hasan, 2012 ; Schlebusch and Mokhatle, 2016 ) or with general ideas about leadership (e.g., FitzGerald and Quiñones, 2018 ). Additionally, articles that were primarily associated with other topics or related to specific leadership theories (e.g., instructional leadership, transformational leadership) and that only referred briefly to strategic leadership were excluded (e.g., Bandur, 2012 ; Malin and Hackmann, 2017 ). Despite the interest of all these topics for strategic action, we were interested specifically in the concepts of strategy, strategic leadership, and its specifications in educational literature.

Data Charting and Collation

The fourth stage of Arksey and O’Malley (2005) scoping review framework consists of charting the selected articles. Summaries were developed for each article related to the author, year, location of the study, participants, study methods, and a brief synthesis of study results related to our research questions. Details of included studies are provided in the table available in Supplementary Appendix S1 .

Summarising and Reporting Findings

The fifth and final stage of Arksey and O’Malley (2005) scoping review framework summarises and reports findings as presented in the next section. All the 29 articles were studied carefully and a content analysis was taken to answer research questions. Research questions guided summaries and synthesis of literature content.

In this section, results are presented first with a brief description of the origin and nature of the studies, and then as answering research questions previously defined.

This scoping review yielded 29 articles, specifically devoted to strategy and strategic leadership in education, from eleven different countries (cf. Figure 2 ). The United Kingdom and Australia have the highest numbers of papers. There is a notable dispersion of literature in terms of geographical distribution.

FIGURE 2 . Number of papers per country.

A large number of these articles were published by Brent Davies and colleagues ( N = 9) and Scott Eacott ( N = 6). Without question, these authors have influenced and shaped the theoretical grounding about strategy and strategic leadership in educational literature. While Davies and colleagues have contributed to design a framework of strategy and strategic leadership, influencing the emergence of other studies related to these topics, Eacott provided an essential contribution by exploring, systematizing, and problematizing the existing literature about these same issues. The other authors have published between one and two papers about these topics.

Seventeen papers are of conceptual or theoretical nature, and twelve are empirical research papers (quantitative methods–7; qualitative methods–4; mixed methods–1). The conceptual/theoretical papers analyze the concepts of strategy and strategic leadership, present a framework for strategic leadership, and discuss implications for leaders’ actions. The majority of empirical studies are related to the skills, characteristics, and actions of strategic leaders. Other empirical studies explore relations between strategic leadership and other variables, such as collaboration, culture of teaching, organizational learning, and school effectiveness.

How should Strategy and Strategic Leadership in Schools be Defined?

The concept of strategy is relatively new in educational literature and, in great part, related to school planning. In this scoping review, a more integrated and comprehensive view is adopted ( Davies, 2003 ; Davies, 2006 ; Eacott, 2008a ; Eacott, 2008b ; Quong and Walker, 2010 ). Davies (2003) defined strategy as a specific pattern of decisions and actions taken to achieve an organization’s goals (p. 295). This concept of strategy entails some specific aspects, mainly that strategy implies a broader view incorporating data about a specific situation or context ( Davies, 2003 ; Dimmock and Walker, 2004 ; Davies, 2006 ; Davies, 2007 ). It is a broad organizational-wide perspective , supported by a vision and direction setting , that conceals longer-term views with short ones ( Davies, 2003 ; Dimmock and Walker, 2004 ; Davies, 2006 ; Davies, 2007 ). It can be seen as a template for short-term action . However, it deals mostly with medium-and longer-term views of three-to 5-year perspectives ( Davies, 2003 ; Davies, 2006 ; Davies, 2007 ). In this sense, a strategy is much more a perspective or a way of thinking that frames strategically successful schools ( Davies, 2003 ; Davies and Davies, 2005 ; Davies, 2006 ; Davies and Davies, 2010 ).

Eacott (2008a) has argued that strategy in the educational leadership context is a field of practice and application that is of a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary nature. More than a single definition of strategy, what is needed is a conceptual understanding and articulation of its fundamental features, which removes the need to answer, “what is a strategy?” Understanding strategy as choosing a direction within a given context, through leadership, and articulating that direction through management practices ( Eacott, 2008a , p. 356) brings to the arena diverse elements of strategy from both leadership and management. From this alternative point of view, a strategy may be seen as leadership ( Eacott, 2010a ). More than an answer to “what is a strategy?”, it is crucial to understand “when and how does the strategy exist?” ( Eacott, 2010a ), removing the focus on leaders’ behaviors and actions per se to cultural, social, and political relationships ( Eacott, 2011 ). Hence, research strategy and strategic leadership oblige by acknowledging the broader educational, societal, and political contexts ( Dimmock and Walker, 2004 ; Eacott, 2010a ; Eacott, 2010b ; Eacott, 2011 ).

Strategic leadership is a critical component of school development ( Davies and Davies, 2006 ). However, to define leadership is challenging considering the amount of extensive, diverse literature about this issue. Instead of presenting a new categorization about leadership, the authors most devoted to strategic leadership consider it as a key dimension of any activity of leadership ( Davies and Davies, 2004 ; Davies and Davies, 2006 ; Eacott, 2010a ; Eacott, 2010b ; Eacott, 2011 ). Barron et al. (1995) stressed the idea of change. As mentioned by the authors, implementation of strategic leadership means change: change in thinking, change in the way schools are organized, change in management styles, change in the distribution of power, change in teacher education programs, and change in roles of all participants ( Barron et al., 1995 , p. 180). Strategic leadership is about creating a vision, setting the direction of the school over the medium-to longer-term and translating it into action ( Davies and Davies, 2010 ; Eacott, 2011 ). In that sense, strategic leadership is a new way of thinking ( Barron et al., 1995 ) that determines a dynamic and iterative process of functioning in schools ( Eacott, 2008b ).

In their model of strategic leadership, Davies and Davies (2006) consider that leadership must be based on strategic intelligence, summarised as three types of wisdom: 1) people wisdom, which includes participation and sharing information with others, developing creative thinking and motivation, and developing capabilities and competencies within the school; 2) contextual wisdom, which comprises understanding and developing school culture, sharing values and beliefs, developing networks, and understanding external environment; and 3) procedural wisdom, which consists of the continuous cycle of learning, aligning, timing and acting. This model also includes strategic processes and strategic approaches that authors define as the centre of this cycle ( Davies and Davies, 2006 , p. 136).

To deeply understand strategic leadership, it is necessary to explore strategic processes and approaches that leaders take ( Davies and Davies, 2010 ). In this sense, strategic leadership, strategic processes, and strategic approaches are key elements for sustainable and successful schools, which are found to be strategically focused. Davies (2006) designed a model for a strategically focused school that may be defined as one that is educationally effective in the short-term but also has a clear framework and processes to translate core moral purpose and vision into an excellent educational provision that is challenging and sustainable in the medium-to long-term (p.11). This model incorporates 1) strategic processes (conceptualization, engagement, articulation, and implementation), 2) strategic approaches (strategic planning, emergent strategy, decentralized strategy, and strategic intent), and 3) strategic leadership (organizational abilities and personal characteristics). Based on these different dimensions, strategically focused schools have built-in sustainability, develop set strategic measures to assess their success, are restless, are networked, use multi-approach planning processes, build the strategic architecture of the school, are strategically opportunistic, deploy strategy in timing and abandonment and sustain strategic leadership ( Davies, 2004 , pp.22–26).

What Are the Main Characteristics of Strategic Leadership in Schools?

Davies (2003) , Davies and Davies (2005) , Davies and Davies (2006) , Davies and Davies (2010) discuss what strategic leaders do (organizational abilities) and what characteristics strategic leaders display (personal characteristics). The key activities of strategic leaders, or organizational abilities, are 1) create a vision and setting a direction, 2) translate strategy into action, 3) influence and develop staff to deliver the strategy, 4) balance the strategic and the operational, 5) determine effective intervention points ( what, how, when, what not to do and what to give up ), 6) develop strategic capabilities, and 7) define measures of success ( Davies and Davies, 2006 ; Davies and Davies, 2010 ). The main characteristics that strategic leaders display, or their characteristics, are 1) dissatisfaction or restlessness with the present, 2) absorptive capacity, 3) adaptive capacity, and 4) wisdom.

Two specific studies explored the strategic leadership characteristics of Malaysian leaders ( Ali, 2012 ; Ali, 2018 ), considering the above-mentioned model as a framework. For Malaysian Quality National Primary School Leaders, the results supported three organizational capabilities (strategic orientation, translation, and alignment) and three individual characteristics of strategic leadership (dissatisfaction or restlessness with the present, absorptive capacity, and adaptive capacity). For Malaysian vocational college educational leaders, the results were consistent with seven distinct practices of strategic leadership, such as strategic orientation, strategic alignment, strategic intervention, restlessness, absorptive capacity, adaptive capacity, and leadership wisdom.

Other studies were also focused on the characteristics of strategic leadership with different populations and countries. Chatchawaphun et al. (2016) identified the principles, attributes, and skills of the strategic leadership of secondary school administrators from Thailand. The principles identified within the sample of principals included appropriate values, modern visionary, future focusing strategy, empirical evidence focus, intention toward accomplishment, decency, and making relationships. The attributes found were strategic learning, strategic thinking, and value push up. The skills were learning, interpretation, forecasting, planning, challenge, and decision making. Chan (2018) explored strategic leadership practices performed by Hong Kong school leaders of early childhood education and identified effective planning and management, reflective and flexible thinking, and networking and professional development as variables. Eacott (2010c) investigated the strategic role of Australian public primary school principals concerning the leader characteristics of tenure (referring to the time in years in their current substantive position) and functional track (referring to the time in years spent at different levels of the organizational hierarchy). These demographic variables have moderating effects on the strategic leadership and management of participants. These five studies seem to be outstanding contributions to solidify a framework of strategic leadership and to test it with different populations in different countries.

Additionally, Quong and Walker (2010) present seven principles for effective and successful strategic leaders. Strategic leaders are future-oriented and have a future strategy, their practices are evidence-based and research-led, they get things done, open new horizons, are fit to lead, make good partners and do the “next” right thing—these seven principles of action seem related to the proposal of Davies and colleagues. Both authors highlighted visions for the future, future long-term plans, and plans’ translation into action as important characteristics of strategic leaders.

One other dimension that is being explored in research relates to ethics. Several authors assert that insufficient attention and research have been given to aspects related to moral or ethical leadership among school leaders ( Glanz, 2010 ; Quong and Walker, 2010 ; Kangaslahti, 2012 ). The seventh principle of the Quong and Walker (2010) model of strategic leadership is that leaders do the “next” right thing. This relates to the ethical dimension of leadership, meaning that strategic leaders recognize the importance of ethical behaviors and act accordingly. For some authors, ethics in strategic leadership is a critical issue for researchers and practitioners that needs to be taken into consideration ( Glanz, 2010 ; Quong and Walker, 2010 ). Glanz (2010) underlined social justice and caring perspectives as required to frame strategic initiatives. Kangaslahti (2012) analyzed the strategic dilemmas that leaders face in educational settings (e.g., top-down strategy vs. bottom-up strategy process; leadership by authority vs. staff empowerment; focus on administration vs. focus on pedagogy; secret planning and decision making vs. open, transparent organization; the well-being of pupils vs. well-being of staff) and how they can be tackled by dilemma reconciliation. Chen (2008) , in case study research, explored the conflicts that school administrators have confronted in facilitating school reform in Taiwan. The author identified four themes related to strategic leadership in coping with the conflicts accompanying this school reform: 1) educational values, 2) timeframe for change, 3) capacity building, and 4) community involvement. These studies reinforce the idea that school improvement and success seem to be influenced by the way leaders think strategically and deal with conflicts or dilemmas. Researchers need to design ethical frameworks or models from which practitioners can think ethically about their strategic initiatives and their dilemmas or conflicts ( Chen, 2008 ; Glanz, 2010 ; Kangaslahti, 2012 ).

Despite the critical contribution of Davies’ models ( Davies, 2003 ; Davies, 2004 ; Davies and Davies, 2006 ; Davies and Davies, 2010 ) and subsequent works, Eacott (2010a) questions the production of lists of behaviors and traits. This is likely one of the main differences between Davies’ and Eacott’s contributions in this field. While Davies and colleagues include organizational abilities and personal characteristics in their model of strategic leadership, Eacott (2010a , 2010b) emphasizes the broader context where strategy occurs. These ideas, however, are not contradictory but complementary in the comprehension of strategy as leadership in education since both authors present a comprehensive and integrated model of strategic leadership. Even though Davies and colleagues present some specific characteristics of leaders, these characteristics are incorporated into a large model for strategy in schools.

What Are Other Key Variables Related to Strategy and Strategic Leadership in Schools?

Other studies investigated the relationship between strategic leadership and other key variables, such as collaboration ( Ismail et al., 2018 ), the culture of teaching ( Khumalo, 2018 ), organizational learning ( Aydin et al., 2015 ) and school effectiveness ( Prasertcharoensuk and Tang, 2017 ).

One descriptive survey study presented teacher collaboration as a mediator of strategic leadership and teaching quality ( Ismail et al., 2018 ). The authors argue that school leaders who demonstrate strategic leadership practices can lead to the creation of collaborative practices among teachers and thus help to improve the professional standards among them, namely, teaching quality ( Ismail et al., 2018 ). One cross-sectional study identified positive and significant relations among the variables of strategic leadership actions and organizational learning. Transforming, political, and ethical leadership actions were identified as significant predictors of organizational learning. However, managing actions were not found to be a significant predictor ( Aydin et al., 2015 ). One other study establishes that strategic leadership practices promote a teaching culture defined as the commitment through quality teaching for learning outcomes ( Khumalo, 2018 ). These three studies provide essential highlights of the relevance of strategic leadership for school improvement and quality. Nonetheless, it is interesting to note that in a research survey that examined the effect of leadership factors of administrators on school effectiveness, the authors concluded that the direct, indirect, and overall effects of the administrators’ strategic leadership had no significant impact on school effectiveness ( Prasertcharoensuk and Tang, 2017 ). These studies introduce important questions that need to be explored both related to strategy and strategic leadership features and its relations and impacts on relevant school variables. Such studies stimulate researchers to explore these and other factors that relate to strategic leadership.

The knowledge about strategy and strategic leadership is still incomplete and confusing ( Eacott, 2008a ; Eacott, 2008b ). From the 29 studies selected, divergent data and multiple concepts of strategy can be identified which reinforces the confusion about these issues. Some integrative clarification is still needed about the concepts of strategy and strategic leadership as about its core features. In this section, it is intended to contribute to the clarification and integration of the concepts considering the studies selected.

The emergence of politics and reforms related to school autonomy and responsibility in terms of efficacy and accountability brings the concept of strategy to the educational literature ( Eacott, 2008b ; Cheng, 2010 ). It first appeared in the 1980s but gained momentum between 1990 and 2000. However, the main focus of the literature was on strategic planning based upon mechanistic or technical-rational models of strategy. Authors have criticized the conceptualization of strategy as a way for elaborating a specific plan of action for schools ( Davies, 2003 ; Davies, 2006 ; Eacott, 2008a ; Eacott, 2008b ; Quong and Walker, 2010 ). These same authors adopted a more comprehensive and holistic model of strategy. The concepts have been developed from a more rational and mechanistic view related to planning processes to a more comprehensive and complex view of strategy and leadership that take into consideration a situated and contextual framework. Considering the contribution of these studies, strategy incorporates three core dimensions, articulated with a schoolwide perspective 1) Vision, mission and direction (e.g., Davies, 2003 ; Dimmock and Walker, 2004 ; Davies, 2006 ; Davies and Davies, 2006 ; Davies, 2007 ; Eacott, 2008a ) 2) Intentional thinking (e.g., Barron et al., 1995 ; Davies, 2003 ; Davies and Davies, 2005 ; Davies, 2006 ; Davies and Davies, 2010 ): and; 3) Articulated decision-making and action (e.g., Davies, 2003 ; Dimmock and Walker, 2004 ; Davies and Davies, 2006 ; Davies, 2006 ; Davies, 2007 ; Eacott, 2008a ; Eacott, 2010a ; Eacott, 2010b ; Eacott, 2011 ).

Strategic leaders have an important role in strategy but, even considering this comprehensive and holistic concept of strategy, research poses the question of what are the main characteristics of strategic leaders in schools? From the literature reviewed, specific abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics may be identified. Looking for an integrated picture of strategic leadership, Table 3 represents the main contributions of the studies selected.

TABLE 3 . Strategic leadership: Main features.

Despite the contribution of these studies to deep knowledge about strategic leadership, the discussion here considers whether it is worthwhile to produce lists of behaviors and traits for strategic leaders in the absence of an integrated model that acknowledges the broader educational, societal and political context ( Dimmock and Walker, 2004 ; Eacott, 2010a ; Eacott, 2010b ; Eacott, 2011 ). Eacott (2011) argues that strategy, as constructed through analysis, is decontextualized and dehumanized and essentially a vacuous concept with limited utility to the practice that it seeks to explain (p. 426). Without a comprehensive and contextual model of strategy and strategic leadership, supported by research, the topics may still be overlooked and misunderstood. With this in mind, Figure 3 attempts to represent the core dimensions of strategy from a comprehensive perspective.

FIGURE 3 . Strategy and core dimensions from a comprehensive perspective.

As this is a scoping review, we tried to display a general view of the literature that can serve as a basis for a specific strategy theory in education and to more in-depth studies related to strategy and strategic leadership in schools. Nevertheless, we need to identify some methodological limitations of this study. As a scoping review, methods and reporting need improvement ( Tricco et al., 2018 ) and we are aware of this circumstance. Also, our search strategy may have overlooked some existing studies, since grey documents (e.g., reports) and studies from diverse languages than English were not included, that can misrepresent important data. Besides, inclusion criteria focused only on studies specifically devoted to strategy (not strategic planning) and strategic leadership (no other theories of leadership), but we acknowledge important contributions from this specific literature that were excluded. Finally, in our study there is no comparative analysis between the western and eastern/oriental contexts. However, we are aware that these contexts really differ and a context-specific reflection on strategy and strategic leadership in education would be useful. More research is needed to overcome the limitations mentioned.

Besides, the pandemic COVID19 brought new challenges in education, and particularly, to leaders. This study occurred before the pandemic and this condition was not acknowledged. However, much has changed in education as a consequence of the pandemic control measures, these changes vary from country to country, and schools’ strategies have changed for sure. Future research needs to explore strategy and strategic leadership in education considering a new era post pandemic.

With this scoping review, the authors aimed to contribute to enduring theories about strategy and strategic leadership in education. From our findings, it appears that this issue is being little explored. Despite the important contributions of authors cited in this scoping review ( Aydin et al., 2015 ; Chatchawaphun et al., 2016 ; Prasertcharoensuk and Tang, 2017 ; Ali, 2018 ; Chan, 2018 ; Ismail et al., 2018 ; Khumalo, 2018 ), minor advances seem to have been made after 2010. This is intriguing taking into account the leaders’ role in the third wave of educational reform, where strategic leadership pursues a new vision and new aims for education due to maximizing learning opportunities for students through “ triplisation in education’ (i.e., as an integrative process of globalization, localization and individualization in education)” ( Cheng, 2010 , p. 48). It was expected that research moved from rational planning models towards a more complex view of strategy in education ( Eacott, 2011 ). This review brings the idea that some timid and situated steps have been made.

Since the important review by Eacott, published in 2008, a step forward was made in the distinction between strategy and planning. Despite the significant number of papers about planning that were found during this review, the majority were published before 2008 (e.g., Nebgen, 1990 ; Broadhead et al., 1998 ; Bennett et al., 2000 ; Beach and Lindahl, 2004 ; Bell, 2004 ). Also, most of the papers selected adopt a more integrative, comprehensive, and complex view of strategy and strategic leadership (e.g., Eacott, 2010a ; Eacott, 2010b ; Davies and Davies, 2010 ; Eacott, 2011 ; Ali, 2012 ; Ali, 2018 ; Chan, 2018 ). More than identifying the “best of” strategy and strategic leadership, alternative models understand strategy as a way of thinking ( Davies and Davies, 2010 ) and a work in progress ( Eacott, 2011 ).

This also resonates with the educational literature about loosely coupled systems . There is evidence that loosely coupled educational organizations continue to exist and that resistance to change is a characteristic of school organizations ( Hautala et al., 2018 ). Strategic leadership gains relevance since leaders need to consider how to manage their loose and tight configurations and, hence, reinforce simultaneous personal and organizational dimensions related to school improvement. It is time to expand the research into more complex, longitudinal, and explanatory ways due to a better understanding of the constructs. This scoping review was an attempt to contribute to this endeavor by integrating and systematizing educational literature about strategy and strategic leadership.

Author Contributions

MC-collected and analyzed data, write the paper IC, JV, and JA-guided the research process and reviewed the paper.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) for the support to this publication (Ref. UIDB/04872/2020).

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.706608/full#supplementary-material

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Keywords: strategy, strategic leadership, school leadership, scoping review, education

Citation: Carvalho M, Cabral I, Verdasca JL and Alves JM (2021) Strategy and Strategic Leadership in Education: A Scoping Review. Front. Educ. 6:706608. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2021.706608

Received: 07 May 2021; Accepted: 23 September 2021; Published: 15 October 2021.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2021 Carvalho, Cabral, Verdasca and Alves. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Marisa Carvalho, [email protected]

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PEL-070: Baltimore City Public Schools: Implementing Bounded Autonomy (B)
PEL-063: Baltimore City Public Schools: Implementing Bounded Autonomy (A)
PEL-068: Central Falls High School
PEL-067: Meeting New Challenges at the Aldine Independent School District (B)
PEL-030: Meeting New Challenges at the Aldine Independent School District (A)
PEL-062: The Parent Academy: Family Engagement in Miami-Dade County Public Schools
PEL-061: The Turn-Around at Highland Elementary School
PEL-055: Taking Human Resources Seriously in Minneapolis
PEL-054: Focusing on Results at the New York City Department of Education
PEL-053: Managing Schools for High Performance: The Area Instruction Officer at Chicago Public Schools
PEL-047: Using Data to Improve Instruction at the Mason School
PEL-044: Race, Accountability, and the Achievement Gap (B)
PEL-043: Race, Accountability, and the Achievement Gap (A)
PEL-041: Managing at Scale in the Long Beach Unified School District
PEL-039: The STAR Schools Initiative at the San Francisco Unified School District
PEL-033: Managing the Chicago Public Schools
PEL-029: Reinventing Human Resources at the School District of Philadelphia
PEL-028: Differentiated Treatment at Montgomery County Public Schools
PEL-027: Memphis City Schools: The Next Generation of Principals
PEL-026: New Leadership at Portland Public Schools
PEL-024: Staffing the Boston Public Schools
PEL-013: Learning to Manage with Data in Duval County Public Schools: Lake Shore Middle School (B)
PEL-008: Learning to Manage with Data in Duval County Public Schools: Lake Shore Middle School (A)
PEL-009: The Campaign for Human Capital at the School District of Philadelphia
PEL-007: Long Beach Unified School District (B): Working to Sustain Improvement (2002-2004)
PEL-006: Long Beach Unified School District (A): Change That Leads to Improvement (1992-2002)
PEL-005: Pursuing Educational Equity at San Francisco Unified School District
PEL-004: Aligning Resources to Improve Student Achievement: San Diego City Schools (B)
PEL-003: Aligning Resources to Improve Student Achievement: San Diego City Schools (A)
PEL-002: Compensation Reform at Denver Public Schools
PEL-001: Bristol City Schools (BCS)

Research Notes on Frameworks and Strategy

PEL-096: Note on Racial Equity in School Systems
PEL-095: Successfully Restarting Schools in the Face of COVID-19: A Framework
PEL-082: Superintendents of Public School Districts as Sector Level Leaders
PEL-081: Creating Public Value: School Superintendents as Strategic Managers of Public Schools
PEL-078: Principals as Innovators: Identifying Fundamental Skills for Leadership of Change in Public Schools
PEL-083: A Problem-Solving Approach to Designing and Implementing a Strategy to Improve Performance
PEL-011: Note on Strategy in Public Education
PEL-010: Note on the PELP Coherence Framework

The following case studies are available for purchase from Harvard Ed Press. If you are interested in receiving the teaching note(s) for the KC-designated cases listed below, please email [email protected] .

KC37CHA: Challenges to Implementing Innovation and Accountability in Denver
KC36INVE: Investing in Teachers: The Lawrence Public Schools Respond to State Receivership
KC39SCAL: Scaling Up Data Wise in Prince George's County Public Schools
KC40NAV: Navigating Governance Changes and District Improvement: Strategic Leadership in St. Louis Public Schools
KC41LEAD: Leaders Change, Policies Evolve: The Lawrence Public Schools Respond to State Receivership (Act II)

Teaching Notes (available upon email request)

PEL-094: Access, Autonomy, and Accountability: School Governance Dilemmas in Post-Katrina New Orleans (A) & (B)
PEL-088: The Nike School Innovation Fund: Scaling for Impact in Oregon Public Schools
PEL-086: Denver Public Schools: Innovation and Performance?
PEL-075: Organizing for Family and Community Engagement in the Baltimore City Public Schools
PEL-072: Career Pathways, Performance Pay, and Peer-Review Promotion in Baltimore City Public Schools
PEL-069: Central Falls High School
PEL-066: Managing Schools for High Performance: The Area Instruction Officer at Chicago Public Schools
PEL-065: Baltimore City Public Schools: Implementing Bounded Autonomy
PEL-060: Learning to Manage with Data in Duval County Public Schools: Using the Case in an Education Entrepreneurship Course
PEL-059: Taking Human Resources Seriously in Minneapolis
PEL-058: Memphis City Schools: The Next Generation of Principals
PEL-057: Focusing on Results at the New York City Department of Education
PEL-052: Southwest Airlines: Using Human Resources for Competitive Advantage (A) - Using the Case with Education Administrators
PEL-049: Bristol City Schools
PEL-048: Using Data to Improve Instruction at the Mason School
PEL-046: Race, Accountability, and the Achievement Gap (A) and (B)
PEL-042: Managing at Scale in the Long Beach Unified School District
PEL-040: The STAR Schools Initiative at the San Francisco Unified School District
PEL-036: Meeting New Challenges at the Aldine Independent School District
PEL-035: Reinventing Human Resources at the School District of Philadelphia
PEL-034: Managing the Chicago Public Schools
PEL-032: New Leadership at Portland Public Schools
PEL-031: Staffing the Boston Public Schools
PEL-023: Long Beach Unified School District (B): Working to Sustain Improvement (2002-2004)
PEL-022: The Campaign for Human Capital at the School District of Philadelphia
PEL-021: Learning to Manage with Data in Duval County Public Schools: Lake Shore Middle School (A) and (B) Series
PEL-020: Long Beach Unified School District (A): Change That Leads to Improvement (1992-2002)
PEL-019: Pursuing Educational Equity at San Francisco Unified School District
PEL-018: Aligning Resources to Improve Student Achievement: San Diego City Schools Case Series
PEL-017: Compensation Reform at Denver Public Schools
PEL-016: Bristol City Schools
Coherence Framework
Video Library

Author Rights
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

JOLE 2023 Special Issue
Editorial Staff
20th Anniversary Issue
Leadership Education and Experience in the Classroom: A Case Study

Douglas R. Lindsay, Ph. D., Anthony M. Hassan, Ed. D., David V. Day, Ph. D. 10.12806/V8/I2/AB4

Introduction

Recent authors have extolled the virtues of practical application to the academic study of leadership (Blackwell, Cummins, Townsend, & Cummings, 2007; Posner, 2009). In fact, several authors assert that without practical experience to connect the education obtained from leadership courses then little may be gleaned from these programs (e.g., Connaughton, Lawrence, & Ruben, 2003; Day, 2000; Roberts, 2008). Whereas leadership education is important, it is only one part of a larger, ongoing leader development process (Day, 2000; Kezar, et al., 2006).

Unfortunately, in much of the extant leadership education students learn the academic material and then much later in their program they will apply the material in the form of a practicum or senior project (Brungardt, Greenleaf, Brungardt, & Arensdorf, 2006). In terms of longer term application, it is either hoped or assumed that the lessons learned will transfer to future leadership situations (DiPaolo, 2008; Williams, Townsend, & Linder, 2005). This is understandable given the limited time frame for a leadership course, but it should not be taken as the only or best way to teach leadership. A question addressed in this article is how can leadership educators balance the academic material of a formal classroom course (i.e., theory, models, and research) needed to provide a solid foundation of leadership education for the student and the need for applied practice within the limited time frame (i.e., a semester) of a leadership course.

This will be done through the examination of a core leadership course taught at the United States Air Force Academy. The paper will (a) describe the background and basic framework of the course, (b) address the balance of education versus practical application, and (c) offer preliminary results and implications for individual leader development.

The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a four-year undergraduate institution established in 1954 with the mission to educate, train, and inspire men and women to become officers of character who are motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to the nation. As part of that mission all cadets are required to complete an academic course on leadership in their junior year. The focus of the course is on their personal leadership development. Within that focus, there are three primary objectives – (a) understand conceptually the behavioral science and leadership concepts that are fundamental to leadership development, (b) improve the student’s interpretation and analysis of various leadership situations, and (c) improve the student’s ability to facilitate their own leadership development. This is a tall task within the scope of one semester; however, the approach is not unique to this particular course. What makes this course unique is how it is delivered in terms of taking into account the personal context of each student while tailoring the learning to the needs of each respective student.

At stake here is the critical balance between the academic content of leadership and the applied nature of its actual application. If you offer one without the other then the student will get an unrealistic picture of the leadership dynamic. One way to try and balance these competing processes is along the lines of the Scientist- Practitioner model where the focus is on ensuring that there are opportunities to apply theory to practice within academic programs (e.g., Lindsay, Tate, & Jacobs, 2008; Murphy & Saal, 1990). Many leadership educators and researchers agree with this combination (e.g., Connaughton, et al.., 2003; Doh, 2003; Kayes, 2002; Van Velsor, Moxley, & Bunker, 2004). While it makes sense to use such an approach, a question to consider is what that would look like on a day-to-day basis within the context of the leadership classroom.

Prince (cited in Connaughton, et al., 2003) offered a framework suggesting how this could be done, which was adopted for use at USAFA in the leadership course. He presented four criteria that leadership development programs should consider. The first is to make sure that the teaching methods line up with the desired outcomes. This implies that we have specific outcomes to which we are trying to teach. Therefore, if we are concerned with the practical application of the material, then our pedagogy ought to line up with our course objectives. Second, he suggested that we need to create opportunities that will allow the students to apply the knowledge to their lives and grasp the consequences of their actions or inaction. This means that instead of leaving students up to their own devices and experiences, that we are intentional about these experiences and how students will experience them. Therefore, more involvement by us as educators beyond the traditional classroom walls is required. The third criterion is that there must be some sort of reflection in this process that involves the faculty. This implies a partnering with the student in their developmental process. Roberts (2008) provides a description of how reflection can be added into the classroom environment. Finally, the students must have multiple learning opportunities. This means a varied approach to not only the teaching of leadership itself, but in how we assess their learning and create developmental experiences based on the assessment findings during their leadership education. These criteria help set the stage for how an academic leadership course can manage this balance between academic theory and practical application.

Implementation and Assessment

This balance between theory and application is addressed on day one of the course as part of the first class assignment. Specifically, students are required to identify a leadership position that they currently hold and use that as the referent for the rest of the course. This could be a formal leadership position or it could be a different position such as a team captain, student club, or community project.

Everything that is taught subsequently and all of the assessments take into account that frame of reference. Since many students taking part in leadership education are at early stages of their respective careers, the only frame of reference that they may have is of being a student, what is provided them in our course (e.g., case studies), or from limited work experience. Ignoring this fact means missing out on an opportunity to connect with the students in their current context. By having them select a current leadership role, we help them make these connections. This is important. As Connaughton et al. (2003) suggested, often leadership is discussed in abstract terms, when in reality, the practice of leadership occurs within a specific context. Accordingly, if we are to educate students on leadership, we must account for their current context (Conger & Toegel, 2003). In addition to this idea of context, Doh (2003) suggested that in order to effectively teach leadership, the methods and programs must be adapted to the specific needs, attitudes, and circumstances of the students. This again indicates that we need to meet the students and connect with them where they are developmentally and then provide them the education and experiences that will help them in their individual leader development. In doing so, the students will become active participants in the leadership experience. The following assessments are used to facilitate this developmental process.

Once a leadership position is selected, the students engage in a self study process. The self study approach is used in place of typical case study analysis. Although case studies add value in encouraging students to analyze a particular scenario and diagnose what went wrong, what went right, and so forth, the potential limitation is that students are expected to put themselves into an artificial situation in which they may have little or no experience. Thus, the overarching concern is that they may not be able to relate to the actual constraints and contextual nuances of the situation (i.e., being a CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation). According to Day (2000), research shows that there is relatively weak transfer of the lessons learned from classroom development programs unless they are linked more directly to experience such as with some form of action learning. With the self study approach cadets take the leadership situation which they identify early in the course and use it in an action learning type of process. Whereas action learning typically takes place in a group format within a specific academic or organizational context, the current leadership course adopts an individual-level approach using the context of a currently held leadership position. Therefore, the learning that takes place in the classroom is applied in real time within a personally meaningful context (as with action learning) that is reflected upon through self study. Cadets work on the self study throughout the semester. At the end of the course they write a reflection paper highlighting issues such as what course content they implemented in their leadership position, reflections on what went well or not so well, and developmental experiences they encountered and used to practice their leadership skills.

Leadership Application Exercises

In addition to the self study, cadets complete several leadership application exercises that are focused at the personal and interpersonal levels. First, they do an analysis that consists of a personal reflection regarding their personality. This assignment is referred to as – “Who are you.” This process allows cadets to generate information about how they see themselves and what they bring to the particular leadership situation. This is based on the idea of who you are determines how you lead (Hogan & Kaiser, 2005). They next gather 360-degree feedback from cadets who include superiors, peers, and subordinates that are directly affected by their current leadership position. They take this information and then process it in the form of a reflection paper. In addition to this reflection, they examine any differences that existed between their self assessment and the 360-degree feedback. Finally, they take the information from the self assessment and peer feedback and use it to develop an individualized leader development plan. Once this plan is developed, they implement the plan and this serves as a critical component to the self study that was referenced earlier. This framework allows the instructor to guide each cadet through the entire developmental process. The instructor therefore takes on more of a coaching role in which they provide the student feedback throughout the semester regarding their progress and development in their current leadership position. In this way the cadets do not consider leader education in isolation or in reference to someone else (i.e., case study). It is in their life, therefore they own the experience. This process of analysis models for the student how they can apply the material to future leadership positions.

Another technique used in the classroom to help apply the material is through a process of reflection and journaling in hopes of shifting mental models about leadership and its relevance to personal development. This has the advantage of having the student think about the material in a deeper way than is possible within the relatively sterile classroom context. This is an important skill to develop in that reflection is thought to be a key competency needed for leaders to be effective, especially in more complex and multicultural settings (Roberts, 2008). The primary challenge is for the instructor to create appropriate reflection questions that not only address the course content, but also tie into the application exercises and personal experiences of the student. Cadets participate in a journaling process throughout the entire semester with the hope of it continuing beyond the end of the term.

The results from the course have been mainly qualitative to date. The feedback from instructors has been overwhelmingly positive. They feel that they are making meaningful breakthroughs with the students and that the classroom discussions are richer and more varied due to the students’ application of the material outside the classroom. Instructors also feel that the classroom dynamic has pushed them both personally and professionally to be more engaging and to sharpen skills such as facilitation and feedback giving. Since students bring their personal experiences into the classroom, this allows for a different type and deeper level of processing of the material. This process has also had a similar effect on the instructors. Many have reported an increase in their own development as instructors and leaders.

From the students’ perspectives the results have been equally as compelling. End of course critiques show that students found it easier to apply the material outside of the classroom since the focal experiences were personalized in the course. In addition, they state that they see clearer connections between the material and its future application to their lives. They also report a greater value of a reflective assessment strategy rather than one based on more objective means (i.e., tests of knowledge on leadership content).

In summary, the leadership course at the United States Air Force Academy uses an individualized form of self study as a means to balance the academic and applied nature of leadership education. In addition, by using the criteria presented by Prince (2001), personalized developmental experiences are used that enable the cadets to apply the material real-time and be able to see results of their efforts over the course of a single semester. Cadets are not only growing in their knowledge of leadership, they are growing personally as they take the information from the classroom and apply it to their own personal leadership experiences. While additional quantitative assessment of the course is needed and planned for to determine the long-term effects of such an education experience, based on the qualitative information reported to date, the experience has been both educational as well as developmental for students and instructors.

Blackwell, C., Cummins, R., Townsend, C., & Cummings, S. (2007). Assessing perceived student leadership skill development in an academic leadership development program. Journal of Leadership Education, 6 , 39-58.

Brungardt, C., Greenleaf, J., Brungardt, C., & Arensdorf, J. (2006). Majoring in leadership: A review of undergraduate leadership degree programs. Journal of Leadership Education, 5 , 4-25.

Conger, J., & Toegel, G. (2003). Action learning and multi-rater feedback as leadership development interventions: Popular but poorly deployed. Journal of Change Management, 3 , 332-348.

Connaughton, S. L., Lawrence, F. L., & Ruben, B. D. (2003). Leadership development as a systematic and multidisciplinary enterprise. Journal of Education for Business, 79 , 46-51.

Day, D. V. (2000). Leadership development: A review in context. Leadership Quarterly, 11 , 581-613.

DiPaolo, D. (2008). Echoes of leadership education: Reflections on failure, forgetting, and our future. Journal of Leadership Education, 7, 77-91.

Doh, J. P. (2003). Can leadership be taught? Perspectives from management educators. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 2 , 54-67.

Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. (2005). What we know about leadership. Review of General Psychology, 9 , 169-180.

Kayes, D. C. (2002). Experiential learning and its critics: Preserving the role of experience in management learning and education. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 1 , 137-149.

Kezar, A., Carducci, R., & Contreras-McGavin, M. (2006). Rethinking the “L” word in higher education: The revolution of research on leadership. ASHE Higher Education Report, 31 (6). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Lindsay, D. R., Tate, B. W., & Jacobs, R. R. (2008). Practicum: A teaching tool to highlight the scientist-practitioner model. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 45, 39-47.

Murphy, K., & Saal, F. E. (1990). Psychology in organizations: Integrating science and practice. In K. Murphy & F. Saal (Eds.), Series In Applied Psychology (pp. 49-66), Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum and Associates.

Posner, B. Z. (2009). From inside out: Beyond teaching about leadership. Journal of Leadership Education, 8 , 1-10.

Prince, H. (2001). Teaching leadership: A journey into the unknown. Concepts and connections: A newsletter for leadership educators, 9 , 3.

Roberts, C. (2008). Developing future leaders: The role of reflection in the classroom. Journal of Leadership Education, 7, 116-129.

Van Velsor, E., Moxley, R. S., & Bunker, K. A. (2004). The leader development process. In C. D. McCauley, & E. Van Velsor (Eds.), The Center for Creative Leadership handbook of leadership development (pp. 204-233). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Williams, J., Townsend, C., & Linder, J. (2005). Teaching leadership: Do students remember and utilize the concepts we teach? Journal of Leadership Education, 4, 62-74.

Education & Teaching
Schools & Teaching

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Leadership Case Studies in Education Third Edition

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ISBN-10 1071816829
ISBN-13 978-1071816820
Edition Third
Publication date April 5, 2021
Language English
Dimensions 6 x 0.38 x 9 inches
Print length 168 pages
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About the author.

Peter G. Northouse is a professor emeritus of communication in the School of Communication at Western Michigan University. For more than 25 years he taught leadership and interpersonal and organizational communication at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition to publications in professional journals he is the author of Leadership: Theory and Practice (9th ed.) and Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice (6th ed.) and co-author of Health Communication: Strategies for Health Professionals (3rd ed.). His scholarly and curricular interests include models of leadership, leadership assessment, ethical leadership, and leadership and group dynamics. He has worked as a consultant in a variety of areas, including leadership development, leadership education, conflict management, and health communication. He holds a doctorate in speech communication from the University of Denver and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in communication education from Michigan State University.

Marie Lee is an editor and educator who has taught communication courses at Western Michigan University and worked as a consultant. With a background in journalism, she has written numerous articles and edited books, including Northouse’s Leadership: Theory and Practice (9th ed.) and Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice (5th ed.). She is owner of Encore Publications Inc., a publishing company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She has a master’s degree in organizational communication from Western Michigan University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Idaho State University.

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Publisher ‏ : ‎ SAGE Publications, Inc; Third edition (April 5, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 168 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1071816829
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1071816820
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.38 x 9 inches
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Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership

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Description
Aims and Scope
Editorial Board
Abstracting / Indexing
Submission Guidelines

The Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership ( JCEL ) publishes, in electronic format, peer-reviewed cases appropriate for use in educational leadership preparation efforts across the globe. The cases provide a narrative and teaching notes with the aim being to prompt rich discussion and inquiry about issues pertinent to educational leadership across global contexts. We encourage cases that are supported by digital media or other creative forms of expression. JCEL is always looking for great ideas regarding special issues. If you would like to consult with us about this process, please reach out to our Editorial Team.

EBSCO: Educational Administration Abstracts
ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)

JCEL Submission Guidelines

All manuscripts for JCEL should be submitted electronically at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jcel

Resources to Assist Authors

We suggest that all potential authors become familiar with JCEL case study formats by reviewing articles already published in the journal. Articles published in JCEL are pedagogical cases, NOT empirical case studies . Please read the following articles before submitting in order to help ensure your manuscript fits the aims and scope of JCEL .

" The Elements of a Good Cas e" by R. Fossey & G. M. Crow (2011)
" Writing the Undisguised Case " by R. Fossey & S. Glover (2006).
“ Using JCEL Case Studies to Meet ELCC Standards ” by L. Bass, G. Garn, & L. Monroe (2011).
" Balancing Communities, Cultures, and Conflict: Lessons Learned From the East Ramapo School District Legal " by P. Ober and J. Decker (2016).

In addition, please review recent Paula Sliver Award Winning Cases:

" Excavating the Layers of Trauma in Homelands and Hostlands: Supporting Political Refugees in U.S. Schools " by Mehtap Akay and Reva Jaffer-Walker (2021)
' “You Never Know When You Will See Him Again”: Understanding the Intersectional Dimensions of Immigration, Indigeneity, and Language for Unaccompanied Indigenous Minors ' byJosué López and Erica Fernández (2020)
“ Providing a Passport to the Future for Foster Youth: A Case for Educational Leadership and Policy ” by Karen Stansberry Beard and Stanley E. Gates, II (2019)

General Instructions

Submitted manuscripts will undergo internal and external review. Manuscripts will be subject to initial editor screening to determine if the manuscript format is appropriate and content is promising. Once a manuscript successfully passes internal review, cases will then be subject to double anonymize peer review. As is customary in most scholarly publications, authors should be prepared to work with the editorial staff in revising manuscripts in accordance with editorial policy.

If you are asked to provide the names of a peer who could be called upon to review your manuscript, please note that reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Please be aware of any conflicts of interest when recommending reviewers. Examples of conflicts of interest include (but are not limited to) the below:

• The reviewer should have no prior knowledge of your submission • The reviewer should not have recently collaborated with any of the authors • Reviewer nominees from the same institution as any of the authors are not permitted

Please note that the journal’s editors are not obliged to invite any recommended/opposed reviewers to assess your manuscript.

Cases are reviewed in consideration of the following elements:

A good teaching case is full of ambiguity. The central problem of a case should not be apparent or easy to identify. On the contrary, there may be a multitude of problems, with some being more important than others. Case discussants should be presented with enough ambiguity that it is not apparent how a problem should be solved or even what the central problem really is. A case teacher will know that a classroom discussion of a case was successful when students present conflicting solutions to a case’s central problem or disagree in their identification of the case’s core issues.

Good teaching cases are complex. All of us have read case studies in which the problem presented is so simple or the case characters are so stereotypical that there is very little to analyze or discuss. Complexity has become a major feature of contemporary educational leadership practice, and effective leaders learn to respond to this complexity by using multiple perspectives, understanding ambiguity, and thinking in more fluid, rather than static, ways .

All cases describe a unique setting—typically a school, a university, or a workplace. A good case provides the reader with rich contextual details—information about the organizational setting, the characters, and the community or relevant larger environment. Other contextual details may be important as well: the legal climate, political themes, cultural norms, and historical information, for example.

Above all, a good teaching case presents an important problem with broad implications that applies to the case discussants.

Preparation of Manuscripts

All case submissions should be divided into two documents.

MAIN DOCUMENT : The main document should have all identifying information removed (no author or biographical information), but the following information should be included:

The recommended length of the combined cases, teaching notes, and references is between 15-20 double-spaced pages or 3500-5000 words.
Title: Include a descriptive title.
Abstract: Include a short 100 word abstract describing the topic(s) of the case and a brief synopsis of the case.
Teaching Case Narrative: Include the elements described above: ambiguity, complexity, context, and relevance.
Teaching Notes: Include "Teaching Notes" that situate the case in relevant literature
Classroom Activities and Discussion Questions: Provide ideas for activities and prompts for discussion
References: Provide contemporary references tightly coupled to the case and teaching notes. References should follow the style in the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
ERIC Descriptors: Three (3) ERIC descriptors suitable for searching should be identified.

SECOND DOCUMENT : The second document should include identifying information, namely:

· Author's name and institutional affiliation.

· Biographical Statement Authors should provide a brief (2-3 sentence) biographical statement.

Use and submission of figures should be as follows:

· Tables should be used only when they can present information more effectively than in running text. Care should be taken to insure that tables can be effectively presented in html, since articles will be in both html and adobe acrobat (pdf).

· Illustrations Figures should be numbered in series. Symbols (open or closed circles, triangles, squares) and lettering must be clear when rendered in GIF or JPEG format. Please review all figures after converting to GIF or JPEG format to insure that they are readable.

· Original line drawings and graphs should be submitted as GIF or JPEG files.

· Photographs should be submitted as GIF or JPEG files.

Video Embedded Cases

The JCEL editorial staff invites submissions that utilize video simulations to enhance case content or teaching notes. The same review criteria currently in place for text-only cases also apply to video enhanced cases. The use of embedded videos typically requires consent of participants. Questions may be addressed to the managing editor: [email protected]

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Global Education Monitoring Report

Call for proposals 2025 GEM regional edition on distributed leadership in Latin America

UNESCO is inviting proposals from individuals and organizations for the following work assignment.

1. Background

The Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report is an editorially independent, evidence-based annual report hosted and published by UNESCO. Established in 2002, its current mandate derives from the 2015 World Education Forum and focuses on monitoring education in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the implementation of the strategies outlined in the Education 2030 Framework for Action. Accordingly, each report has two parts:

1. a monitoring part reviews the SDG 4 targets, education in the other SDGs and education finance.

2. a thematic part focuses on a relevant theme in the international education agenda, which is selected by the GEM Report’s Advisory Board; the last six themes in the GEM Report series have been: education and the other SDGs (2016), accountability (2017/8), migration and displacement (2019), inclusion (2020), non-state actors (2021/2) and technology (2023). The theme of the 2024/5 report is leadership in education.

Between the 2019 and 2023 GEM Report cycles, practically all regions of the world were covered through regional reports that examined the theme of the global report in individual regions in partnership with regional organizations and partners. Based on that experience, a new series of regional editions will be launched beginning from the 2024/5 GEM Report cycle, linked to specific aspects of the theme of the global report.

The regional edition of the 2024/5 GEM Report will focus on the topic of distributed leadership in Latin America, as described in the concept note of the 2024/5 GEM Report . The GEM Report team will partner with the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) for the preparation of this regional edition.

OEI is the largest multilateral cooperation organization among Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in Ibero-America. Created in 1949, and headquartered in Madrid, OEI works directly with the governments of its 23 member countries, by designing programs and projects to strengthen public policies in education, science, and culture. OEI member states include Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The organization works closely with the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), the Central American Integration System (SICA) and the EU-LAC Foundation, who act as observers.

The regional edition will be consistent with OEI’s vision of education as a tool for human development and a creator of opportunities to build a better future. That means that education must be understood as a key element to achieve full and inclusive development in the Ibero-American region, with the required effort from governments.

2. Work and Objectives

The Work will focus on the preparation of a case study on distributed leadership in Colombia.

Transposed from the management literature into education, drawing on the seminal work of Spillane et al ( 2001 ), distributed leadership refers to how school leaders interact with others in different situations, ranging from collaborative to individualistic approaches. It shifts attention away from personal characteristics often favoured in other leadership discourses and towards processes and structures. It is related to concepts, which help all members learn and grow, such as professional learning communities and communities of practice. More generally, a distributed leadership approach can also be used to involve the school community in a democratic way to further the goals and purposes of education.

As schools have become increasingly complex environments, studies on leadership suggest that the role of principals and teachers have not consistently evolved in line with principles of distributed leadership, including in Latin America ( Vaillant and García, 2009 ). According to the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey 2018, principals from participating countries in the region reported a range of distributed leadership practices, as measured in terms of participatory culture ( Eryilmaz and Sandoval-Hernandez, 2023 ).

Distributed leadership is highly contextual and varies by leadership function, national education policy ( Printy and Liu, 2021 ), type and size of schools. In the case of larger schools, decision making responsibilities are likely to be distributed among leadership team members, even though it should be stressed that distributed leadership does not simply mean delegated leadership. As a result, distributed leadership in Latin America is found to vary also within school systems ( Weinstein and Hernández, 2015 ). When applied, studies find that distributed leadership strengthens teaching commitment, and enhances collective efficacy of teachers, which may influence school and student performances ( López et al, 2016 ; Gallegos Araya and Lopez Alfaro, 2019 ). Distributing leadership can be an important tool for promoting social justice, democratizing schools as organizations, and advancing student inclusion.

Distributed leadership has been less investigated in Latin America, and literature has traditionally focused on school principals as main leaders ( Flessa et al, 2017 ). The case study will explore how distributed leadership is manifested in Colombia through a comprehensive analysis of its education policies and practices.

In particular, the case study will:

present the country’s school governance, national, local and institutional regulatory and policy framework;
examine the literature on interactions and collaboration (a) between school principals and teachers and school personnel; and (b) between school principals and students, parents and communities; and evidence on the existence of distributed leadership and its impact; and
explore professional development programmes and other interventions aimed to strengthen the practice of distributed leadership within the school system.

The country case study will rely on a combination of secondary data and desk-based literature review and primary data collection, according to the methodology elaborated by the Contractor.

The Work will also include the review of the PEER country profile on Colombia developed by the GEM Report team.

The PEER country profiles describe the main laws, policies and programmes on leadership and education for each country in the world, as part of the Profiles Enhancing Education Reviews ( PEER ) website. During the course of this research, the individual expert will receive the ca. 3,000-word country profile from the GEM Report team and will review its quality, making corrections and providing updates where needed.

3. Outputs and Timeline

The Work will consist of two outputs:

a) the development of a country case study of approximately 10,000 words (excluding appendices, annexes, and bibliographies) written in Spanish at a very good level and structured as follows:

Introduction (500 words)
Country’s education governance, regulatory and policy framework for distributed leadership (1,500 words)
Preparation and perspectives of teachers and principals on implementing distributed leadership (1,500 words)
Practices of distributed leadership in schools: Examples of its manifestations and evidence of impact, drawing on primary research (2,500 words)
Practices of distributed leadership in schools: Enabling and impeding factors (2,500 words)
Discussion (1,000 words)
Conclusions (500 words)

Bibliography (with hyperlinks if available online and PDFs if not)

Appendix

b) the review of a draft PEER country profile of Colombia of approximately 3,000 words developed by the GEM Report team, providing written feedback, corrections and updates, where needed.

The country case study and the PEER country profile shall not be circulated or published in any form without prior approval from the GEM Report. Once approved, the outputs should specify that work has been prepared for the 2025 regional edition on distributed leadership in Latin America.

Background research shall follow the UNESCO and GEM Report Style Guide .

The Contractor shall submit to the GEM Report team for its approval:

A detailed outline of the country case study by 17 May 2024.
A first draft of the country case study by 05 July 2024.
A final draft of the country case study and review of the PEER country profile by 30 August 2024.

4. Submission of proposal

The GEM Report team hereby invites interested individuals and organizations to contribute to the preparation of case studies to inform the research.

The proposal should include:

proposed methodology, including data to be used, and workplan;
brief description of past research experience in this field and in the country;
a financial proposal.
full CVs of expert(s) involved in the project, including academic record and list of publications, research grants and projects;
only for legal entities : proof of registration as a non-governmental/private organization including copies of registration certificate(s); please place the proposal on the organisation’s letterhead.

The deadline for submission is 26 April 2024 .

The following are the selection criteria :

Proven research record in distributed leadership;
Suitable research methodology for primary data collection and analysis in the proposed area;
Experience in conducting country case studies and literature reviews;
In-depth understanding of the education systems in Colombia;
Capacity to carry out the assignment and to draft to a high standard in in Spanish or Portuguese.

Commissioning will take place in May 2024 and the country case study is expected to be completed by August 2024 .

Please send your proposal in Spanish or Portuguese along with the attachments in one PDF file to [email protected] , using the subject line 2025 Regional edition on distributed leadership in LATAM . Please also specify in your proposal if you are applying as an individual or an entity.

Any requests for additional information should be addressed in writing to [email protected] . All responses to any queries or clarification requests will be collected and made available to all applicants on the GEM Report website via this link by 19 April 2024.

Participation in this call for proposals does not guarantee that the organisation or individual expert will be ultimately selected.

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22nd Commonwealth Conference of Education Ministers

The Fall of the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion: What It Means for the Public and Private Sectors

April 4, 2024
Key Concepts: Culture and Leadership , DEI , Inclusion

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The recent dissolution of the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) has cast uncertainty over the future of federal-level DEI. But it’s not just the public sector that’s affected. Traditionally, as goes government, goes business. This decision is a setback to a more inclusive society, with implications for both the public and private sectors, with one big difference: Business can actually do something about it.

DEI under fire: The policy backlash

DEI initiatives are under increasing pressure from all sides. Public policy is shifting focus. Some states are attempting to pass legislation restricting how companies address issues of race and gender in workplace training and policies. High-profile, high-income individuals are leveraging big platforms and deep pockets to undo decades of DEI progress. For now, these efforts have not translated into actual policy for business. In fact, a U.S. appeals court recently ruled that Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, which bans mandatory workplace diversity training on certain progressive concepts, violates employers’ First Amendment rights. However, policy changes put pressure on corporations to remain compliant and effective within this evolving landscape.

Public sector implications; private sector fallout

The ODI was instrumental in promoting diversity and inclusion within the U.S. House of Representatives, focusing on recruiting qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds. Its closure will make it harder to build a representative workforce and deprive offices of a key resource for diversity expertise.

Though only one office, ODI’s closure has symbolic weight, coming amidst a broader DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility) push spearheaded by the executive branch. This raises concerns about a potential disconnect in DEIA priorities within different governmental branches. Signaling that DEI is not a top priority for some parts of the government can have a discouraging effect on private companies, particularly those that partner with federal agencies or depend on access to public data. Without a unified approach to DEI across governmental bodies, there’s a potential for setbacks in progress made across both public and private sectors. Furthermore, a perceived disharmony on DEI initiatives at the federal level could contribute to an erosion of public trust, indirectly impacting the business environment.

NLI’s Impact Case for Diversity: A science-backed approach

Even with the best intentions, DEI work often falls flat. Why? These all-too-common mistakes get in the way:

Settling for the diversity checkbox. Treating diversity like a problem to solve rather than a solution to problems means not leveraging its true power.
Defining inclusion as feeling rather than doing. Making people feel included is important, but belonging comes from being valued for what you bring to the table .
Confusing equity with charity. Equity isn’t about fair people; it’s about fair systems, which call for identifying and removing systemic barriers.

The NeuroLeadership Institute’s (NLI) Impact Case for DEI challenges conventional DEI approaches, offering a framework rooted in three key scientific disciplines:

Neuroscience at the individual level helps explain how diversity and inclusion influence our thoughts and actions and the significant influence of biases in decision-making and interactions.
On an interpersonal level, generative interactivity underscores the importance of organizational practices that enhance collaboration and inclusivity on diverse teams, improving creativity and problem-solving.
Complexity science at the institutional level suggests viewing diversity as a strategic solution rather than a problem, promoting a transformative shift in how diversity is approached and integrated into organizational practices.

The science-based Impact Case for DEI demonstrates how targeted changes can produce large-scale benefits. This approach creates a compelling case with measurable results and goes beyond simply arguing the moral imperative.

Business must take the lead

For many years, the Edelman Trust Barometer has shown people trust businesses more than governments. Businesses get things done when governments seem stuck. Closure of the ODI is a challenge, but it can be a catalyst for change. And the private sector can create that change if it:

Prioritizes diversity by tying it directly to personal, departmental, and organizational business goals,
Habituates inclusion by implementing learning and development solutions focused on changing behavior rather than hearts and minds, and
Systemizes equity by inspecting, interrupting and improving policies and procedures to sustain and spur the behavioral change.

The shuttering of the ODI is a challenge that presents unique opportunities. For the public sector, it validates ongoing efforts to systemize equity by institutionalizing DEI efforts wherever possible. For the private sector, it’s a chance to step up and lead on DEI. NLI’s Impact Case for DEI offers a science-backed roadmap. By implementing its actionable strategies, companies can leverage diversity to spark innovation, attract top talent, and gain a competitive edge. It’s a win-win scenario, leading organizations to better business outcomes while leading the way in DEI.

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The decision to dissolve the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) is a setback to a more inclusive society, with implications for both the public and private sectors. But there’s one big difference: Business can do something about it.

Engagement Manager (EMEA)

We’re looking for smart, charismatic people that are client-centric, genuinely curious about company dynamics, and have experience with implementing learning solutions. As an Engagement Manager for NLI EMEA, your role will be two fold in managing large scale learning initiatives and consulting with the client on culture change initiatives.

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