Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Educational Management
Administration & Leadership
38(5) 625643
The Author(s) 2010
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DOI: 10.1177/1741143210373736
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Abstract
This study explored the active involvement of school and community members investing in
leadership dynamics for change, especially considering the increasingly globalized world and the
importance of preparing globally minded citizens. To explore how educators and leaders work to
foster dynamic learning experiences in a highly mobile global context, we studied leadership
dynamics in kindergarten through secondary American international schools environments. We
inquired, What kinds of leadership dynamics may be found in international schools that further
inform the field about generating sustainable environments for teaching and learning? One case
scenario is presented to illustrate how leadership in times of complexity and change may enhance
sustainable environments for teaching and learning at both local and international contexts. The
exploration culminated with a deep analysis of leadership dynamics for change, respecting the
individuals participatory power as well as the importance of collective wisdom in action.
Keywords
change, international schools, leadership dynamics, school leadership
Introduction
All of us stand around the fishing-net as equals. Sometimes one person pulls harder than another.
Sometimes a person pulls for another. Leadership is like that. Leadership moves around the circle
everyone in the circle should be treated with equal respect because everyone in the circle is a leader,
past, present, or future.
McLeod (2002)
McLeods (2002) fishing-net image refers to leadership dynamics and the development of a theory
that explains the interaction of individuals and of groups acting collectively to promote effective
Corresponding author:
Elizabeth Murakami-Ramalho, University of Texas at San Antonio, COHED-ELPS, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX,
78249, USA
Email: elizabeth.murakami@utsa.edu
626
processes for student learning. The purpose of this study was to observe closely leadership as a
process that, when fostered, enables collective forms of leadership and create sustainable environments for teaching and learning. To explore how school leaders work to foster learning experiences
in a highly dynamic and global context (Allen, 2002; Cambridge, 2003; Cambridge and Thompson,
2004), we studied leadership dynamics in a kindergarten through secondary (that is, K-12) American
international school environment.
Approaches to collective forms of leadership evolved from a variety of theoretical models and
frameworks developed over the past 30 years (Rost, 1991; Weick, 1979). However, schools in rapidly changing and increasingly globalized societies seem to require leadership that is distributed
and adaptable to a changing context. In this study we explored the effect on schools of the active
involvement of school members involved in leadership dynamics for change. We asked, What
kind of leadership dynamics may be found in American international schools that further inform
the field about generating sustainable environments for teaching and learning?
International schools are multiplying around the globe at an impressive rate (Brummitt, 2007),
showing both a need and demand for these types of educational services. These schools are highly
complex organizational systems with different configurations, missions and values, increasingly
drawing the attention of scholars. These schools, including American international schools, often
cater to the needs of expatriate communities, who see the school as a center for citizen and community participation, and seek it as a place for sustained students academic success (Blandford
and Shaw, 2001; Walters, 1983). Unlike national schools, whose focus is to purvey national values,
international schools often serve both host-country and international clienteles. To educate these
students as world citizens, school administrators and faculty develop programs that go beyond
national proficiencies, developing services catered to a community with diverse cultural backgrounds and expectations. Given this unique situation, a study of leadership dynamics in American
international schools was perceived to be timely and critical, especially in learning from the work
of educators in such schools.
Using a fishing-net metaphor as an ecological image of organization (Morgan, 2006), we
explored leadership dynamics in American international schools. This framework allowed for
an in-depth exploration of human behavior and psycho-dynamics of peoples engagement in an
organization (Gabriel, 1999; Hatch, 2005). In this article, we begin with a definition of leadership
dynamics, and include one American international school case scenario to illustrate the leadership
dynamics in action. Based on the case scenario and other schools we studied, our findings indicate
that a deep understanding of leadership dynamics as incremental organizational learning processes
highly contribute to successful leadership in organizations.
627
in the interpretation of] flexible, dynamic, project-oriented matrix or organic forms of organization
[rather than] mechanistic-bureaucratic ones. We recognize, however, the limitations in using
metaphors to evaluate transformational leadership theories (Yukl, 1999). Morgan himself warned
us that the use of metaphors is paradoxical, at the same time illuminating a concept while hiding
other issues. For example, even though the fishing-net metaphor conveys the idea of school initiatives as bringing everyone in the organization together for a task, individuals in an organization
present different levels of enthusiasm and engagement, and their participation maybe not be clear
to everyone involved. Nonetheless, the importance of using metaphoric approaches to the analysis
of organizations is noteworthy as they allow researchers to report organizational effectiveness on
the basis of peoples processes of development, their relationships and their influence in the organizational life cycles, how people survive these organizational pushes and, most importantly, how
people influence and are influenced by organizational tensions, individuals agendas and purpose.
We also used soft systems as a framework to observe peoples actions in the organization
(Checkland, 1981, 1999; Checkland and Scholes, 1990). Soft systems methodology perceives
situations as systemic (pertaining to a whole), especially when organizations are highly dependent on the unpredictability and richness of human behaviour (Winter, 1990: 379). In soft systems
methodology, purposeful action is the unit of analysis. By purposeful action, Checkland (1999: 2)
meant deliberate, decided, willed action, whether by an individual or by a group. This method of
inquiry provided us with an interesting shift in the study of leadership, allowing for the exploration
of leadership based on complexity and change.
These frameworks contributed to the exploration of complexity and change in leadership as a
collaborative process that, when fostered, enables the inclusion of individual expression in collective forms of leadership initiatives (Bottery, 2003, 2004; Gronn, 2002; Haeusler, 2003; Harris,
2004; Heck and Hallinger, 1999). In addition, even though studies often stress the importance
of the leaders passion, commitment and enthusiasm, these same studies may reject the existence
of other emotions, like disengagement, or anger, as equally influencing initiatives (Gabriel, 1999).
Hence, in an environment of complexity and change, American international schools offered an
appealing setting for this exploration. In the next session we provide an overview of international
schools.
628
enter schools, colleges and universities in the USA. For this study, we visited those schools
affiliated with the International Baccalaureate (IB), which allows students to transfer schools with
a consistent IB program and philosophy. The IB program prepares students with academic rigor,
and its philosophy is holistic, focusing on intercultural understanding and respect, not as an alternative to a sense of cultural and national identity, but as an essential part of life in the 21st century
(International Baccalaureate, 2008). Schools adopting this curriculum often view education as
relating to the moral development of the individual and the formation of positive attitudes
towards peace, international understanding and responsible world citizenship (Cambridge and
Thompson, 2004: 164).
Leadership in international schools is indeed dynamic, according to Blandford and Shaw
(2001), due to important characteristics influencing its leadership (Hayden and Thompson,
1996; Haywood, 2002), which include: (1) parental expectations (maybe due to cultural differences); (2) high staff and student turnover; (3) the head of schools precarious position;
(4) over-involvement and itinerant membership of board members; (5) in-country laws and educational policies; (f) the delivery of the right balance in curriculum; and (6) the head of schools relationship with the board of governors. Leadership in international schools therefore presents
multiple layers of complexity, all occurring in isolation in different countries and international
contexts. Blandford and Shaw (2001: 26) recognized that As of yet, we do not perhaps know
enough about how different types of international schools are led.
Located in host countries, these schools are locally structured as private institutions and sometimes are subject to the countries standardized educational policies. In addition, educators in these
schools are involved in culturally rich settings with two or more distinct cultural groups, that is, a
local and an international community in a highly transient environment (Bale, 1984; Vogel, 1992).
In light of their international contexts, these schools as organizations require the leadership of
teachers and leaders with professional capacity to generate and sustain a highly sophisticated curriculum (Burleigh, 1993; Welton, 2001), in unique contextual and sometimes isolated conditions.
Student mobility in international schools can be as high as 35 percent every year (Matthews,
1989). Teachers often are contracted for two-year renewable terms, and head-of-school contracts
average three- to five-year terms (Hardman, 2001). The high mobility of educators and leaders
challenges the stability and continuity of operations at these schools. Yet, despite the high turnover, it is possible to find some educators who have taught in international schools for 20 years
or longer. In relation to heads of schools, chances that they will stay longer than three years are
less than 50 percent (Howley, 1995). In fact, this statistic has caught the attention of researchers,
such as Littleford (1999), who affirmed that almost 80 percent of all heads of international schools
contracts were terminated. The causes for this phenomenon are attributed to a number of variables:
frequent changes in trustees and board chairs, trustees being mainly parents rather than community
leaders, and continuous changes in the nature of the job as determined by the board (Littleford,
1999). In addition, heads of school and other administrators have no central office to turn to for
advice (Gonzales, 1987; Harzing, 2001; Walters, 1983) or any formal mentoring systems, especially when isolated by distance from possible mentors. In fact, opportunities for professional
development for all educators in this environment are sometimes severely limited.
Brummitt (2007: 36) recognized that by their nature, change is the norm in international
schools. The administrative affairs of these schools are in many cases managed by a unique governing board composed of members of the multinational community. In fact, boards of education in
international schools have been receiving increased research attention because their political and
moral influence highly affects the school leaders performance and the campus ethos and climate
629
(Caffyn, 2007; Howley, 1995). This research revealed that micro politics in international schools
may be one of the prevalent reasons for the replacement of 1278 school heads in 2006 alone
(Brummitt, 2007).
Given the foregoing statistics, we believe that a study of leadership dynamics and change in
American international schools is important to the field of educational leadership and the improvement of conditions for educator and leaders in these schools. Taking into account some of the challenges faced by educators in international schools as described here, and moving beyond mere
descriptions of the activities and structures in international schools, this study adds the educator-leaders lived experiences leading and creating sustainable environments for teaching and
learning in K-12 American international schools.
Methodology
A qualitative approach, examining the participants common and distinctive interactions, intensities, and complexities (Janesick, 2000, 2005) was used in the observation of leadership dynamics in
American international schools. The inquiry included how people make meaning of their actions,
values and beliefs when working collectively towards change. A single case from a larger study of
three campus-wide cases (Murakami-Ramalho, 2005) is used in this report to provide the reader
with some of the challenges that heads of school, teachers and parents encounter in developing
initiatives in American international schools. The larger study included three schools initiatives
(N 30) developed as exploratory case studies based on a variety of evidence (Yin, 1994), including artifacts and public records, organizational reports, direct observations and narratives constructed from in-depth and focus-group interviews. Pseudonyms were used for all participants,
institutions and country names. Schools with proven stability as organizations were chosen, which
included schools with more than 10 years of existence, documented success in the preparation of
students, stable administrative teams, an established governing board and a head of school with
more than five years of international schools experience. Within these schools, we selected
schools that were in the beginning stages of a leadership initiative implementation. Selection for
leadership initiatives included those with school wide (K-12) impact, and the involvement of multiple internal and external constituents, such as school administrators, teachers, students, parents,
business and community members. The International School of Whisperwind was one of the few
schools that met these characteristics.
630
Figure 1. Participants: around the table at the American International School of Whisperwind
inception and implementation and the participants working together in the initiative would be more
comfortable in their roles, more at ease with each other, and more participative in meetings. In
describing persons, places and events in the inquiry, we adhered to rigorous methodological standards to ensure that we met the criterion of fairness (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) in the examination
of individual perceptions.
631
The school name, participants and geographical location were masked to protect the identity of
the school and its participants. Data-collection methods included: (1) school visits to observe
the initiatives; (2) interviews with initiative participants individually and during focus groups; and
(3) examination of documents and artifacts related to the initiative, that is, communications among
members, announcements, reports and public foruMs To ensure that the groups equilibrium in
participation and interaction was maintained, observations, in-depth interviews and focus groups
were used to complement each other in the data collection.
The analysis included the leadership processes developed through individual stories, problems
and motives that surrounded the initiatives inception and implementation, as well as the steps
taken by participants in relation to the initiative. In addition, conditions that might have influenced
each initiative, such as resistance, or meanings and strategies participants described in their personal accounts were considered. Artifacts and documents complemented the interactions among
participants. The findings were drawn from the analysis and triangulation with the other cases
in the larger study. There are limitations in this case as well as the larger study related to its small
sample, and generalizations from this study are limited only to initiatives, schools and conditions
similar to those presented here.
Nonetheless, according to school brochures, the citys progressive economy has attracted people of many nationalities to invest in businesses there, especially because the city of Whisperwind
is located at a convenient port of entry for businesses and product exchange. The citys inviting
economy also has contributed to the establishment of more than six American schools in the vicinity. Because expatriates in the city of Whisperwind have several educational options, the school is
challenged to deliver quality education and unique options to its constituents.
Educators new to Whisperwind noticed the influence of a global society on the school population and environment. One of the teachers commented:
632
How many times can you sit down and talk to an Angolan child about whats happening in the world,
and in the evening go to the Saudi Arabian embassy and experience no alcohol and women you cannot
shake hands with? You are just blown away by some of these experiences. But then you come back
saying, Wow! I understand some of the cultural dimensions of whats going on, I understand a little
about the world. I understand about world issues better.
Because Whisperwind is a proprietary school, the head of school is seen as a middle manager
(vulnerable from top-down decisions), serving under an executive director and a board of governance located in the largest of the three schools owned by the proprietary entity in other parts of
town. Teachers had little interaction with the executive director. For example, Mrs Bassett, the languages teacher, who had served the school for more than 26 years, did not recall ever being visited
by or even talking to the executive director.
633
who had been at the school for 22 years. Both Mr Bernard and Ms Basset would provide a
historical account of episodes that had gone wrong at Whisperwind. Symbolically, this
affirmed the importance of school history and the need to acknowledge that something had
gone wrong, so that the healing process could begin in earnest, and new direction might grow
from it.
Mrs Shepard, in fact, had learned about the school communitys feelings before she accepted
the superintendence. Resistance was the word the hiring board used when describing the school
climate to Mrs Shepard. To reach the entire community, Mrs Shepard would have to involve everyone in reshaping the school culture. Upon her arrival, Mrs Shepard talked to several teachers. One
of them, Mr Lakeland, who was in his second year at the school, told her he believed he was being
negatively affected by the resistant culture in the school when implementing innovative teaching
and learning strategies. Ms Terrier, conversely, was enthusiastic about Mrs Shepards arrival, and
believed that it presaged new and better times for Whisperwind. Parents and other community
members were divided in their viewpoints; some knew the schools recent history with regard
to the heads of school, whereas some of the newer families were confident that Mrs Shepard was
conducting things differentlyshe seemed genuine. At the suggestion of certain members
around the table, Mrs Shepard decided to involve all staff members in developing a strategic plan
by asking for everyones input during faculty meetings throughout the year. The process was initiated in the school years first general session in September. Mrs Shepard reflected:
This is the first time that Ive ever done a strategic plan where I invited every single member from the
stafffrom the security personnel to the principal. Ive written every single thing that every person
said, and had it fed back to them, and did not leave anybodys opinion out. I cannot tell you the amount
of work it wasit was absolutely unbelievable.
To begin formulating the strategic plan, each faculty and staff member was asked to indicate
What was the most important change that could improve the school in the areas of curricula,
634
communications, facilities and school members (including the faculty) well-being? They were to
write their suggestion on a piece of paper but were not required to identify themselves. Faculty and
staff were hesitant to provide suggestions during the first meeting. They perceived this as a pointless exercise, especially for a head of school who might not even last long enough to fulfill their
promises. Mrs Shepard insisted that everyone contribute their ideas, and pleaded, Lets just try it,
OK? Lets just try it. During subsequent meetings, people still were reluctant to participate but
was slowly seeing some of their suggestions being implemented. How could school members trust
that Mrs Shepard had a genuine interest in improving curricula, communications, facilities and
faculty and student lives at Whisperwind?
In subsequent months, the faculty and staff gradually were getting involved in identifying areas
of concern within the various divisions of the school. However, even though people had begun participating in delineating concerns, they did not necessarily agree with how the meetings were conducted, or how the plan was being organized. Mr Lakeland talked about some school members
resistance to taking part in the initiative:
The process initiated by Mrs Shepard is cumbersome, it takes up time. People wonder if it is a waste of
time. They wonder why, for example, I as a high school teacher would have to comment on some facet
of lower school instruction or facilitiesand what do I know, what do I care?And, of course, there is
merit to that objection. But overall I would say if we were to look at it on balance, I think that Mrs
Shepards approach is fairly daring and innovative, even though admittedly inefficient. I dont think
that efficiency is her number one goal anywaybut as far as interacting with the faculty, I think Mrs
Shepard wisely and in a way reflects who she is as a human beingher humanity and her essential
sense of fairness and democracy. She really wanted input.
Reluctantly, the participants recognized that their voices were now being heard. Mr Barnard
believed this was the first time that people from the whole school had been approached to start
a project and saw the strategic plan as an initiative that was educating people to be active participants in the school:
In education sometimes the journey is what you need to learnnot the finished goal. And I think that
our strategic plan started us off on a journey. It has given us a map and Heres some ways that we can
go and change things. I dont think that the real true goal of a strategic plan is that everything on that
checklist is going to be done at the end of five years. But I think there is a process that will be taking
place between the administration and the staff and various people saying, Look, this is important,
where do we go here? How did we get here? Why did we say we wanted to do this? I think the biggest
part has been that collectively there is a voice now that has been given an avenue of expression.
Mrs Shepard said that subsequent meetings related to the strategic plan gradually became more
engaging. People were thinking more deeply about building facilities, curricular needs, professional development and especially the administration. Mr Bernard recalled that various groups
commented on each others recommendations on different issues, and that many good ideas
emerged. Mrs Shepard indicated that maintaining a steady pace was important in trust-building:
I learned that you have to keep the momentum moving, that you have to get the right balanceif you
move too fast, youre going to have to go backwards, and if you move too slow youll never get people
on board. So for me, it was a matter of pacing and knowing how to work with people when they feel that
they have input. And they feel all along the line that they have input. I learned most about pacing and
635
feeling how people will react and be willing to be flexible and say, Okay, youve got a point. Lets
slow down, and lets analyse this.
Nonetheless, the faculty and staff were aware of the organizational hierarchy limiting Mrs
Shepard in making decisions because she served under an executive director and a board of governance. Even though Mrs Shepard represented a bridge between the schools needs and the executive director, the faculty and staff could not forget the traumatic experiences in the past or trust
that the new head of school was a stable presence in the school. That tension made them reluctant
to engage in new school activities. Mr Bernard attested: Mrs Shepard is trying to do a very good
job and trying to be open, be friendly, and do everything that she can, but in the back of us old
timers minds there is still somebody above her who could go, bang!
For the first time, Ms Corgi thought things were not being changed solely for changes sake. The
school is much calmer, she affirmed. Finally the waters have started to calm again, and we are quite
steady. There are still odd peaks, but from my perspective I feel that were going in the right direction.
The Whisperwind case displayed a social and transformative process in terms of leadership
dynamics. The dynamics included important features such as the power of individual participation,
intense negotiations stemming from individual commitments, conciliation during these negotiations, and a collective wisdom in the decisions. In the next section we develop a thematic analysis
of the case using the fishing-net conceptual model of leadership dynamics.
636
leadership issues of school sustainability, especially when examining the behavior of educatorleaders in the face of challenges encountered while working in complex and uncertain environments.
637
the case of Whisperwind, the school needed to realign its members in order to move forward
into activities that would bring common purpose in creating environments conducive to teaching and learning. This theoretical consideration has been expanded through contingency theories
and the observation of organizational health and development (Donaldson, 2001; Lawrence
and Losrch, 1967). Therefore, the organic forms of organization in the process of innovation
(Morgan, 2006: 68) were identified, especially the fit between the organizational environment
and its members.
At Whisperwind, Mrs Shepard identified a situation calling for action, and she used a purposeful
activity to address it. The purposeful action was the object of our analysis of leadership dynamics.
Through a series of school wide meetings for strategic planning, which were met with much resistance, Mrs Shepard provided the avenue for individual voices to be heard and specific school needs
to be addressed. The strategic plan focused on curricula, communications, facilities, and faculty
student/ community well-being. As Winter (1990: 382) indicated, in soft systems methodology,
analysis of the constraints of the situation faced by its members was of utmost importance in
understanding leadership dynamics. As the school was in the early stages of change, Mrs Shepard
understood that school members needed to feel stability and trust before adopting any changes
(Noer, 1993). At Whisperwind, people needed to express their emotions first. It required a deep
understanding of the peoples feelings and history of the school, as well as their needs and dreams;
an understanding of the organizational environment.
638
or failures, indicating that building trust and developing commitment and collective responsibility
among school members were the key first steps to moving the organization forward.
Organizational Learning
Fishing with a fishing net requires collective learning. In order to create change, leadership capacity depended on the development of organizational learning at Whisperwind. Organizational learning requires that all members of the school systemstudents, teachers, staff, board members and
community partnerswork intentionally and visibly while learning with one another in an open
and transparent manner (Checkland and Poulter, 2006; Harris, 2004; Limerick et al., 1998). To
achieve generative levels of participation and interdependence (Giles, 2006; Leithwood and Louis,
1999; Mitchell and Sackney 2000), the strategic plan as a purposeful action for change seemed to
be the right opportunity to enable school members to function collectively.
Organizational learning requires that participants learn enough to make changes to policies, procedures and practices that define how the school structure operates (Harris, 2004; Hatcher, 2005). At
Whisperwind, organizational learning was occurring through trust-building activities. Keys to the
adoption of this initiative were the long-serving educators, who inspired other members to refocus
their emotions on new energies for school improvement. In the process of building alliances, when a
639
group acquires the know-how associated with its ability to carry out its collective activitiesthat
constitutes organizational learning, attested Cook and Yanow (1996: 438).
Conclusion
When the tides are favourable and the fish are running, fishermen prepare. Working together, they
discuss each step of their process to ensure a healthy catch. At the appointed time, each responsible
for a part of the fishing net, they enter the sea. They stretch their nets as they move cautiously into the
waves. The net must have both adequate tension and slack. Their purpose is clear, and hopes are high as
they skilfully manoeuvre the net, which results in a good catch that will provide for all of their families.
(McLeod, 2002)
640
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Biographical Notes
Elizabeth Murakami-Ramalho is an Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas-San Antonio. Dr
Murakami worked in American international schools for 14 years. She now teaches graduate-level
courses. Her research focuses on urban and international education, including a critical examination of organizational learning and ecology, leadership dynamics, globalization, hybrid identities/
communities, social justice, race, and gender.
Maenette Benham is a professor in and Dean of the Hawaiinui
akea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, University of Hawaii-M
anoa. She began a 15-year pre- K-12 education career teaching K/1,
3/4 and 7-12 (California, Texas and Hawaii). She joined the College of Education faculty at
Michigan State University in January of 1993, where she built a strong base of inquiry that centers
on: the nature of engaged and collective educational leadership; the wisdom of knowing and praxis
of social justice; the meaning and value of systems knowledge; and the effects of educational and
social policy on vulnerable communities.