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

Year 2017, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 1 - 10, 01.05.2017

Stefan Rathert , Yasemin Kırkgöz

Abstract

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

Keywords

Leadership preparation, Leadership development, Leadership practice, ELT policy

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• Appendix: Interview questions Background
• • How did you achieve your leadership position? (Application, nomination, promotion, etc.?)
• • Which qualifications helped you to reach your leadership position?
• • Did you have any experience as leader before reaching this position?
• Leadership practice • What responsibilities and duties do you have in your position? • How do you deal with conflict in your workplace? What strategies do you use? Which ones do you find most effective? • Do you use different strategies for cognitive and affective conflicts? • Has there been resistance of staff members against your leadership? If so, how did/do you deal with it? • How do you motivate your staff? 10