A New Biographical Studies for Educational Leadership: Challenges from a Postcolonial and Globalizing World

Year 2016, Volume: 1 Issue: 2, 187 - 228, 15.12.2016

Eugenie A. Samier

https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2016.2.2

Abstract

This paper examines the nature, role and development
of biographical studies in educational administration and leadership, how it
has changed under neo-liberalism and the challenges posed by postcolonial studies.   It first examines the nature and value of
conventional Western biographical studies for educational administration,
including a number of problems and limitations that also affect biographical
studies in other parts of the world.  The
second section examines a number of issues in the postcolonial literature that
raise questions about Western research, including biographical practices that
lead to ‘orientalism’ (Said), inequities and communicative domination
(Habermas), the construction of the subaltern (Guha, Spivak), a critique of
colonial social forms and cultural processes (Bourdieu), and research practices
that disadvantage the non-Western research subject (Smith).  The final section examines research implications
of a more decolonized and inclusive biographical studies for educational
administration.

Keywords

Biography, Administration, Educational leadership, Post-colonialism, Globalization

References

• Creswell, J. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks: Sage.