In addition to cognitive research on school leaders' problem solving, this study focuses on the situated and personal nature of problem framing by combining insights from cognitive research on problem solving and sense-making theory. The study reports the results of a case study of two school leaders solving problems in their daily context by using a sense-making approach. Detailed analysis of school leaders' problem-solving processes shows how the way school leaders frame the problems they are dealing with is embedded in their professional biographies. It is argued that a sense-making approach, which takes into account how school leader problem solving is situated both in their current circumstances and their professional biographies, is a useful additional approach for future research on school leaders' problem solving.
The complexity of the work of school leaders has intensified in recent years. The basic assumption underlying this article is that school leaders should develop a coherent vision of the school to effectively cope with the increased complexity of their work. In order to develop such a coherent vision, integration at a cognitive level is needed. In order to gain insight into both the complexity and integrity of the visions of school leaders, their tacit knowledge is studied using cause maps. More specifically, a method to elicit and interpret cause maps is explored and the analysis of the tacit knowledge, as expressed in the structure and content of their cause maps, indeed shows them to differ with regard to the level of cognitive integrity and balance within their cognitive repertoires.
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