Leaders of the profession and professional leaders. School leaders making sense of themselves and their jobs

Abstract

In most of the Western world, high expectations of educational leadership exist. School leaders are regarded as important actors in the implementation of reforms, which are occurring at an increasing pace. Furthermore, they are regarded as professionals who can make judgments on behalf of their pupils, teachers, and schools. However, becoming a school leader is an underexposed process that typically involves a departure from one's previous professional identity as a teacher. In this article, we study this process by analysing qualitative interviews that were conducted with three school leaders in the Danish primary public school (Folkeskole): a young member, a middle-aged member, and a senior member. Our point of departure is Bourdieu's theory of habitus, as well as narrative theory. We find that all school leaders construct professional identities in continuation of their teacher identities but that these differ along the lines of what we refer to as professional leaders and leaders of the profession.

Den humanitære livsform – en ny epistemologi for den professionelle etos i velfærdsarbejde

“…De mange forskellige uddannelsestrin og -former og tilknyttede titler, der også refererer til ovenstående arbejdsfelter, skal medregnes. Ledere og professionaliseringen af ledelse som arbejdsfelt vil også høre under kategorien, qua det staerke fokus der er på personligt, autentisk lederskab og evnen til at lede gennem relationer -hvilket medfører etiske fordringer og dilemmaer (Bøje & Frederiksen, 2019;Hjort, Bøje, Raae, Ribers & Stanek, 2018).…”

Professionel ledelse af professionshøjskoler – fortalt og fortolket af to rektorer

“…Den overordnede pointe med Propps og Greimas' arbejde -og med aktantmodellen -er, at mange af vores fortaellinger forløber som eventyr med helte/ heltinder, skurke, prinser/prinsesser og konger/dronninger. På samme måde forløber lederes fortaellinger om dem selv og 'deres' organisationer ofte som eventyr, i hvilke de er helten/heltinden (subjektet), der får til opgave (af giveren) at redde eller etablere en ny organisation (Hansen, Bøje & Beck, 2014;Bøje & Frederiksen, 2017 Her tillaegger Harald sig selv en højere grad af agens (bl.a. vedrørende "bearbejdningen" og "kampagnen" i organisationen), der skabes kausale relationer (de 5 partnere, der blev overbevist), og der føjes modstandere (bl.a.…”

“…Harald taler sig dog ikke lige så staerkt ind i en helterolle, som jeg i visse tilfaelde har set blandt uddannelsesledere (Hansen, Bøje & Beck, 2014;Bøje & Frederiksen, 2017). Faktisk gør han dette på en relativt afdaempet facon.…”

“…Den potentielle forskydning i magtbalancen mellem faglig og generisk ledelse svarer til, hvad en kollega og jeg for nylig har beskrevet på folkeskoleområdet (Bøje & Frederiksen, 2017). Her ser vi en tendens til, at aeldre skoleledere med en lille grad af formel lederuddannelse italesaetter sig selv i stil med den fagligt staerke leder eller det, vi kalder lederen af professionen -i dette tilfaelde laererprofessionen.…”

Leading for Educational Change: How Can We Disrupt the Colonial Legacy?

“…The development of quality education is closely linked to effective leadership [1]; however, attaining effective leadership is a challenge that many schools grapple with daily. Concerns have been raised about colonial forms of leadership and management in education systems, for example, leading by domination which deprives those who are oppressed, the agency and opportunity to take risks and contribute to the development of their schools [2].…”