Perceptions of school leaders in Nairobi about their leadership preparation and development

Okoko, Janet Mola; Scott, Shelleyann; Scott, Donald E.

doi:10.1080/13603124.2013.877160

Cited by 26 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Such approaches to managing dualities are not unusual in a highly centralized education system that places high emphasis on compliance and expects school leaders to abide by central policies and directives (Algarni & Male, 2014). Compliance can be seen as a sign of immersion in “issues of survival” (Okoko, Scott, & Scott, 2015, p. 296). It was obvious from the interview data that school leaders were focused on ensuring they were abiding by international schools’ regulations mandated by the MOE.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissonance Between the “International” and the Conservative “National”: Challenges Facing School Leaders in International Schools in Saudi Arabia

Hammad

Shah

2018

Educational Administration Quarterly

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This article seeks to investigate the leadership challenges in international schools in one region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It particularly examines the dissonance between the more liberal approaches to education prevalent in international schools and the conservative nature of those observed in the Saudi context, unveiling the challenges that this posed for school leaders. Research Methodology: In view of the sensitive and complex nature of the study, it was designed as an exploratory study located within qualitative paradigm, using interviewing for data generation. Individual, semistructured interviews were undertaken with 10 senior leaders from five international schools located in Al-Ahsa Governorate in KSA. Findings: The study highlighted a number of complex challenges faced by international school leaders in KSA mainly linked to issues such as sex segregation, Saudization, and parental expectations. The study also unveiled two coping strategies developed by school leaders-namely, compliance and circumvention.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissonance Between the “International” and the Conservative “National”: Challenges Facing School Leaders in International Schools in Saudi Arabia

Hammad

Shah

2018

Educational Administration Quarterly

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“…A principal is demanded to able to create a strategic vision and effective planning as solutions that will enable schools to continue to progress. Principals need to prepare themselves maximally because they will experience various issues in elevating school status, increasing teachers, personal leadership, building positive relationships with all parties, and managing crisis (Okoko, Scott & Scott, 2015). Unification and empowerment of school resources need to be conducted appropriately and proportionally.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demystifying the Perspectives of School Principals as Leaders of Curriculum Change: The Case of Indonesia

Munifah¹

2017

Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Educational Management and Administration (CoEMA 2017)

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Abstract:Whenever there is a policy of applying a new curriculum, there is always support and opposition, and so too did this happen when the 2013 Curriculum (K13) was applied in Indonesia. All this time the success of the application of a new curriculum has only been linked with the role of the teacher as the in-class executor; not many have focused on the role of the principal as a leader, and yet the principal plays a role in coordinating, helping, motivating, supervising, and evaluating the implementation of the curriculum so that it succeeds as expected. This research is aimed to understand the perspective of the principal toward curriculum changes in Indonesia and effective leadership during a curriculum change. This research used a qualitative approach as a study phenomenological case study through interviews with several principals at various education levels that have applied the K13. This research was conducted in East Java as a region that can be considered as a representation of Indonesia. Research results show that principals supported the change in curriculum as long as the new curriculum is better, supports achievement of school visions and missions, and could be implemented. Conceptually, the K13 is already good, but its implementation has not been well because of the factors of lack of teacher preparation, limited facilities, as well as the low motivation and ability of the principal; these weakness factors may be alleviated through transformational leadership. Success in the change of a curriculum requires a time frame of two years, and as such the government does not need to create ever-changing policies of K13 application, because this instead burdens many parties, in particular the principal. Leadership in curriculum change can be effective should the principal possess consistency and mastery of the new curriculum concepts as well as their implementation.

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“…In addition, no Canadian principals with fewer than five years of teaching experience were appointed principals, while some inexperienced teachers in Kenya and South Africa were. Our previous research in East Africa (Okoko et al, 2012;Onguko et al, 2012) suggested that factors besides relevant experience, merit, and seniority may influence appointment decisions, e.g., political ties and nepotism. A final observation was that more Canadian than South African principals were appointed after age 55 (12 percent Alberta, 2 percent South Africa) suggesting that experience is a valued factor in all settings but perhaps more so in Alberta.…”

Section: Demographic Observationsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Principal preparation in Kenya, South Africa, and Canada

Webber

Mentz

Scott

et al. 2014

Journal of Organizational Change Management

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Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:198285 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP) informs principal preparation in relation to change in schools. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach -The three-stage ISPP study utilized a mixed-methodological approach. Data were gathered in Kenya, South Africa, and Alberta, Canada utilizing a survey instrument that contained items that focussed on: problematic leadership responsibilities, prior leadership development experiences, and perceived adequacy of leadership preparation experiences. Findings -Leadership preparation in Kenya and South Africa was relatively unstructured, compared to structured university-based leadership preparation in Alberta. The assumption in Kenya and South Africa was that classroom teaching was adequate preparation, while Alberta respondents perceived teaching and leadership as discrete knowledge sets. Content of preparation experiences in Kenya and South Africa was mainly about teaching and learning, while in Alberta it was more about instructional leadership. Kenyan principals felt prepared for the principalship. Alberta principals stated that they were ill prepared to deal with day-to-day responsibilities. Senior South African principals felt they were not prepared for school improvement while younger principals felt they were adequately prepared. Practical implications -Findings suggest that providers utilize cross-cultural partnerships that incorporate technology-mediated dialogue and action research. Cross-cultural learning should be considered co-learning. Preparation should include partnerships between western institutions and informal groups of principals in settings such as Kenya and South Africa. The study informs policymakers, researchers, and school leaders. Originality/value -The cross-cultural comparisons in this paper inform understandings of the principalship in relation to organizational change in schools.

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Perceptions of school leaders in Nairobi about their leadership preparation and development

Cited by 26 publications

References 27 publications

Dissonance Between the “International” and the Conservative “National”: Challenges Facing School Leaders in International Schools in Saudi Arabia

Dissonance Between the “International” and the Conservative “National”: Challenges Facing School Leaders in International Schools in Saudi Arabia

Demystifying the Perspectives of School Principals as Leaders of Curriculum Change: The Case of Indonesia

Principal preparation in Kenya, South Africa, and Canada

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