Articulating leadership values in action: conversations with school leaders

Abstract

While a recognition of the importance of values in leadership, in education, and particularly in educational leadership is not new, there have been recent demands for further empirical research into the nature and influence of school leaders' values and leadership and the impact of related processes and outcomes within schools. This article is based on interviews with six school leaders in England about their values and leadership. While there have been concerns about the impact on school leaders of shifts in education policy discourse and practice involving market forces and managerialism in England, it is apparent that the school leaders we spoke to remain committed to their personal, professional and educational values. These values influenced the school leaders' perceptions of their leadership and how they articulated their relationships with students, staff and the local community and their aspirations and expectations for their schools. Such values emphasized educational and social justice concerns and the capacity for school leaders to be active and influential rather than passive recipients of educational policy changes and government discourse.