Indicators of improved learning contexts: a collaborative perspective on educational leadership

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to illustrate indicators for improved learning contexts based on the notion of collaborative leadership. Collaborative leadership refers to synergetic educational leadership practices through co-performance and a continuous and shared learning process. We argue that the indicators could serve as a bridge between education and the complex and increasing change within the social life and world of work. For finding the indicators, we combined two intertwining dimensions: ‘leadership in education’ and ‘education for leadership’. They were studied by a tested model describing collaborative leadership by a set of attributes. We then applied these attributes to a curriculum reform in a global business school, which aims at educating future leaders. Our data consist of the curricular narrative and interviews with the expert group that designed the curriculum. As a result of a qualitative content analysis, we found altogether 31 indicators, of which we introduce the ones that were related to the most frequent attributes of collaborative leadership. However, we suggest that some or even all of the indicators could be adaptable to other learning contexts at other educational levels.

Additional information

Funding

It was a five-year full-paid post for Jäppinen to conduct research according to her plan, entirely funded by the Academy of Finland.

Notes on contributors

Aini-Kristiina Jäppinen

Aini-Kristiina Jäppinen is a professor of Educational Leadership, Department of Education, University of Jyväskylä, P. O. Box 35, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland. Email: [email protected]. At the time of conducting the research, her position was Academy Research Fellow in the University of Jyvaskyla, Finnish Institute for Educational Research. Jäppinen's research interests are collaborative leadership and its dynamics, microprocesses in educational leadership and educational leadership as a complex system.

Mélanie Ciussi

Mélanie Ciussi works as assistant professor in SKEMA Business School in Sophia Antipolis in France. Her research interests are e-learning and innovations in management education.