Beyond anonymity and the every-day: celebrity and the capture of educational leadership

Abstract

This conceptual paper traces the development of the culture and capture of celebrity in the field of educational leadership. Drawing on Rojek’s (Celebrity. London: Reaktion Books, 2001) typology of celebrity, we examine the emergence of celebrity of leadership that is activated via the current policy environment that compels schools and school leaders to be recognised and well-known. It is this well-knownness that subsequently contributes to the school as a marketable commodity that “people like us” desire. We highlight the complex convergence of these two phenomena in our reading of the independent school sector in Victoria (Australia).

Keywords:

• Celebrity
• educational leadership
• independent schools