The theory of caritative leadership applied to education

Abstract

Within caring science, the concept of caring leadership is well established. The aim of this study is to introduce Bondas’s theory of caritative leadership into education. The theory of caritative leadership is a theory of caring leadership with the ‘caritas’ thought of human love and mercy at its core. The article considers a hypothetical testing of the transferability of a nursing leadership theory, with its roots in caring science, into the field of education. The material consists of about 90 sources from the disciplines of nursing, education, management, and psychology. A caritative leadership would support Bildung – a comprehensive view of the edification of life, personal growth and maturity – as an ultimate goal of education. In the emerging model of a caritative leadership in education, a humanistic ethos of love, trust, and forgiveness shapes the culture of the educational organisation. The pedagogical leader supports the process of human becoming by implementing the idea of human beings as vulnerable, moral, dignified and unique individuals. The leader develops an ability to know which objectives to measure and which experiences of others to learn from, while performing such tasks as planning, reporting and directing in accordance with the mission of the organisation.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable, stimulating comments, as well as PhD student Johanna Björkell, PhD Terese Bondas, PhD Torbjörn Sandell, and PhD student Tina South for their encouraging comments on earlier versions of this paper.