Imagining an ‘ideal school’: an approach for reflecting on principals’ educational creed

Abstract

In this paper, we describe an approach to the study and development of school principals’ school creed. The approach and its underlying method are grounded in the phenomenological tradition, predominantly in the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty. School principals are asked to imagine an ideal school and present it both visually and verbally. We illustrate the potential of this process using one ideal school proposal developed by a high school principal in Israel. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the approach for research, theory and practice.

Keywords:

• Reflective practice
• school principal
• educational creed
• phenomenology
• school environment

Notes

1. Details of the school’s website are not provided here. This omission is made in order to safeguard the schools' anonymity.

2. Though using the masculine, she clearly refers to both genders.