We lead who we are: A collaborative inquiry to inform educational leadership praxis in contexts of diversity Lisa J. Starr B.Ed., M.A., PhD (abd) University of Victoria McGill University Thursday, May 23, 2013

Overview  Discussion of my primary research  Impetus for my research  Knowledge Frameworks  Methodology  Findings  Question and Answer Session We lead who we are

Research is a personal venture which, quite aside from its social benefits, is worth doing for its direct contribution to one’s own self-realization. It can be taken away as a way of meeting life with the maximum of stops open to get out of experience its most poignant significance, its most full-throated song. (Mooney, 1965 as cited in Bullough & Pinnegar, 2001, p. 13) We lead who we are

Rationale:Rationale:  “to develop a clearer picture of what it is that some leaders possess (or do, or are) that makes their leadership effective has perhaps never been more urgent” (Van der Mescht, 2004, p.3) We lead who we are Experience Theory Practice

Research Questions:Research Questions:  What is the meaning of educational leadership in this diverse postmodern world?  What are the enabling qualities and practices that inclusionary educational leaders espouse?  How do the life experiences of educational leaders inform practice and philosophy? We lead who we are

Knowledge Framework & Key Concepts:Knowledge Framework & Key Concepts: We lead who we are C ONSTRUCTIVIST ~ I NTERPRETIVIST STANCE P OSTMODERN PERSPECTIVE T RANSFORMATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE P RAXIS C RITICAL R EFLEXIVITY T RANSFORMATIVE L EARNING U NDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP

Methodology – Collaborative InquiryMethodology – Collaborative Inquiry focus on capturing and understanding our experiences through dialogue and representation three face to face sessions in an eight week phase MEANING MAKING focus on group collaborative reflection and interaction engage in repeated cycles of action & reflection four face to face sessions in a twelve week phase ACTING focus on participants engagement in self-study to generate data reassess research questions one face to face session in a four week phase CREATING focus on orienting the group understanding the research context sharing assumptions & experiences one face to face session in a four week phase FORMING We lead who we are Bray, J.N., Lee, J., Smith, L.L., & and Yorks, L. (2000). Collaborative inquiry in practice: Action, reflection, and meaning making.

Barriers to LeadershipBarriers to Leadership  Institutional hierarchies  Leaders as managers or captains  Politics driving decision making  Talking it but not walking it  Entrenched ideas of leadership  Power mongering  Binary thinking  Detached from people (teachers, students, parents) We lead who we are

Anticipated Findings:Anticipated Findings: Participants would:  Promote cross-cultural understanding and social change  Become critically aware of hegemonic assumptions in order to expand “assumptions to a more discriminating and integrative perspective  Empower leaders to examine their preconceptions and feelings about others, whether they are others of similarity, others of difference, or even others of opposition We lead who we are

Experience Theory Practice

Initial Findings: The experience of leadershipInitial Findings: The experience of leadership We lead who we are

Who leaders are and what they doWho leaders are and what they do We lead who we are Who leaders are: Creative Empathetic Inquisitive Authentic Collaborative What leaders do: Are relationally accountable Experience and facilitate empowerment Know self Engage in critical reflexivity Connect through questioning

Being relationally accountable Experiencing and facilitating empowerment Knowingself Engaging in reflexivity Connecting through questioning We lead who we are

Further questions & next steps:Further questions & next steps: We lead who we are  Greater emphasis in undergraduate & graduate coursework on the experience of leadership through autoethnography and transformative inquiry  Critical Pedagogical Practice through Cultural Studies. Jon Austin & Andrew Hickey, University of Southern Queensland, Queensland  Free to Become: Exploring the origins of leadership for learning. Christopher Branson, Australian Catholic University  Engage practicing administrators in similar processes through professional learning communities How do we understand the experience of leadership in ways that inform practice?

Questions… Comments… Ideas?Questions… Comments… Ideas? We lead who we are