NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1128288
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1360-3124
EISSN: N/A
Distributed Leadership in a Maltese College: The Voices of Those among Whom Leadership Is "Distributed" and Who Concurrently Narrate Themselves as Leadership "Distributors"
Mifsud, Denise
International Journal of Leadership in Education, v20 n2 p149-175 2017
In the unfolding Maltese education scenario of decentralization and school networking, I explore distributed leadership as it occurs at the college level through the leaders' narrative and performance in an investigation of the power relations among the different-tiered leaders. This article uses data from the case study of a Maltese college consisting of four primary and three secondary schools. Using these data from an ongoing doctoral study, all subjected to narrative and discourse analysis, I adopt the stance of a "story teller", as I craft a narrative from the data to represent a "play of voices". Foucault's theories of power, governmentality, discourse and subjectivation are used to explore the unfolding of power relations. Analysis reveals a dichotomy between the leaders' narrative of distributed leadership and their performance of it. There is the presence of a raging battle among the discourses of collegiality and isolationism, through the discourse of distributed leadership, and within the discourse of educational leadership itself. Distributed leadership is a challenge to perform at the college level; with resistance being demonstrated in overt or more subtle ways along the different hierarchies, although power does circulate. This article contributes to educational leadership literature with regard to the power relations among top educational leaders in a networked school setting.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Malta
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A