Reflections on school leadership focussing on moral and transformational dimensions of a principal’s leadership practice

Abstract

The literature shows the significant influence of school leadership in creating successful schools. Due to the diversity and complexity of schools, theorists, policymakers and practitioners acknowledge the crucial role of school leaders’ values and their influence on schools and the community. In searching for new foundations for understanding leadership, three metaphors are used to describe a portrait of school leadership: the moral steward, the educator, and the community builder (Murphy, 2002:176). For the purpose of this study the focus is on the dimension of the moral steward of leadership. It uses this metaphor as one of the lenses to study a South African principal’s leadership who regards Christianity as point of departure in his or her practice. A qualitative study using a narrative inquiry was applied to investigate the moral and transformational dimensions of school leadership in the primary school. The following themes emerged from the data analysis: the principal’s foundation of leadership: “I learn from the Big Boss”; caring about the needs, value and feelings of individuals: “I have compassion for people”; developing the potential of others: “You must empower your people”. Through the sharing of the leadership experiences of the South African principal, this study could serve as a valuable resource and lead to similar studies that could enhance the sharing of leadership experiences of successful school principals.