The paradox of power in leadership in early childhood education

The paradox of power in leadership in early childhood education

• Ho, Dora Hong Kong Institute of Education

Peabody Journal of Education, 87(2), 253-266, 2012

Routledge

2012

• R Educational Policy & Administration
  • RE School Management, School-Parents Relationship
• R Educational Policy & Administration
  • RB School Groups & School Sponsoring Bodies
• R Educational Policy & Administration
  • RI Other Non-Academic & Support Personnel
• S School Environment & Facilities, Organization
  • SG Organization of Schools, Experimental School
• Q Philosophy of Education, Educational System & School At Different Levels
  • QB Pre-school Education, Child Caring Facilities, Maternal & Infantile Health Facilities

Politics and Policy-Making Culture and Religion Culture and Civilization Business and Service Sector Business Management Educational Policy

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Pre-Primary Education

Western frameworks for school improvement, including the stakeholder model and the model of decentralized leadership, have recently been promoted as solutions for school improvement. Using early childhood education in Hong Kong as an illustrative case, this article focuses on the power and authority of leadership in school decision making. The interview data collected from the two case study schools reveal a paradox of power in leadership that is characterized by tensions between centralization and decentralization in the change process, where decentralization is advocated by policymakers but traditional hierarchical cultures remain. The relationship between the leaders and school stakeholders incorporates a concept of harmony that functions to defuse the potential power struggle embedded in decision making.
[Copyright of Peabody Journal of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0161956X.2012.664479]

• English

Journal Articles

• 0161956X

• 10.1080/0161956X.2012.664479

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/5e6a77f5

2014-01-18