The Influence of Faith and Values on Islamic School Leaders’ Perspectives of
Leadership: A Western Australian Case Study
Abstract
This paper reports the findings of a study which aimed to uncover how members of
faith-based school management teams understand and practise educational leadership.
The study purposively selected three Western Australian faith-based schools which
included a Catholic, a Greek Orthodox and an Islamic school. Qualitative data
collection methods were employed to develop insights into the members’
understandings of educational leadership, how their understandings connected to
practice, and how understandings and practices varied between the faith school
contexts. For the purpose of this paper, the findings from the Islamic school case are
examined indicating the extent to which understandings and practices of educational
leadership are influenced by the leader’s own beliefs and values, which were
underpinned by personal faith as well as by the school’s affiliated faith. These
findings may be useful in developing our understanding of how different cultural
contexts impact on a school leader’s day to day work.
Objective and purpose
This study set out to examine how educational leadership is understood and practised
by the members of three different faith-based school management teams located in
Perth, Western Australia. The purpose of the study was based on the following central
research question: how do the members of management teams in different faith-based
schools understand and practise educational leadership? Three guiding questions were
developed to help with the research process. These questions focused on uncovering
the participants’ understandings of educational leadership, how their understandings
influenced their practice, and to what extent their understandings and practices varied
between different faith-based schools. This paper will focus on one of the three school
cases, the Islamic school case. It will illustrate how perspectives of leadership were
anchored in values which derived from participants’ personal spirituality and were
reinforced by the values of the school’s affiliated faith.
Theoretical framework
It has been acknowledged that faith-based schools are the “phenomenon of our times”
(Johnson, 2005, p. 155). This ‘phenomenon’ is a result of the changing mindset of
national governments to support faith-based schools. Consequently, faith-based
schools have become an important part of education systems worldwide (Lawton &
Cairns, 2005).
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Despite faith-based schools’ growing importance they tend to be on the periphery of
any attempts to understand critical issues within the field of education and particularly
the field of educational leadership (Grace, 2003, 2009). It is recognized that research
investigating faith-based schools has been conducted. However, many of these studies
have focused on the areas of school effectiveness and academic outcomes (Grace,
2003), policy studies (Walford, 2001) or descriptive analyses (Hewer, 2001).
Furthermore, much of the research tends to concentrate on Catholic schools and is set
within the context of the United States (Arthur, 2005, Grace 2003).
Within the field of educational leadership the dearth of research on faith-based schools
is significant when considering that leadership is “one of the most powerful
determinants of how organizations develop” (National College of School Leadership,
2005, n.p.). The scant research that has been conducted in this area has, however,
suggested future directions for investigation. A report by the National College for
Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services (2005) identified three themes for
future research including: leadership of faith schools; leadership and spirituality; and
the development of leadership in faith schools. In addition, more empirically based
research such as Grace’s (2002) investigation of English Catholic headteachers and
Cranston, Ehrich, and Kimber’s (2006) examination of Australian faith-based school
leaders have been conducted. The findings from this research highlight how leadership
is influenced by contextual factors relating to the school’s culture and by personal and
professional values (Grace, 2002; Cranston et al., 2006). Such studies reinforce the
value of conducting investigations of leadership within the distinctive settings of faithbased schools and of how perspectives are influenced by contextual factors.
Methods, techniques or modes of inquiry
In order to reveal and describe members of the management teams’ perspectives, the
study employed a multiple case study design (Yin, 1994). This led to the use of
purposeful sampling to identify and select the schools and participants that would
offer in-depth, descriptive data. The final selection of the cases comprised three
composite (K-12) faith-based schools, namely, a Catholic school, an Islamic school,
and a Greek Orthodox school. In order to makes sense of how individuals experience
and structure their social world the study employed qualitative data collection methods
(Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007). The methods included concept mapping, semistructured interviews, non-participant observations and document analysis. In order to
build an understanding of educational leadership that is grounded in the collected data
the study adopted Strauss and Corbin’s (1990) grounded theory approach for the data
analysis.
Results and/or conclusions/points of view
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The participants’ perspectives on educational leadership were influenced by three
contextual factors: their religious orientations, personal values and the ethos of the
school’s affiliated faith. In all cases, the participants’ conceptualized their perspectives
on leadership as a value-driven activity that was informed by their personal values and
connected to their faith. In addition, the participants interpreted leadership as a
collaborative and collegial activity. As a result, the participants’ leadership practice
was focused on serving others, recognizing the expertise of staff and supporting their
professional development.
Two assertions were generated that characterize the participants’ perspectives within
the Islamic school context. First, the participants’ understandings of leadership are
distinctive from how leadership is understood in various types of schools because of
the ways in which they are anchored in the participants’ spiritually-based values and
reinforced by the values of the school’s affiliated faith. Secondly, the participants’
distinctive understandings of leadership shape their leadership practice in ways which
are recognizable to and different from leadership practices in secular and faith-based
schools. The findings demonstrate the extent to which personal values, faith and the
school’s ethos can influence a leader’s overall perspective.
Educational importance of this study for theory, practice, and/or policy
Given the importance of educational leadership in terms of its development and
effectiveness (NCLS, 2005) this study adds to current understandings of this complex
topic by focusing on those leaders who have been previously neglected by scholars
(Grace, 2009). This study also advances our understanding of how the school’s
religious ethos can influence the leader’s day to day governance of the school. This is
an especially important consideration because conceptions of educational leadership
tend to be restricted to secular perspectives rather than including those of a more
spiritual nature (Luckcock, 2007). Thus, this paper highlights the need to include the
perspectives of faith-based school leaders in order to promote a deeper understanding
of educational leadership.
Connection to the theme of the conference
The focus of this paper aligns with the subtheme of School effectiveness, school
improvement and school transformation – What do they mean in different contexts and
different paradigms. More specifically, the paper connects with the topic of the
educational governance of the school in different cultural contexts. In addition, this
research supports one of ICSEI’s aims to improve the quality of education by
developing our understanding of leadership practice.
References
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