A Bourdieusian Examination of the School Principal

Instructional Leadership vs Entrepreneurial Management
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-05994-3
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 200 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Routledge Research in Educational Leadership

This book questions the role and function of the school principal as instructional leader and/or entrepreneurial manager. Combining Bourdieusian sociology and a Christian faith orientation, the work applies a unique lens to this educational leadership dilemma.

Presenting an analysis of data generated from semi-structured interviews with CSA principals in South Australia, this text examines the core of the school principal role. Using an exploratory design case study, Barnes highlights principals’ competing demands of instructional leadership and entrepreneurial management, the notion of principal frustration and the resolution of the instructional leadership and entrepreneurial management dilemma via an agile leadership approach. This work presents the agile leadership approach as a new theoretical model for educational leadership, adaptable to a variety of educational contexts. It also identifies the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on this educational leadership dilemma, showcasing how principals tended to adopt a dichotomous fragile leadership model.

This is an indispensable resource for researchers and postgraduate students working in education leadership.

Zielgruppe

Academic and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Barnes, Shane

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Pädagogik Philosophie der Erziehung, Bildungstheorie
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Schulen, Schulleitung Schulleitung, Schulentwicklung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Figures

List of Tables

List of Abbreviations

Foreword

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

Introducing some key ideas

1. Toxic Shift: The Principal is Not OK

2. Agile Leadership: Straddling Two Worlds

3. Fragile Leadership: Just Add COVID and Stir

4. Researching Educational Leadership: Inquiry and Approach

5. The Rules of the Game for South Australian CSA Principals (Agile Players)

6. A Change in the Rules of the Game (Fragile Players)

7. The Principal’s Game Plan: A Tale of Two Tactics

List of References

Appendix – Interview questions asked of principal participants

Über Autor(innen)

Shane Barnes is a Deputy Principal (Director of Studies) at Hope Christian College in Adelaide, Australia. He has a PhD (Educational Leadership) from Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, has co-authored numerous books for Insight Shakespeare Plays, and has presented at various state, national, and international conferences on teaching Shakespeare and critical reading in Senior English.