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Paradox and the School Leader

The Struggle for the Soul of the Principal in Neoliberal Times

  • Book
  • © 2020

Overview

Authors:
  1. Chris Dolan

    1. University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

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  • Proposes an original approach to the study of school leadership using a paradox conceptual framework
  • Examines fifteen paradoxes representing the complexity in the lives and work of principals
  • Adopts an inductive approach, with decisions about theory originating from empirical data drawn from fieldwork conducted in schools
  • Investigates existing structures of power and control by critiquing pervasive assumptions about the fixed and natural qualities of leadership
  • Focuses on emancipatory possibilities, democratic practices and political participation of school leaders

Part of the book series: Educational Leadership Theory (ELT)

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
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  2. Scope, Position and Sequence

    • Chris Dolan
    Pages 1-11

  3. Thinking with Paradox

    • Chris Dolan
    Pages 13-37

  4. Governing the Soul: The Theoretical Support of Michel Foucault

    • Chris Dolan
    Pages 39-63

  5. In Neoliberal Times

    • Chris Dolan
    Pages 65-102

  6. The Lines of Struggle

    • Chris Dolan
    Pages 103-123

  7. Paradoxes of Subjectivity and Authority

    • Chris Dolan
    Pages 125-147

  8. Paradoxes of Neoliberal Policy

    • Chris Dolan
    Pages 149-176

  9. Paradoxes of Managerialist Practice

    • Chris Dolan
    Pages 177-198

  10. Generative Possibilities

    • Chris Dolan
    Pages 199-224

  11. Back Matter

    Pages 225-234
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Keywords

About this book

This book proposes that paradox, as a theoretically rich and historically enduring concept, has significant potential for researchers in the field of critical leadership studies. By enriching its general form and infusing it with added complexity and theoretical influence, it is argued that paradox can be legitimately applied as a lens for examining and as a pedagogy for realising new learning possibilities.


The book takes paradoxes as formed out of the constitutive practices of discourse rather than as representations of conflict or complexity. Using fifteen paradoxes derived from theoretical and empirical analysis, it provides insights into the competing forces that contradict simplistic positivist accounts of contemporary school leadership and reveal the presence of a political struggle for the soul of the principal in the neoliberal era. It considers these paradoxes in three categories: (1) principal subjectivity and authority, (2) neoliberal policy and (3) managerial practice. 


The book advocates critique, counter-conduct and agonistic thought and practice as resources for principals participating in such a struggle, and employs Foucault's 'care of the self' and 'practices of freedom' to promote more active involvement of principals in authoring their ethical and political selves.

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

    Chris Dolan

About the author

Dr Chris Dolan has significant experience as a teacher, principal and system leader, having worked in a wide variety of roles and educational settings during a long and successful career with the South Australian Department for Education. With an ongoing interest in school leadership and a broad professional network, he moved into consultancy work from 2013-2016, with an emphasis on improving curriculum and instructional leadership by providing professional learning for leaders and supporting a range of regional and whole-of-school processes and strategies. He has recently completed a PhD at the University of South Australia, with research focused on the constitutive forces that are shaping school principals in the current policy environment.

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