Leadership: external context and culture

Introduction

Through studying this free course, Leadership: external context and culture, you will develop your understanding of the impact of external context and culture on the practice of leadership. The course begins by exploring the nature of ‘societal culture’ and identifying how culture, at a number of levels, impacts on leadership. We then explore how the external context within which an organisation operates impacts on the factors that leaders need to take account of. Finally the course examines the relationship between policy and leadership.

This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course EE812 Educational leadership: exploring strategy.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course you should be able to:

• understand how the concept of culture impacts on educational leadership practice

• critically reflect on the relationship between external context and culture at societal and local levels

• evaluate how external context and culture influences educational change in an organisation

• critically reflect on the relationship between policy and practice.

1 Societal culture

Culture, in the sense we are using it here, is an anthropological term that, in essence, defines the individuality or uniqueness of a society, organisation or social group.

The following activites will help you to focus on societal culture more closely.

Activity 1

Timing: Allow up to 30 minutes

Watch the film clip below, which is commenting on aspects of education in Singapore. As you watch, make notes on what it says about the societal culture in Singapore. You need to be aware that the narration on all the video clips has a tendency to make very broad generalisations.

Download this video clip.Video player: Video 1

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Transcript: Video 1

NARRATOR

In Singapore there's a very different set of cultural influences affecting school leadership. The style of leadership tends to be authoritarian, reflecting wider trends in Singaporean society.

But school leaders are also expected to adhere strictly to government policy.

MAN

In Singapore, the degree of centralisation is so strong that school principals, for example, line managers, line agents in the whole political educational system. So in fact, every principle of-- I think there are 360 schools in Singapore. So there are 360 principals, which is another big difference with the UK-- the comparison of size, of course.

Every principal in Singapore is a government officer. So they have a very clear duty to fall in line with government policy on education. They're provided with a very big, thick handbook of rules and regulations, which they're expected to adhere to.

Now, that doesn't mean to say that within their schools they have less power. I've only been talking about the relationship between the principal and the government.

When it comes inside an individual school, then the Singapore principal exerts very, very strong hierarchical authority, even more so, I would argue, than, say, the UK principal.

TEACHER

So as a group, pick one.

NARRATOR

However, in private schools like this one, school leaders are now making an effort to break with tradition and behave in a more collegiate way.

FANNY TAN

We believe training is very important. And we pride ourselves as being a group of people who are very-- some quite [INAUDIBLE] coming from me now that I'm part of the team here.

We hope to think that we are quite visionary. And we are prepared to listen to people. Although, it's not entirely top down. It's not entirely collaborative. It's a combination of two. We listen. And we have meetings. We listen to people. We discuss the issues. Then we make decisions. And that's how we do it.

TEACHER

The loops are aligned along the respective x and y.

NARRATOR

In Singapore, as in all countries, there is a distinct societal culture which is a central concept in understanding different styles of school leadership.

TEACHER

What's the assumption in this diagram here?

MAN

I think societal culture is best defined by saying that it's an enduring set of values, beliefs, practises, that distinguishes one group of people from another group of people.

And there are various definitions, by the way. And it's a contested concept. But that definition I have just given you I would argue tends to be generally agreed by most.

NARRATOR

In Singapore the government has now taken the view that the future lies with more collegial styles of leadership. And it's encouraging this change to take place.

MAN

A continuing theme of leadership here is it centralisation that the principal is very strongly in control in his or her own school. But, increasingly, the Ministry of Education is keen to look at how principals might begin to share or distribute leadership through the school, particularly down to heads of departments and middle level leaders.

And so this is going to be a big challenge. Because while government policy is beginning to look at this and to advocate it, societal culture, the thing that we've been talking about, actually acts against it.

End transcript: Video 1

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Video 1

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Discussion

Between the commentary and the interview with Clive Dimmock there are several points made about the societal culture. The overwhelming one is the centralisation of education policy, and the rules and regulations the school leaders are expected to follow. The point is made that the exact way that the rules are followed in a particular school is very much for the leader to decide, but nonetheless, as government employees, they are part of a very hierarchical system.

Now let’s have a look at the interaction between these various levels of context and culture in a school environment.

Activity 2

Timing: Allow approx. 45 minutes

Watch the following film clip, which is from a primary school in South Africa. As you watch, try to pick out the various levels of impact – international, national, community/local, and internal – on the leadership of the school.

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Transcript: Video 2

NARRATOR

In South Africa, cultural values have undergone some dramatic changes in recent decades. And as a result, styles of school leadership have changed too.

[STUDENTS RECITING]

JAMIEL ALEXANDER

Ooh, fast asleep after that greeting, eh?

NARRATOR

Jamiel Alexander became principal of Chapel Street Primary in the mid-1990s, just after the end of apartheid. This momentous societal change is reflected in the way he now runs the school, which is in a deprived area of Cape Town.

JAMIEL ALEXANDER

The management strategies have changed, or the way that people view the principalship of schools. That has changed to a more democratic, sharing type of leadership. At first, it was really autocratic-- whatever the principal said, goes. And you have to follow. No questions asked-- that type of thing. That has changed to a more shared partnership, more to a shared management style.

KARRIEM GABRIELS

Mr. Alexander was forced, actually, to operate in the way that he's operating now. Because the principal before him operated in the apartheid system, where the principal was the [INAUDIBLE]. And he made the laws. And he made the rules. And whatever he says we must just do.

But when Mr. Alexander came, and new policies and the whole approach on being a principal also changed, it was more of a collaborative approach. Whenever he throw out policies, teachers have an input. He can't do things on his own. He must always consult the rest of his management also, and then consult the rest of the staff before we decide on something for the school.

NARRATOR

Chapel Street School is at the heart of the community. And Jamiel Alexander is a highly-respected figure. The local culture means that in addition to being a school leader, Jamiel is also regarded as a community leader.

JAMIEL ALEXANDER

Are we loving on both today?

KARRIEM GABRIELS

School, by its very nature-- or schools, and that includes our school-- has always been regarded as in a leadership position in terms of the community's perception-- not only the community's perception, but in terms of what happens at school. And I'm going to take you back maybe a couple of years ago-- but this is my own perceptions. Taking you back a couple of years ago whereby the principal, for example, was the person at the school, wherever there's problems in the community, the community people come to the principal, please help us or sort this out for us-- so that perception that there's an educated person, or there's a leader available to assist us.

In the current, modern era, that perception hasn't changed much. But it's just that the school is now playing a much more active role, in terms of assisting the community.

End transcript: Video 2

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Video 2

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Discussion

Jamiel Alexander comments on how the culture of the school has changed since the ending of apartheid, which was a huge national change. This has altered the external context of the school. His deputy comments on how Jamiel’s relationship with the staff had to change to a more collaborative, democratic and consultative one. This was a change in the internal context of the school in response to a change in societal culture. The community used to look to the school principal for advice and leadership. Jamiel feels that this local context has now changed a little, with the school taking on a more proactive role in the community. He also comments on the need for the culture of the school to raise the aspirations of the young people, who he feels bring the very low expectations of their community into the school.

2 External context

External context is separated here from culture, but in practice it can be difficult to separate the two. Changes in external context may (or may not), over a long period of time, impact on societal or local culture; but equally, in the short term, such changes might in fact be at odds with them. National governmental decisions are often taken in the light of the societal culture, but sometimes they are taken in an attempt to change the societal culture. In this latter case, the change might cause conflict, non-compliance or prolonged implementation.

The World Wide Web now means that the rest of the world is readily accessible, communications are fast and direct, and knowledge is easily available. This has challenged many societal cultures that were previously closed to the wider world. There are concerns that much of this communication and knowledge is promoting one particular culture. The global village implies a set of common practices and understandings that span national boundaries and may indicate that there are common international solutions to national problems. Both of these examples illustrate parts of the external context for educational organisations around the world, over which they have no control – much as the international banking crisis signalled a change in the external context for governments globally.

In thinking about external factors that influence the exercise of leadership and the art of leading in our own organisations, it is important to consider the national context in which an organisation is situated. It may seem to be comparatively straightforward to assume that national governments make policy and that organisations implement that policy. And so the transfer of policy into practice is a simple top-down model of organisational change. However, when we begin to think about this in more detail, we can see that everything is far more complex.

Firstly, national policy is mediated through the locality as well as through the organisation. At each stage of the process, the policy is subject to interpretation and understanding. The policy will then have planned and unplanned outcomes: it may be differentially applied in different parts of the country, and so on. We also have to remember that organisations are not single institutions; they are linked as part of a professional system delivering a national service. In addition, organisations are increasingly linked in a variety of multi-agency, cross-sectoral partnerships. This has particular implications for leading, and the exercise of leadership, in the implementation of policy. For example, where leaders are skilled and knowledgeable in their own field, they may be leading partnerships of institutions where they have little skill and limited knowledge. The institutional goals, cultures and social norms may be significantly different in the partnership.

As we have already established, context is an important lens for leadership and on one level relates to the key question of where leadership takes place as in the organisational culture and ethos of a workplace. But context also relates to the ‘why’ question and invites comparisons. The readings and AV materials in this section will prompt you to compare why leaders in different contexts may carry out key policies in different ways.

If you had to find a metaphor to sum up your leadership context at this point in time, what you would choose? Would it be a skydiving team holding hands under blue skies, or a captain steering a ship in stormy waters? What about a juggler trying to keep pace with fast and furious competing priorities? Any one of these images may reflect your role in your context at a given point in time.

Understanding context is important in strategic leadership as part of reading the external environment and adapting internal plans to policy changes, resources and values. As the material in this section emphasises, context is no longer just about your immediate working environment but about other influences too – global, national, local, economic and political. Although we need to guard against simplistic causalities, it is relevant to think about how global trends may have local ripples. For example, as leaders we may be finding new ways of data collection for quality assurance and improvement, and thinking about what this means for planning. As you work through the material in this course, you should begin to see a link between this and ongoing debates on accountability, autonomy and markets, which in turn are linked to policy.

3 The potential impact of context

The film clip you are about to watch demonstrates how this awareness of the international context impacts on one particular school’s curriculum.

Activity 4

Timing: Allow up to 30 minutes

Watch the film clip below, which was filmed at a private school in China.

Write a short analysis of your own organisation in terms of the international contextual factors that need to be taken account of. Identify what these are and why they are important to the organisation.

Download this video clip.Video player: Video 3

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Transcript: Video 3

NARRATOR

Anglo-Chinese Independent is a private school which targets high ability students. It's now started marketing outside Singapore to attract academically gifted pupils from the region in the hope of raising its academic standards.

FANNY TAN

We go to China, India, and the Asian countries to market because we want to attract the top ranks. As I said, this is good for us. Singapore is good for us-- for ACS to have the brains from the region come to Singapore and come to our school and receive their education here.

So we sell our school in that way. We go out and recruit. And we conduct tests in those countries that we visit.

NARRATOR

In China there's very little parental choice. In the early years, children attend their local school.

At secondary school level, they sit an entrance exam. And based on their results, the government assigns them to a school.

But there's now a growing number of private schools, like Camford Royal, an English medium school which offers students the chance to enter some of the best universities around the world, reflecting the increasing internationalisation of the educational marketplace.

YUAN LIU

Now the majority of the Chinese students who wants to go abroad, they pick up American universities rather than UK. And from my school's practice is about something like, you know, four, so among 100 students, almost 70 students willing to go out to America to study. And about 20 we need to go for UK to study. And about 10 per cent of them want to go to other countries to study.

NARRATOR

Camford charges fees of 6,000 pounds per year. And it is heavily oversubscribed. It doesn't have an entrance exam and recruits mainly on performance in an interview. Its track record of sending students to foreign universities is a key part of its appeal to parents and students.

WEIFANG ZHU

Their aim is so clear. In their mind, they want to go to Cambridge, and they want to go to Oxford-- you know, Yale and Harvard.

The top 15 universities name in their mind. And they want to go there.

ZHANG YUTONG

My dream is go to Cambridge University. And I know it's the best university in England. And I must come back because I love China.

CHEN FENG

Some parents may choose some private schools because these private schools have their special education plan curriculum which has some special attraction to the parents.

Like this school, this is not a school like other state-owned schools. Because state-owned school prepare the student for the Chinese entrance examination to the universities.

And this school prepares the students for the world's top universities and the colleges. And this is some goal many Chinese parents would love to seek.

Parents are free to choose schools. But there are some good schools which are very competitive. So your kids have to be very smart and make very good scores in the examinations in order to get into those schools.

End transcript: Video 3

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Discussion

The school has decided to provide students with greater chances of access to international higher education. The international connections are very clear in terms of local market competitiveness and a vision of global citizenship. It can be seen that this perspective is shared with the parents.

Another context, this time a hypothetical one, might be an early years centre in a rural area in a developed country. National data indicates a trend towards rising pupil rolls impacting on local schools, and there are plans for new house building in the area. A group of Children’s Services partners have a vision for a brand new local lifelong education campus, including an early years centre, and are successful in their bid for government funds. However, in the event of a change of global economic circumstances, the proposed new local employer, such as a military base or factory, may decide to relocate. The local funding for housing is withdrawn, and the national government withdraws funding for new lifelong education buildings.

The shifting context here is socio-economic, where local issues of housing, jobs and transport will affect families and related services. The group of educational leaders might decide to collaborate and join up services despite the lack of a new building because of their vision for the children of the area, or there may be increased polarisation and competition between schools.

4 Policy and context

Throughout this course you may have recalled your own reactions to national policy or the reactions of those around you – perhaps those of colleagues, unions or parents.

In his paper, MacBeath touches briefly on the issue of values. In the article in the following activity, Rayner reports on research that looked at the impact of headteachers’ personal values and life histories on their reaction to policy.

Conclusion

This free course, Leaderhip: external context and culture, provided you with an introduction to studying leadership and management as part of the Masters in Education qualification. It took you through a series of exercises designed to develop your approach to study and learning at a distance and helped to improve your confidence as an independent learner.

References

Acknowledgements

This free course was written by Alan Floyd.

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence.

The material acknowledged below is Proprietary and used under licence (not subject to Creative Commons Licence). Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this free course:

Every effort has been made to contact copyright owners. If any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

Images

Course image © Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock.com

Text

Rayner, S. (2014) ‘Playing by the rules? The professional values of head teachers tested by the changing policy context’, Management in Education, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 38–43. © British Educational Leadership,Management & Administration Society (BELMAS)

Extract (abstract)  from  MacBeath, J. (2008) ‘Stories of compliance and subversion in a prescriptive policy environment’, Educational Management Administration & Leadership, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 123–48

Video

Video 1: © The Open University

Video 2: © The Open University

Video 3: © The Open University

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