EMAL Special Issue on Latin America: New Research from an Emerging Field of Study

*With apologies in advance to reviewers, the following abstract provides an overview of a proposal of  a panel presenting a Special Issue of Educational Management Administration and Leadership.  I have also submitted one... [ view full abstract ]

*With apologies in advance to reviewers, the following abstract provides an overview of a proposal of  a panel presenting a Special Issue of Educational Management Administration and Leadership.  I have also submitted one abstract for each paper separately.  *

The papers assembled in the EMAL Special Issue on Latin America represent the first collection of research articles published in English examining school leadership in this populous, inequitable and diverse region. We propose a panel to showcase the Special Issue, with four presentations:  one cross-national overview from each of the 2 Guest Editors, and 2 papers from contributors that examine work in specific national contexts.  EMAL Editor Tony Bush would serve as a discussant.

Given that “the literature on educational leadership and management is dominated by authors from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia” (Bush 2014, p. 787), a panel discussion of school leadership in Latin America will give BELMAS attendees the opportunity to explore how research in a very different regional context both builds upon this knowledge base and exposes its limitations. 

Paper 1:  “School Leadership in Latin America 2000-2016” reviews 16 years of peer-reviewed research, grey literature, and policy documents published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese and provides a state-of-the-field overview.

Paper 2:  “An ineffective preparation?  The scarce effect in primary school principals’ practices of school leadership preparation and training in seven countries in Latin America” presents a cross-national analysis of  data about preparation and professional development for school level leaders. The authors draw troubling conclusions about the (lack of) effectiveness of the preparation initiatives that have shaped a generation of school leaders.  

Paper 3:  “Comparative study of school principals’ leadership practices:  Lessons for Chile from a cross-country analysis” uses results from PISA to better understand the relationship between context and leadership practices, drawing attention to the unique leadership dynamics in the Chilean system where instructional leadership responsibilities are shared across different leadership roles.

Paper 4:  “Novice principals in Chile mobilizing change for the first time:  Challenges and opportunities associated with a school’s readiness for change” is a qualitative study that adds to the growing literature on novice principals, using the Chilean context to explore the perverse impacts of high school level accountability with low system level support.

Work Cited

Bush, T. (2014).  Educational leadership and leadership development in Africa:  Building the knowledge base.  Educational Management Administration and Leadership, Vol. 42(6) 787-791.