LEADING AT THE “EDGE OF CHAOS”: PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF NEPALESE SCHOOL LEADERS

Abstract

This study was theoretically informed by chaos and complexity thought and has explored the changing roles of the Nepalese school leaders by using a qualitative inquiry (interpretative phenomenonological analysis) method. While the study was not designed to test the relationship of chaos theory to the educational leadership, chaos theory did provide a theoretical framework for the critical analysis of the changing role of the school leaders. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and practices of Nepalese school leaders in the changing leadership landscape, especially when their school environment is engulfed in socio-political chaos and uncertainty. Therefore, my research questions intended to solicit the perceptions and practices of school leaders in the chaotic situations, to identify the contemporary changes in the role of the school leaders, and to project preferred leadership strategies in coping with prevailing chaos in acadmia. In order to accomplish the purpose of the study, I used an Interpretive Phenomenological Analaysis (IPA) methodology that involved open conversations with eight school leaders based in Kathmandu valley. I believed in subjective ii epistemology and multiple realities as each school leader’s internal context was typical though there were many commonalities in the external influences. Each conversation was iteratively explored (synthesized) with three themes (placing the chaos in perspective, leadership practices, and strategic moves ahead) eventually emerging from the data. Using IPA, I identified three primary themes representing the lived experience and meaning found in the participants’ experience of school leadership at the edge of chaos: (a) chaos is pervasive in Nepalese academia, (b) school leadership landschape has been more complex, (c) the way out is again leadership: leadership is the answer. The findings both support and contribute new aspects to the knowledge of this experience. Based on the open phenomenological conversations with the participants, the study concluded that the challenges facing school leaders continue to intensify. However, there is a little ray of hope since the declaration of schools as ‘zone of peace’. The participants iterated that chaos exists and it has more negative influences than positive in the academia. With the challenges of leading through dynamic tensions, current school leaders are entangled in chaos. Moreover, the complexity is accelerating with the need for developing 21st century educational skills both in teachers and learners. This calls for capability building in school leaders. Despite all that may sound formidable; the study concluded that leadership is the answer. No other can help tackle the challenges of school leadership. Therefore, developing effective school leaders should be a priority in all school systems