Exploring leadership in the frame of prescriptions and systemic expectations: A case of government boys secondary school in Delhi
- Indian Journal of Public Administration
- 67(1), Mar, 2021: p.96-116
The words autonomy, power and leadership have always been debated, especially when it comes to government setup where roles and responsibilities largely are top-down. The article explores leadership practices and autonomy exercised by the school leader within the frame of prescribed roles and responsibilities and accountability structures. The study is a case of Government Secondary School in Delhi, India, and follows a qualitative research design. Document analysis for studying the prescribed roles, and ‘shadowing of principal’ to understand the practiced roles, were the key aspects of research design. The article takes a dig at the prescribed roles and responsibilities that limit the school leader to being an administrative head. It further makes a case wherein the school leader, through the creative use of leadership agency, redefines school leadership as an action to influence quality of teaching–learning at school rather than a bureaucratised position that manages the day-to-day affairs. – Reproduced
School leadership, Roles and responsibilities, Prescriptive frame, Autonomy.