title: The Educational Practice of Ethical Leaders: A Case Study of Chilean School Leaders

authors: Cuellar, Carolina

subjects: Ethical leadership

abstract: It is widely acknowledged that ethical leadership is of great importance to schools. Behaving ethically is indeed an imperative for school leaders. Being an ethical educational leader is something different. It is not only about behaving according to standards but rather involves an ethical way of being that engages the leader holistically in their attempt to do the right thing for students. The purpose of this constructivist study was to explore the educational praxis of ethical school leaders in Chile. A multiple case study design was employed to gain insight into the feelings, beliefs and thoughts of ethical school leaders regarding their educational experiences. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight identified ethical school leaders. The data focused on the commonalities and uniqueness within and across participants. Six main themes about the nature of ethical leadership were identified. They included: holding personal and professional ethics as inseparable, ‘consistently’ inspiring practice, valuing others, sustaining a humane view of education, being sensitive to the complex local context, and leading as serving. These themes reflect the experience of being ethical as a school leader in Chile. It has been found that ethical leadership influences the relational context of leaders’ practice. Ethical leaders in education have been shown to influence educational contexts from a moral imperative that is grounded in a critical and humanistic concern that deeply affirms ‘others’ as a common good, rather than through any instrumental or technical change that they may initiate. The findings provide key elements of ethical leadership within the Chilean school context that can influence current and future school leaders’ practices and professional development. Moreover, becoming and being an ethical leader is indeed an experiential journey that integrates the leader’s personal and professional way of being. This research calls for priority to be given to the encouragement and development of ethical leadership.

text: The Educational Practice of Ethical Leaders: A Case Study of Chilean School Leaders It is widely acknowledged that ethical leadership is of great importance to schools. Behaving ethically is indeed an imperative for school leaders. Being an ethical educational leader is something different. It is not only about behaving according to standards but rather involves an ethical way of being that engages the leader holistically in their attempt to do the right thing for students. The purpose of this constructivist study was to explore the educational praxis of ethical school leaders in Chile. A multiple case study design was employed to gain insight into the feelings, beliefs and thoughts of ethical school leaders regarding their educational experiences. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight identified ethical school leaders. The data focused on the commonalities and uniqueness within and across participants. Six main themes about the nature of ethical leadership were identified. They included: holding personal and professional ethics as inseparable, ‘consistently’ inspiring practice, valuing others, sustaining a humane view of education, being sensitive to the complex local context, and leading as serving. These themes reflect the experience of being ethical as a school leader in Chile. It has been found that ethical leadership influences the relational context of leaders’ practice. Ethical leaders in education have been shown to influence educational contexts from a moral imperative that is grounded in a critical and humanistic concern that deeply affirms ‘others’ as a common good, rather than through any instrumental or technical change that they may initiate. The findings provide key elements of ethical leadership within the Chilean school context that can influence current and future school leaders’ practices and professional development. Moreover, becoming and being an ethical leader is indeed an experiential journey that integrates the leader’s personal and professional way of being. This research calls for priority to be given to the encouragement and development of ethical leadership.

year: 2010

title: Health literacy as a complex practice

authors: Hunter, Judy

abstract: As attention to health literacy grows as an area for policy intervention, policy discourse continues to draw on skills deficit and patient compliance, buttressed by the dominant political discourse of individual responsibility. But for patients, the health domain is interwoven with linguistic challenges, significant affective issues, underlying cultural dimensions, political and economic exigencies, variable access to resources, and cognitive and situated complexity. From these perspectives, this article reports on findings of an ongoing study of health literacy demands in the Midlands region of the North Island of New Zealand, an area of high ethnic and socio-economic diversity. The study focuses on patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease - two chronic areas strongly associated with ‘failure to care’ and identifed as having reached epidemic proportions. It analyses work to date: health professionals’ conceptions of and responses to perceived patients’ health literacy needs, and health information documents for patients. Implications of the study support the need for improvement in language and literacy skills among patients, but also the recognition of complexity and a collective responsibility for effective health communication.

text: Health literacy as a complex practice As attention to health literacy grows as an area for policy intervention, policy discourse continues to draw on skills deficit and patient compliance, buttressed by the dominant political discourse of individual responsibility. But for patients, the health domain is interwoven with linguistic challenges, significant affective issues, underlying cultural dimensions, political and economic exigencies, variable access to resources, and cognitive and situated complexity. From these perspectives, this article reports on findings of an ongoing study of health literacy demands in the Midlands region of the North Island of New Zealand, an area of high ethnic and socio-economic diversity. The study focuses on patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease - two chronic areas strongly associated with ‘failure to care’ and identifed as having reached epidemic proportions. It analyses work to date: health professionals’ conceptions of and responses to perceived patients’ health literacy needs, and health information documents for patients. Implications of the study support the need for improvement in language and literacy skills among patients, but also the recognition of complexity and a collective responsibility for effective health communication.

year: 2012

title: Keeping Chooks at Home in the Waikato:  Exploring Postcolonial, Feminist and  Kaupapa M ori Perspectives

authors: Burnett, Zavier

subjects: Chooks

abstract: This thesis considers the narratives of eight M ori chook keepers from the Waikato rohe, Aotearoa. The Waikato rohe has been selected due to its significant history of M ori horticultural and agricultural practises, including chook keeping. 

I build on the growing corpus of m tauranga about indigenous studies. Using a postcolonial, feminist and Kaupapa M ori theoretical framework, I undertook five semi-structured interviews and one focus r p  with M ori kaum tua. This thesis does not attempt to represent all M ori. There may be considerable difference between wh nau, hap  and iwi practices. However, the rangahau provides insights into the views of eight individuals and their experiences with chooks. I have also utilised Country Calendar (1970; 1977a; 1977b and 1980) episodes and children's pukapuka such as Nanny Mihi's Garden (Drewery 2002) for the purposes of discourse analysis. 

By listening to these stories, kaupapa including race, class and ethnicity emerge that affect the participants' everyday lives as chook keepers. The participants view chooks in a variety of ways. First, as a means of food production. By integrating chooks into their communities, the participants are able to provide a nutritious and low-cost kai source for themselves and their wh nau. This attempts to at least in part address their poverty problems. Second, as a hybridised P keh  and M ori kararehe. Third, as hysterical, comical, silly and helpless. I explore these issues within the broader context of colonial, neocolonial and anticolonial practices.

text: Keeping Chooks at Home in the Waikato:  Exploring Postcolonial, Feminist and  Kaupapa M ori Perspectives This thesis considers the narratives of eight M ori chook keepers from the Waikato rohe, Aotearoa. The Waikato rohe has been selected due to its significant history of M ori horticultural and agricultural practises, including chook keeping. 

I build on the growing corpus of m tauranga about indigenous studies. Using a postcolonial, feminist and Kaupapa M ori theoretical framework, I undertook five semi-structured interviews and one focus r p  with M ori kaum tua. This thesis does not attempt to represent all M ori. There may be considerable difference between wh nau, hap  and iwi practices. However, the rangahau provides insights into the views of eight individuals and their experiences with chooks. I have also utilised Country Calendar (1970; 1977a; 1977b and 1980) episodes and children's pukapuka such as Nanny Mihi's Garden (Drewery 2002) for the purposes of discourse analysis. 

By listening to these stories, kaupapa including race, class and ethnicity emerge that affect the participants' everyday lives as chook keepers. The participants view chooks in a variety of ways. First, as a means of food production. By integrating chooks into their communities, the participants are able to provide a nutritious and low-cost kai source for themselves and their wh nau. This attempts to at least in part address their poverty problems. Second, as a hybridised P keh  and M ori kararehe. Third, as hysterical, comical, silly and helpless. I explore these issues within the broader context of colonial, neocolonial and anticolonial practices.

year: 2006