title: An exploration of moral leadership: What are the personal attributes, dispositions and capacities of principals who lead with moral purpose within their school community?

authors: Elder, Jason Mark

subjects: Moral Leadership

abstract: Brundrett, Fitzgerald and Sommerfeldt (2006) argue that the role of a principal has been burdened by site based administrivia, and increasing accountability centred on teacher performance and student attainment. However, Notman (2012) has identified school principals who develop certain types of personal attributes, dispositions, and capacities to lead in a moral way. They also appear to have a broader view of education and society. This leads towards the notion of exploring principals’ who lead with moral purpose in the context of their school community. 

Literature suggests the best way to explore principals who lead with moral purpose is through the social constructivist paradigm and qualitative methodology (Bear-Lehman, 2002). As a result, six New Zealand principals were identified and interviewed using a semi-structured interview process. The data from these interviews was then analysed using an interpretivist approach.

Findings from the research illustrated how principals who lead with moral purpose have a deep conviction towards valuing human relationships within their school community. Moral purpose influences a principal to be driven by a social justice belief that every person in a community is entitled to a meaningful education and reasonable life. This understanding is further shaped by an ethical belief that the moral purpose of education is to ensure that the rights and aspirations of every community member, starting with their students, is protected and enhanced. 

This research has shown that principals who lead with moral purpose are more likely to be moral leaders, where their focus is on leading others in a moral way. They model and communicate ethical beliefs through their moral actions, which imbue a culture of high trust, collective responsibility and shared moral purpose. This has led to an authentic view of moral leadership which includes a moral leaders personal self-construct. Authentic moral principals have the capacity to critically self-reflect due to their developing ethical and moral intelligences.

text: An exploration of moral leadership: What are the personal attributes, dispositions and capacities of principals who lead with moral purpose within their school community? Brundrett, Fitzgerald and Sommerfeldt (2006) argue that the role of a principal has been burdened by site based administrivia, and increasing accountability centred on teacher performance and student attainment. However, Notman (2012) has identified school principals who develop certain types of personal attributes, dispositions, and capacities to lead in a moral way. They also appear to have a broader view of education and society. This leads towards the notion of exploring principals’ who lead with moral purpose in the context of their school community. 

Literature suggests the best way to explore principals who lead with moral purpose is through the social constructivist paradigm and qualitative methodology (Bear-Lehman, 2002). As a result, six New Zealand principals were identified and interviewed using a semi-structured interview process. The data from these interviews was then analysed using an interpretivist approach.

Findings from the research illustrated how principals who lead with moral purpose have a deep conviction towards valuing human relationships within their school community. Moral purpose influences a principal to be driven by a social justice belief that every person in a community is entitled to a meaningful education and reasonable life. This understanding is further shaped by an ethical belief that the moral purpose of education is to ensure that the rights and aspirations of every community member, starting with their students, is protected and enhanced. 

This research has shown that principals who lead with moral purpose are more likely to be moral leaders, where their focus is on leading others in a moral way. They model and communicate ethical beliefs through their moral actions, which imbue a culture of high trust, collective responsibility and shared moral purpose. This has led to an authentic view of moral leadership which includes a moral leaders personal self-construct. Authentic moral principals have the capacity to critically self-reflect due to their developing ethical and moral intelligences.

year: 2013

title: Thesis Review Series: Identity narratives by New Zealand African youth: A participatory visual methodological approach to situating identity, migration and representation by Makanaka Tuwe

authors: Norris, Adele N.

abstract: This fascinating and original work explores the experiences of third-culture children of African descent in New Zealand. The term ‘third-culture kid’ refers to an individual who grows up in a culture different from the culture of their parents. Experiences of youth of African descent is under-researched in New Zealand. The central research focus explores racialised emotions internalised by African youth that are largely attributed to a lack of positive media representation of African and/or black youth, coupled with daily experiences of micro-aggressions and structural racism. In this respect, the case-study analysis is reflective of careful, methodological and deliberative analysis, which offers powerful insights into the grass-roots strategies employed by African youth to resist negative stereotypes that problematise and marginalise them politically and economically.

text: Thesis Review Series: Identity narratives by New Zealand African youth: A participatory visual methodological approach to situating identity, migration and representation by Makanaka Tuwe This fascinating and original work explores the experiences of third-culture children of African descent in New Zealand. The term ‘third-culture kid’ refers to an individual who grows up in a culture different from the culture of their parents. Experiences of youth of African descent is under-researched in New Zealand. The central research focus explores racialised emotions internalised by African youth that are largely attributed to a lack of positive media representation of African and/or black youth, coupled with daily experiences of micro-aggressions and structural racism. In this respect, the case-study analysis is reflective of careful, methodological and deliberative analysis, which offers powerful insights into the grass-roots strategies employed by African youth to resist negative stereotypes that problematise and marginalise them politically and economically.

year: 2018

title: Barriers and facilitators of access to psychological services for indigenous populations: A scoping review and thematic analysis

authors: Plessas, Anna

abstract: Background:
The extent to which behavior-analytic interventions are offered to Indigenous populations across CANZUS in accessible and culturally appropriate ways is unknown. We conducted a scoping review with a thematic analysis of the extant literature to find: (1) what are the barriers and facilitators for providing effective and equitable delivery of psychological services (with a behavioral component) to Indigenous populations; and (2) what tools and practices exist for an effective and equitable service delivery.
Methods:
We systematically reviewed Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, PsycInfo, Web of science, Ovid and INNZ databases between 1990 and 2020. For the scoping review, we adhered to the JBI methodological approach (2015) and the PRISMA strategy for the identification, selection, and appraisal of the reviewed articles. A total of 1265 unique articles met the criteria for the screening by title; 238 by abstract; 57 were included for full text assessment; and 37 were included in the final analysis.
Results:
Three themes were revealed to account for the barriers and facilitators of culturally friendly practices: (1) connecting practices are about interactions shaping the relationship between service provider and service client; (2) innovative practices test new approaches and innovations that could facilitate access to psychological services and overcome barriers, and (3) reflective practices are about critically examining the processes and actions undertaken toward effective cultural adaptation of services.
Conclusions:
Our analysis suggests that the level of success in bringing together services and the recipients of treatment (connection), showing flexibility and persistence in finding solutions (innovation) and examining the role of our behaviors in reaching our goals (reflection) is determined by the providers' action in the aforementioned three dimensions of practice.

text: Barriers and facilitators of access to psychological services for indigenous populations: A scoping review and thematic analysis Background:
The extent to which behavior-analytic interventions are offered to Indigenous populations across CANZUS in accessible and culturally appropriate ways is unknown. We conducted a scoping review with a thematic analysis of the extant literature to find: (1) what are the barriers and facilitators for providing effective and equitable delivery of psychological services (with a behavioral component) to Indigenous populations; and (2) what tools and practices exist for an effective and equitable service delivery.
Methods:
We systematically reviewed Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, PsycInfo, Web of science, Ovid and INNZ databases between 1990 and 2020. For the scoping review, we adhered to the JBI methodological approach (2015) and the PRISMA strategy for the identification, selection, and appraisal of the reviewed articles. A total of 1265 unique articles met the criteria for the screening by title; 238 by abstract; 57 were included for full text assessment; and 37 were included in the final analysis.
Results:
Three themes were revealed to account for the barriers and facilitators of culturally friendly practices: (1) connecting practices are about interactions shaping the relationship between service provider and service client; (2) innovative practices test new approaches and innovations that could facilitate access to psychological services and overcome barriers, and (3) reflective practices are about critically examining the processes and actions undertaken toward effective cultural adaptation of services.
Conclusions:
Our analysis suggests that the level of success in bringing together services and the recipients of treatment (connection), showing flexibility and persistence in finding solutions (innovation) and examining the role of our behaviors in reaching our goals (reflection) is determined by the providers' action in the aforementioned three dimensions of practice.

year: 2021