TITLE:
Values-Centered Leadership: Insights from Schools that Underperform
AUTHORS:
Itumeleng I. Setlhodi
KEYWORDS:
Culture, School Leadership, Relations, Morals, Values
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.10 No.7,
July
29,
2022
ABSTRACT: There is an arguable deterioration of values in
school leadership, which influences the
performance of schools. Underperformance is attributed to a deficit and
neglect of a values-centered leadership approach. The article reports on a
study whose aim was to investigate the perceptions of teachers and principals
on the role that values play in school leadership. This qualitative study in
three schools sought to establish what the teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of values in relation
to effective school leadership were. Data were generated from interviews (n = 15), documents and observations that were
thematically analysed. The findings revealed that school
leadership informed by values in practice was more desirable than leadership that paid lip
service to values. The study makes a case
for improved school performance through focused implementation of values-centered leadership approach and recommends
that leadership development should dwell into practices that are performance
lifting and based on communication that encourages performance.