Exploring Leadership Practices of Principals of Government Elementary Colleges of Education in Pakistan

International Journal of Leadership in Education
Theory and Practice
ISSN: 1360-3124 (Print) 1464-5092 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tedl20
Exploring leadership practices of principals of

Government Elementary Colleges of Education in
Pakistan
Zubeda Bana & Jan-e-Alam Khaki
To cite this article: Zubeda Bana & Jan-e-Alam Khaki (2015) Exploring leadership practices of
principals of Government Elementary Colleges of Education in Pakistan, International Journal
of Leadership in Education, 18:4, 464-486, DOI: 10.1080/13603124.2014.948073
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2014.948073
Published online: 22 Aug 2014.
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Download by: [La Trobe University] Date: 01 June 2016, At: 17:51
INT. J. LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION, 2015
Vol. 18, No. 4, 464–486, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2014.948073
Exploring leadership practices of principals of

Government Elementary Colleges of Education in
Pakistan
ZUBEDA BANA and JAN-E-ALAM KHAKI
This article shares the findings from a case study conducted to explore the leadership
practices of Principals of the Government Elementary Colleges of Education across
Pakistan. The study focused on how these Principals understood their roles and
responsibilities in the context of the changing role of teacher education in Pakistan and in
the globalizing world context. An exploratory case study research methodology was
Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 17:51 01 June 2016
adopted; using semi-structured interviews as the main source for data collection. The
primary findings of the study indicate that the Principals’ perceptions of their roles and
responsibilities rotated mostly around the axis of ‘control’ of their organizations and its
smooth functioning. Hence, they perceived looking after the teaching and learning
processes, being good role models and meeting the requirements of their institutions as
their prime responsibilities. Considering the trying circumstances under which many of
these Principals worked where often even their lives were under threat, they worked quite
hard to achieve the desired results.
Introduction
This article presents the key findings from an exploratory case study,
focused on understanding the leadership practices of the principals of the
Government Elementary Colleges of Education (GECsE) in Pakistan in
terms of their perceptions and practices, with regard to their roles and
responsibilities as educational leaders in the context of the changing pat-
tern of teacher education in Pakistan. The study aimed to find out how
these principals viewed and interpreted their roles as heads of their orga-
nizations; what kind of metaphors, if any, they use for themselves and
their roles and why; to what extent they thought they had the required
autonomy to carry out their roles; what were some of the enabling or
disabling factors in their contexts; what their source of motivation/inspira-
tion or demotivation/frustration was in their efforts for bringing about
Zubeda Bana is an assistant professor at the Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Develop-
ment (AKU-IED), IED-PDC, 1-5/B-VII, F.B.Area, Karimabad, P.O. Box 13688, Karachi-75950,
Pakistan. Email: [email protected]. She has a wide experience of teaching teacher education and
educational leadership and management programmes in a variety of settings within and outside
Pakistan. Her research interest lies in capacity building of educational leaders, organizational learning
and school improvement. Jan-e-Alam Khaki is an associate professor of Education at the Aga Khan
University Institute for Educational Development, IED-PDC, 1-5/B-VII, F.B.Area, Karimabad,
P.O. Box 13688, Karachi-75950, Pakistan. Email: [email protected]. He has been serving the
field of education for over 30 years in different capacities, as a teacher educator, curriculum
developer, course designer at graduate and post-graduate programmes. He is also a consultant faculty
to Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan.
© 2014 Taylor & Francis

EXPLORING LEADERSHIP PRACTICES 465
improvement in their institutions; and how they perceive the changing

nature of teacher education in a globalizing world.
The article presents: the conceptual framework, the context and back-
ground of the study, the research methodology, the key findings and dis-
cussion and reflections and conclusions of the researchers.
Conceptual framework
The study of educational leadership and management is relatively a new

territory, which, barring some exceptions in recent years, has been largely
unexplored, in developing countries, including Pakistan. The same applies
to the study of college principals’ ways of managing their institutions par-
ticularly in wake of the current restructuring process of teacher education
in Pakistan.
Literature informs that in Pakistan, educational leadership is, more
often than not, interpreted as more administration; at best, as manage-
ment; and hardly ever as leadership. This is mainly due to two reasons:
(i) the overall culture of compliance in the educational organizations and
(ii) self-perceptions and own understanding of educational leaders regard-
ing their scope of roles and responsibilities as heads of institutions. There
are no clear terms of reference defining their jobs; hence, they interpret
their roles and responsibilities according to the prevalent norms. The
bureaucratic behaviour of the heads, often, is the result of, and leads to
further strengthening, the bureaucratic culture, which is sustained through
the overall cultural norms of the society. Hofstede (1980) calls this the
‘power distance’.
Literature on educational leadership and management in both devel-
oped (Leithwood & Duke, 1999; Leithwood, Jantzi, & Steinbach, 2000;
Leithwood & Riehl 2003; Mitchell & Sackney, 2006; Sammons, Gu,
Day, & Ko, 2011; Sergiovanni, 1998) and developing countries (Khaki,
2005; Khaki & Safdar, 2010; Memon & Bana, 2005; Rizvi, 2008;
Simkins, Garrett, Memon, & Ali, 1998) tends to support that leader-
ship in educational organizations does matter. Most of these studies
conclude that educational leaders can develop a positive, enabling envi-
ronment within the organizations. This will allow teachers and students
not only to accept change but will also energize them to implement
and sustain it in the process of learning and improvement. Additionally,
it is believed that an organization is a mirror image of the top leader-
ship (Hambrick & Mason, 1984). Cotton (2003), in the context of
school organization, argues that a head can play a key role in the pro-
cess of change by challenging the set beliefs and behaviours of teachers,
students and parents, which appear as barriers in the process of change
and improvement.
However, the extent to which this leadership can be successful depends
on a number of variables, including culture, context and milieu. Even
within the same context and culture, the organizational milieus greatly
differ from each other (Hofstede, 1980, 1997; Shafa, 2003; Tajik, 2004).
466 Z. BANA AND J.-E.-A. KHAKI
Thus, the success of a leader is never absolute; a leader may be successful

in one context and may not be so if put in another context. Moreover, the
very meaning of ‘success’ varies to a large extent in different cultural
contexts and organizational milieus. More than anything else, the notion of
leadership depends on the view with which the organizational heads
themselves define the scope of their job.
Though scant, but some studies conducted in Pakistan have come to
the conclusion that most of the educational institutional heads prefer to
maintain the status quo; i.e. managing the day-to-day administrative
affairs (Bana, 2010; Khaki, 2010; Memon, 2000). Other research studies
(Bana, Sewani, Ali, & Ara, 2012; Memon, Simkins, Sisum, & Bana,
2006; Simkins, Sisum, & Memon, 2003) also confirm that a majority of
the heads in Pakistani schools perform their roles as administrators, focus-
ing on maintaining the status quo. Shafa (2003), in the context of Gilgit–
Baltistan, describes that government heads in Pakistani schools spend
most of their time in attending District and Departmental meetings and

in correspondence with their offices.
Findings shared by Khaki (2005) portray another interesting aspect of
educational leadership in Pakistan. He argues that heads of government
educational institutions largely are dependent on the District Office for
policy matters and their role is to obey the orders of high management. In
turn, they expect unqualified obedience from their juniors. Khaki further
narrates one senior officer’s comment in Pakistan, which seems to demon-
strate this culture. In a training programme, in which both the authors
were a part, this officer said that his standing order to his juniors was ‘Do
or die but don’t say why’. From this statement, one can visualize the
extent to which compliance is emphasized in the official bureaucracies in
Pakistani educational institutions.
In addition, most of these heads are appointed on the basis of their
seniority in the teaching cadre; these appointments are normally made
through internal transfers and adjustments or sometimes, through direct
appointments via the Public Service Commission. The result is that,
although, due to their experience, these may be good teachers, but they
may not necessarily prove to be good principals, in the absence of any
proper orientation to or training in educational leadership and manage-
ment (Memon, 2000). They are provided with little, if any, opportunity
for the enhancement of their management skills as per the need of their
institutions. They, therefore, command little if any professional respect
from their subordinates. The assumption, on the basis of which this
style of management is practiced, is, perhaps the belief that anybody
can manage an educational institution; there is no need of any special
professional knowledge, skills and dispositions required to run these
offices.
Warwick and Reimers (1995) observed this point almost two decades
ago; they made the observation that in the Pakistani education system,
most of the heads at educational institutions are ‘not trained to be lead-
ers, did not see themselves as leaders, and did not act like leaders’
(p. 99). It seems that nothing much has changed over the last two
decades, as heads in government sector institutions still spend much of

their time on routine paper work, and checking to see that government
regulations are being followed by the faculty, students and other staff.
This is helping in strengthening the bureaucracies rather than in providing
leadership and change.
A critical analysis of these studies has heightened awareness about the
need to study the hitherto neglected cadre, i.e. the principals that bridge
the gap between teachers and teacher educators at the GECsE in
Pakistan. Though often seen as lower middle managers, within the huge
pyramid of education management in Pakistan (from the federal to the
provincial and regional to the district and the departmental levels), never-
theless, these officials exercise significant control over their institutions.
Since the 1990s, much of teacher education in the world has changed as
a result of changing scenarios under the general trend of what is known as
global education (Bottery, 2006). The very meaning of education is under-
going change; the pedagogy is being revamped and new ways and spaces of
teaching learning have been invented. Our principals, teacher educators,
the curriculum, the pedagogy, very often remain the same. Hence, support-
ing the argument of Anderson and colleagues (1994), cited in Zong (2009)
argues that ‘teacher educators today are faced with an urgent responsibility
to transform curriculum and pedagogy to better prepare teachers in educat-
ing the young generation about the increasing global interdependence and
their role in the emerging global society’ (p. 71). The question is: is the
leadership in teacher education institutions, particularly in Pakistan, well
prepared and well equipped to take this huge responsibility?
These imperatives discussed above, led the researchers to explore the
largely unexplored question of how the principals of Elementary Colleges
of Education in Pakistan enact their roles and responsibilities.
Recently, an encouraging move has been noticed with regard to teacher
education in Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan along with donor-
funded teacher education projects, such as USAID’s Teacher Education
Project (USAID TEP), has carried out multi-faceted interventions seeking
to improve the quality and delivery of teacher education in Pakistan. This
has been done by reviewing the teacher training programmes, and by
enhancing the capacity of teachers, head teachers, teacher educators, edu-
cation managers, schools, teacher education institutions and district level
education administration through professional development programmes
and through institutional capacity building. Moreover, the Government of
Pakistan has also, in its various documents, such as the Provincial Reform
Support Projects (2003), the White Paper on Education (2006), the
National Commission of Government Service Reforms (2006) and the
National Education Policy (2009) recommended the professional develop-
ment of institutional heads as educational leaders in Pakistan.
Context and background of the study
This study emerged from the researchers’ experience of working together

on a professional development programme offered to the principals of
GECsE across Pakistan, under the USAID TEP. One of the key compo-
nents of this Project was to establish a link between teachers, and teacher
managers; teacher educators and teacher education managers; as a viable
approach to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of teacher education
management in Pakistan.
Recently, under the project, public sector teacher education colleges
have undergone a major transition (USAID, 2006). They have reviewed
and restructured their previous pre-service teacher training programmes,
such as Primary Teacher Certificate, Certificate of Teaching, Bachelors in
Teaching and Bachelors in Education (BEd) and gradually phasing out
them with the newly introduced teacher education programmes, i.e. the
two-year Associate Degree in Education (ADE) and the four-year Bache-
lors in Education Honours (BEd Hons) degree. This shift is not just in
the nomenclature of the previously offered one-year teacher training pro-
grammes, but it is a transition, in fact, in terms of teacher education phi-
losophy, curriculum, pedagogy, duration of study and management of

human and financial resources. As well, the shift has resulted in the affili-
ation of these colleges with the degree awarding public sector universities,
and resulted in a change in their relationship with other apex institutions,
such as the Bureau of Curriculum, the Provincial Education Assessment
Centres and the Provincial Institute of Teacher Education. In addition,
the18th Amendment Act, 2010, of the Constitution of the Islamic Repub-
lic of Pakistan, 1973, has made education a provincial responsibility
which has implications for, and calls for a mega shift in policy and prac-
tice for teacher development and teacher education management in
Pakistan.
In this changed scenario, where the quality of teachers and teacher
educators, along with the quality of leadership and management of these
institutions has emerged as an important area. The role of the principals
is considered as essential to the effective functioning of the organizations.
These principals are at the cutting edge, expected to provide academic
leadership; management of resources and implementation of both the old
and newly restructured academic programmes in their institutions. How-
ever, these principals face many challenges in trying to fulfil their primary
responsibilities as educational leaders, to set and maintain quality aca-
demic standards and to implement policies and procedures in their orga-
nizations. Additionally, institutional management is also a vital aspect of
their role. This includes management of faculty and students, monitoring
institutional development plans, tracking students’ improvement and sug-
gesting viable strategies to improve students’ and teachers’ learning and
development and effective use of human and financial resources. There-
fore, a dire need was felt for strengthening their capacities by providing
them adequate leadership and management competencies to meet the
changing and growing demands of their roles and responsibilities as edu-
cational managers and leaders in the changing scenarios of teacher educa-
tion nationally, and globally. Realizing this crucial need for the
professional development of principals from elementary colleges of educa-
tion across Pakistan, the USAID Teacher Education Project invited the
Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED)
in Pakistan to help build the capacity of these education managers/leaders

to enhance their knowledge and skills for the successful implementation
of the new initiatives in their institutions. For this, they needed to be ori-
ented in new paradigms of leadership and management of educational
institutions. Hence, the AKU-IED’s professional development team for
educational leadership programmes developed for these principals a tailor-
made Certificate in Education: Educational Leadership and Management
programme, spread over to six months, in three phases.
As a result, a group of 27 practicing and aspiring principals from the
public sector elementary teacher education institutions attended this
course at AKU-IED from July to December 2012. The major purpose of
the course was to help participants develop leadership and management
practices that would help them develop an organizational culture that fos-
ters collaborative learning and improvement in their institutions. The par-
ticipants were exposed to a wide range of activities, and taken on
educational excursions and visits to the relevant teacher education institu-

tions in Karachi and Abbottabad. This provided them opportunities to:
(i) critically analyse their current roles and responsibilities as educational
leaders, (ii) acquire a better understanding about initiating and managing
organizational change, (iii) learn and improve professional knowledge and
managerial skills required for effective human and financial resources
management and iv) develop skills to plan and monitor educational pro-
jects and professional development initiatives to improve their institutions.
Research methodology
To explore and understand how the education college principals under-

stood their roles and responsibilities in the context of the changing role of
teacher education in Pakistan, the research methodology most suited and
chosen was the exploratory case study approach, because it provides in-
depth information about the human side of an issue by maintaining a
long-term interaction with the participants (Merriam, 1988, 2009). The
qualitative research methodology was adopted to make sense of, or inter-
pret to phenomena in terms of the meanings that people would bring to
their world and work from their experiences (Creswell, 1998).
The main reason for selecting case study method was that it offers
valuable ways to explore the qualitative world of individuals as well as
institutions, which makes it an appropriate tool to explore the human
world in ways that can inform researchers about and give greater appreci-
ation for their research participants’ (RPs) lived worlds (Bogdan & Biklen,
1998; Creswell, 1998). Since this study focused on those principals’ per-
ceptions of their roles and responsibilities, who were going through pro-
fessional development at AKU-IED and, more specifically, from those
colleges where ADE and BEd Hons programmes had already introduced
under the USAID TEP, this method was considered appropriate. Miles
and Huberman (1994) define such bounded situations and individuals as
‘cases’ or ‘unit’ of analyses.
The sample was identified from among the 27 course participants

from selected education colleges from all over Pakistan, i.e. Baluchistan,
Gilgit–Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Punjab, Federally Administered
Tribal Areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Because no principal
attended the course from the province of Sindh, no RP was selected from
this province. The rest of the RPs included one representative each from
the above-mentioned contexts. The sampling was purposeful because we
wanted: (a) representation of participants from all the provinces/regions of
Pakistan; (b) those who were currently holding positions as principals and
(c) both males and females. Altogether,10 principals participated in the
study.
This exploratory journey of research started with entry negotiations
for data collection. Our entry negotiations consisted of many layers
(Glesne, 2011; Glesne & Peshkin, 1992) because the intended RPs were
also the course participants of the AKU-IED programme wherein, both
the researchers were part of the professional development team. There-

fore, we had to negotiate with the Director AKU-IED, and the Research
and Policy Studies Unit and the Ethical Review Committee at the AKU.
Simultaneously, the proposal was submitted to the USAID Teacher Edu-
cation Project Office for the funding and approval of the study. After get-
ting the approval from all concerned, we started negotiating with the
intended RPs for their voluntary and informed consent. We shared the
information sheet, which conveyed the nature and purpose of the study
along with a written voluntary consent form seeking their willingness to
participate in the study, allowing audio recording of the interviews. After
receiving their signed consent forms, we initiated the data collection.
We collected data through semi-structured interviews that lasted from
an hour to one and half hours till the data were saturated. Due to various
reasons, including the safety and security concerns in Pakistan and the
budget constraints, on-site observations were not possible; therefore, these
were included right from the beginning, although researchers were aware
of the fact that the hallmark of case study research is the use of multiple
data sources, which enhances data credibility (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994,
2005; Patton, 1990; Yin, 2003). Moreover, since we only wanted their
views about their roles and responsibilities as they understood them, we
relied on the interview data. In future, we might undertake a larger study
where we can expand it to engage in some on-site observations, focus
group discussions and document analysis.
Interviews were conducted bilingually; both in Urdu and English. We
gave them the choice to use a language in which they could comfortably
share their thoughts, without any inhibition. We used the tape recorder to
capture the data, which were later transcribed. Data analysis was done
using the interactive model, where data reduction, data display and con-
clusion drawing / verification were done in two ways; that is, (i) analysing
by coding it independently while the data were being collected by each
one of us and (ii) then comparing our analysis once all the data were col-
lected for ensuring reliability and mutual agreement (Miles & Huberman,
1994; Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2014). In order to organize the data
in a systematic manner, we developed colour codes for the emerging
themes from the data to facilitate our analysis. Through careful data anal-
ysis, major and sub-themes were identified for meaning making.
Finally, keeping in view the sensitivity of the research sites from where
the participants came, we deliberately avoided cross-regional case analysis.
The participants’ confidentiality was ensured; their identity was masked
using interview transcription numbers instead of using pseudo names and
male and female identities. The data were collected at a time and place
convenient for the RPs while they were at the AKU in Karachi, in July
and December 2012.
The semi-structured interviews were guided by the main research
question, i.e. how do the education college principals understand their
roles and responsibilities in the context of the changing role of teacher
education in a globalizing world?
The subsidiary interview questions included:
(1) How do you see your role and responsibilities as the head of your
organization?
(2) What do you think are your key challenges?
(3) What do you see as your enabling or disabling factors?
(4) To what extent do you think you have the required autonomy to
carry out your roles?
(5) What kind of metaphors would you use for your roles?
(6) What is your source of motivation/inspiration or demotivation/
frustration in bringing about improvement in your institution?
(7) How do you see the changing nature of teacher education in a
globalizing world?
(8) To what extent do you think your college is ready to benefit from
the global changes?
Key findings
The following key findings emerged from the data analysis:
(1) Principals as administrators and role models.

(2) Light as the key and common metaphor.
(3) Perceptions regarding ADE: hope tinkered with scepticism.
(4) Challenges and opportunities: infrastructure and political interfer-
ence, Dejure and defacto powers.
(5) Sources of motivation: values of their families and teachers.
(6) Teacher education in a globalizing world.
Principals as administrators and role models
The principals in the study mainly perceived themselves as traditional

public administrators, with their responsibility being ‘control’ over
employees in their organizations. Hence, they defined their powers within
a structure of authority and control. One of the RPs stated:
My role is to see that a teacher is there in the class; … a principal is responsible for everything
in the institution. He has to arrange classes, he has to cover every problem, he has to discuss
each and every thing with the apex body, he has to distribute the budget accurately, and I
mean he is responsible for everything in the college. (Transcription # 5)
Another principal went on to say:
I have to manage my office, their [teachers’] attendance, their timely attendance, financial mat-
ters, and salary. I am working as a DDO [Drawing and Disbursing Officer] too, in my college,
so financial matters are another area of my work. (Transcription # 1)
Moreover, since these principals had been assigned running the

recently introduced ADE and BEd Hons programmes, many of them also
saw their role within this context and commented on this. Data revealed
that these principals considered execution of these programmes as the
most important responsibility. Within this, they thought that their role
was to coordinate and communicate outside the institutions, whereas

what actually happened in these programmes was hardly ever mentioned.
One of the RPs in the study remarked, ‘My key responsibility is to exe-
cute the programmes and functions of the organization. Also to achieve
the targets assigned by the department with the support of my team’
(Transcription # 3). This, again, seems to indicate that they saw their role
as being about ‘control’ and coordination, not about providing educa-
tional leadership.
Another RP made an interesting comment by saying, ‘I am a symbol
[implying a role model perhaps]. I am a leader. If I will be active, my
teachers will be motivated. So keeping all problems aside, I have kept
myself active in my institution’ (Transcription # 4). What this seem to
imply is that many principals saw their role not just as managers but also
as role models. Not only that they also expected their teachers to emulate
them. They were aware of the importance of their position and how they
could influence their colleagues’ behaviour. For example, the principal
quoted above assumed that if he/she became active, their teachers will
more likely be active.
The data demonstrates that the principals considered several other
things as a part of their roles and responsibilities. Many principals also
considered themselves as pedagogues involved in the teaching and learn-
ing processes, and helping students solve their problems. Others believed
in raising moral consciousness in the people with whom they worked.
Yet, others considered it their ethical responsibility to be change agents.
While some believed that leadership was about demonstrating best prac-
tices in the field, as mentioned by one of the RPs:
I see myself as a missionary, carrying and spreading the message of 3Fs, i.e. Fairness, Firm-
ness, and Friendliness, in all my work and deeds. I lead them by providing role-model in my
behaviour, character, and matters within and outside my organization. I consider these 3Fs as
effective leadership and learning tools. (Transcription # 8)
Another RP identified his role in these words:
My role as a leader-in-action is evident in my punctuality to reach the institution, as the first

one to reach out to those who need my help in my organization. (Transcription # 7)
From the above analysis of data, we can infer that the principals of
these GECsE see themselves as playing multiple roles. They mention
some roles that are common, others are remarkably different. For
example, while many engage in administrative tasks, such as controlling
teachers, scheduling classes, maintaining record books and managing
financial matters, tasks that perpetuate the status quo, others, visualize
their role as going beyond the set norms. Cotton (2003) suggests that a
head can play a key role in the process of change by challenging the
status quo, and can change beliefs and behaviours of teachers, students
and parents that appear as major barriers in the process of change and
improvement.
Light as the key and common metaphor
To explore the social construction of their leadership theories in action,

the RPs were asked to express their roles metaphorically. The common
metaphors they used were: light, sunlight, candle and dove to describe
their roles. These metaphors seem to be closer to the expression of
journey from darkness to light which by the way is reflected in the
USAID-TEP symbol as Roshan (enlightened) Pakistan.
Perceptions regarding ADE: hope tinkered with scepticism
Since ADE is a donor-funded project, many principals were sceptical

about its sustainability. They argued that many projects were started in
the past, with well-meaning intentions, but these could not continue due
to paucity of funds, once the donor agency left. The principals felt that
the experts and funding agencies, while preparing and designing
programmes such as ADE, must seriously consider the sustainability of
these programmes.
Another concern that they had regarding ADE was that two different
programmes, i.e. the newly structured ADE and the previously titled BEd
were in the same institutions, but along different lines. This was widening
the gap in teachers’ preparation and the quality of teachers in Pakistan.
Elaborating on these issues, one RP said:
One year B.Ed. is based fully on the traditional approach of bookish knowledge. Another is
ADE which is a research-based programme. As a faculty in the same college, teaching these
two programmes differently seems like a transgression; preparing two contemporary batches of
teachers differently for two different worlds! Isn’t it zulam! (Cruelty). (Transcription # 6)
Challenges and opportunities: infrastructure and political interference,

dejure and defacto powers
The data highlighted five major disabling factors or concerns, which are:
(i) poor quality of teacher educators, (ii) lack of autonomy, (iii) issues
related to budget utilization, (iv) political interference, (v) lack of physical
infrastructure and structures for appreciations (like appreciation day for
teachers or awards for principals, etc.). The following is a detailed
description of the disabling factors.
Poor quality of teacher educators. Reflecting on the quality of teacher edu-

cators, the principals felt that ‘there is a gap [jhool sa feel hota hay] in poli-
cies. We don’t do what we say’ (Transcription # 3).
Moreover, according to the principals, although teacher education col-
leges are supposed to be learning organizations where everyone needs to
expand his/her learning, since the colleges were going through a major
transition period, there were some issues. One of the major problems was
that due to lack of quality of teacher educators, the quality of education
was suffering. One of the principals reflecting on the programme said:
I am not optimistic that it’s going towards good. The initiatives taken by the universities,
through the donor agencies, these seem good. But the faculty members are traditional … some
of them are quite good but mostly teachers are not competent in the present scenario to impart
quality training to student-teachers. (Transcription # 1)
Further elaborating on the problem, the same RP stated:
The faculty have to [prepare lesson] plan; they have to keep the records of planning in their
portfolios and [maintain] assessment records. I always ask them to make rubrics, if they were
going to assess some students’ performance … This is, one can say, a big challenge for them;
to make rubric, to assess their performance based on the means, with some standards. (Tran-
scription # 1)
Citing an example of challenges of the ADE programme, another partici-

pant elaborated:
You know what’s the perception of the general people behind joining the College of Educa-
tion? That is that they need to teach one lesson (in a day) and the rest of the day they are free
… Also they are not assigned relevant responsibilities. The biggest tragedy is: no right person
for the right job. People are entering [the teaching profession] with political influences and thus
there is increase in quantity [of teachers] but they lack quality. (Transcription # 4)
Lack of autonomy: paper tigers. Autonomy is considered as one of the

effective factors behind self-determined motivation to create healthy orga-
nizational cultures and practices. In the new era of reviving teacher educa-
tion in Pakistan, the principals of GECsE are expected to play a
leadership role whereby both individuals and organizations flourish. How-
ever, their autonomy to manage human and financial resources is limited
to the extent that they do not have the liberty to hire or retain their most
effective human resources in their institutions. As a result, it was found
that these principals largely consider themselves paralyzed; they did not
have the power to transfer even a grade-four staff if he or she was not
working well in their organizations. One of the RPs reported:
We do not have power to transfer a grade-four staff no matter what a miscreant he or she is.
We cannot stop their salary as they can take us to the court of law. We cannot punish them.
So the only tool available is either to motivate them or to put a negative performance appraisal
in their Annual Confidential Report (ACR). And they know both tactics are futile as these
grade-19 officers are less powerful than their counter-parts in their offices who, as Baboos
(clerks), help them in securing their jobs. (Transcription # 10)
Referring to the same problem, yet another RP commented, if you want to

transfer a teacher or a faculty member, who is not in a position to work
properly you are unable to do that because if there is no political will to do
the things in a right way, you cannot do the things (Transcription # 5).
Narrating how powerless they were when it came to political transfers
and postings another RP said:
In the current ADE programme, because of the workload, many teacher educators ask politi-
cians for … managerial jobs like Assistant Directors, Section Officers, or ask to be transferred /
posted in some other institutions. Now, elementary colleges are under-pressure. Recently two
teacher educators got transferred from my institution upon their will. They were very compe-
tent teachers. I was comfortable, and they were working well but they asked somebody (politi-
cian) for transfer and they got transferred. (Transcription # 1)
Highlighting the de jure and the de facto situation of their authority, one
of the principals further argued, ‘In the job descriptions there are many
things, many powers are there in the hand of a principal, but he cannot
apply his power. I am talking generally; he is not authorized to apply his
power, though it is mentioned in his job description. This is the problem.
(Transcription # 5)
The relatively long citations of the RPs show how powerless they feel
as principals of their institutions. Probably, this is why in one of Khaki
et al. (2010) study calls them ‘toothless tigers’, meaning, they have big
names on paper but they can actually yield little power to effect the work-
ing conditions of their institutions.
However, there are a few who are daring and believe in professional
power and break the rules and do the needful on their part if it is in the
betterment of their institutions. As the following argument of a principal
shows, ‘To be honest I have never followed these bureaucratic rules.
Because these bind you not to do the work which you wish to do for the
betterment of your children, your institution’ (Transcription # 4).
The ideas shared by these principals show that some principals try to
follow the rules and then feel helpless because they cannot go beyond the
government rules; while others, being fed up with the outdated bureau-
cratic rules and regulations, dare to use their own intellect and conscience
and do what they think is right, not what the rules say. Such daring acts
may sometimes land them in trouble but they are ready to take the risk.
This approach is in line with the ‘seven heresies’ of MacBeath (1998)
who argues that often daring leaders are those who are ‘rule breakers’;
who defy rules when they see that they are not working for the betterment
of their staff or students.
Utilization of budget. Generally, principals face many challenges with

regard to the utilization of the budget. First, they get the allocation of
budget late, just before the end of the year; second, they are unable to
utilize the budget for fear of accountability which often leads them to
pay from their own pockets. Alluding to these types of problems, one of
the RPs reported: ‘If I wish to use some money for a purpose, the clerk
will say, ‘this will be audited’. We do have a budget but we are
fearful of the system and, therefore, cannot utilize it properly’
(Transcription # 3).
Further explaining such issues the same principal added:
There are two things, one, Heads are not aware of the systems, policies and procedure; second,
they are not equipped with the current information communication technologies. So there is a
clerk, who is only matriculate, and he is responsible for all these things … And the key chal-
lenge of all the challenges is that the head of the department is not trained [to do budgeting].
(Transcription # 3)
These reported statements show that there are multiple reasons why
the principals are unable to utilize the budget. The result is that millions
of rupees are returned back to the government, unutilized. Hence, the
issue is not that there is no money; the issue is lack of capability to utilize
the money, mainly due to bureaucratic red-tapism and rampant corrup-
tion. So, the system works against itself, and there is little that the govern-
ment is doing to address this problem.
Political interference. Almost all the participants of the study mentioned

political interference as the most disabling and fatal problem in their insti-
tutions. They considered that political influence was destroying their insti-
tutions and had put them on artificial crutches (masnooie besakhian).
Telling a story, one of the RPs said:
Political interference is a major challenge here … when I started working here in the elemen-
tary college, the staff became conscious and started working with me but from the [education]
Department, I was advised (by my seniors) ‘haath halka rakhain, haath halka rakhain’, imply-
ing, take it easy, not to take too much work from the staff. Gradually, I learnt that honesty will
not work here. (Transcription # 4)
Sharing a story from his context another RP said,
In my context, there are many many problems. Suppose a teacher is not working hard or he is
not following the rules and regulations or he [sic] is not up to the mark. If we want to write to
the apex body, nothing will happen because of political influence … if you just call explana-
tions, once, twice, thrice at the end you will be compelled … to stop his [sic] salary or relieve
him [sic] from institution and tell him [sic] ‘go and report to the apex body or higher authority’
… this action cannot be taken by the head of the institution because of the [fear of] politicians
… he [sic] will report to the minister that such [a thing has happened] with him [sic]. And defi-
nitely, a telephone call will come to the head of the institution, saying, ‘whatever you have writ-
ten, take all things back, put that in your table drawer, be quiet and run your institution as
you have run before. This is the major problem. (Transcription # 5)
This shows how deep the political interference is in the day-to-day

running of educational institutions. This tends to dishearten the heads
and leads to apathy towards the system and the governance of their
institutions.
Lack of infrastructure and incentives. Data reveals that teacher education

and, particularly, female teacher education, is not the priority of planners
at the sectorial levels, although most of the teachers in these institutions
are females. Most of the RPs shared that they did not have their own
building for colleges. Female colleges, in most cases, are operating in girls
hostels. Most hostels have been taken over by the government to establish
their security units or as hostels for medical students. So teacher educa-
tion does not seem to be the priority of the government at all. One of the
RPs reported:
The building where we were running our college, was given to the medical college for hostel
purposes, and we have been shifted into a rented building. So, you see our priorities for tea-
cher education. The rented building has small rooms and no proper space for teaching or
learning. (Transcription # 1)
Supporting this view, another RP added:
I have only one building for males and females. I don’t have classrooms for female students …
we are just running female classes in the hostel to manage the things, only to pass the time,
and are hoping and waiting for a better future. (Transcription # 5)
Underlining another problem, the RPs highlighted challenges related to

long distances between their colleges and the practicum schools and the
problem of not getting petrol allowance. As one of them mentioned, ‘We
have vehicles without petrol. How can we facilitate our female students to
reach distant schools for their teaching practicum? Sometimes our female
teachers walk for two to three hours to reach to their [practicum] teaching
centres’ (Transcription # 7).
Many RPs complained that there was no structured system of reward
or appreciation for their work. They said that it did not matter whether
they performed well or not; there was no system of reward or accountabil-
ity. One RP commented on this issue in these words:
One of the problems with our system is related to timely appreciation. Delegates from many
countries visit us and appreciate our work, however nobody in government knows about it. If
somebody goes and tells them that one of your head is doing such a wonderful job, they say,
yes, because we have given them such a free hand. This hurts us a lot. (Transcription # 4)
Yet, another complaint that came forth from a RP was related to the
selection of teachers for professional development programmes. The RPs
felt that this was often not need based, but dependent on likes and dis-
likes of departmental heads. Many teachers and acting heads kept on
attending refresher/courses often to avoid work or for daily allowances,
but they did not bring their newly learnt knowledge or skills to their insti-
tutions. One of the RPs told this story:
When I joined the institution, there were a lot of issues. The very first challenge was that the
Acting head’s attendance that year was only 25 days. Most of the time the person was attend-
ing the training courses being offered and not making use of it for the betterment of the institu-
tion. (Transcription # 4)
Thus, these daunting problems made these leaders’ jobs quite

challenging. The description of their problems, such as lack of resources,
and travelling long distances to reach to the schools for practicum were
some of the major challenges that these principals said they found
daunting.
In the recent past, there has been mushroom growth of private col-
leges, including professional colleges. Interesting aspect is many of the
government officials often open up their own schools and colleges after
their job in the morning; they go to their institutions in the evening. One
of the RPs proudly admitted this, saying:
I have my own private college of education and there I have been running B.Ed. and M.Ed.
classes. I have affiliation with Universities for both the B.Ed. and the M.Ed. After the morning
government elementary college duty, I go home and rest for a while, and then head for my
own college. (Transcript # 1)
This indicates that the government apparently has no problem with the
fact that their employees are actually running personal institutions, which
are at par with the government ones. This makes one wonder what the
implications of these kinds of daring acts will be in the long run.
Enabling factor—support from the system
In the data analysis, only one major enabling factor emerged: the support
from the education system for the current ADE programme. The princi-
pals felt that due to this being a donor-funded programme, the system
was whole-heartedly supporting this commitment. Commenting on this,
one of the RPs stated:
First of all, I get support from my system or my apex bodies, secretariat and secretary educa-
tion. These people are highly motivated to support the institutions where ADE is going on.
And then we have some support from the donors. They have provided us computer labs; they
have involved the faculty members in professional development initiatives or programmes. So
these are some of the areas which are now becoming the basis for going forward in a better
way. (Transcription 1)
These data illustrate that the heads are optimistic that the current
ADE programme will help develop better teachers for future schools.
They seem to be charged to put in their best if the government function-
aries enable them to do what they can, by supporting them in what they
can do.
Sources of motivation: values of their families and teachers
Asked about their source of motivation, most of the participants related

this with their parents or teachers, who reportedly instilled values in them
concerning how to live life with honesty and integrity. For example, one
of the RPs said:
My father guided me with two principles; first, he should never hear that any of his sons has
taken bribe. Second, never feel happy with the praises you get. Now I realize that he was very
right, as today people take advantage by being dishonest and flattering.
Citing further the example of one of his great teachers, the same RP said:
I get inspiration from one of my great teachers, who used to teach us with such a personal
touch that whenever we would meet after class, either in the Canteen or the Mosque, he would
ask by name, ‘okay, whatever we discussed in class, is that all clear?’ … One day the same tea-
cher met me on the way; he used to ride a bicycle always. He asked the same question, ‘Did
you get what I taught you today?’ I thought he asks the same question everyday so this time I
said, ‘No, it was not clear.’ He looked around and found a small piece of grass by the roadside,
he said, ‘let’s sit here.’ He bought sugarcane from a hawker and asked me to open the book
and start studying. He spent an hour with me and then asked, ‘Is it clear now?’ I said, ‘Yes.’
He said, ‘even if it’s not clear I will come to your home in the evening.’
So this kind of commitment he had with his profession. (Transcription # 3)
This rather lengthy story demonstrates many important dimensions of

‘good’ teachers of yesteryears and how they inspired others. We, the pres-
ent day academia, often blame traditional teachers for being ignorant
about the modern methods of teaching. But here, we can see their
humane attitude and commitment towards their students; this is some-
thing we, the modern teachers, can learn a lot from. Some of our RPs
were inspired by such wonderful examples and that is why one could see
their firm commitment to their students and to their profession.
Teacher education in a globalizing world
Teacher education plays a vital role in preparing teachers for today and
tomorrow. It needs to equip teachers with extensive knowledge of the
world histories and civilizations and to develop their skills and dispositions
to engage with people in different cultures and countries. This places a
huge responsibility on the shoulders of teacher education institutions. The
data revealed that the principals felt that teacher education was going
through a major transition worldwide. One reason for this was that most
of the schools and societies around the world were experiencing a low
level of tolerance about world cultures and civilizations. This changing
scenario of the world-order today, they felt, required tolerant citizens who
believe in the co-existence of different cultures and civilizations.
According to the data, the principals felt that some of the current val-
ues in education like, lifelong learning and information technology (IT)
should be encouraged in current fast changing world. In this regard, one

of the RPs said:
Teacher education must develop teachers for life-long learning. Research should be an integral
part of all teacher education programmes. Alternate spaces for learning can be created through
technologies. Teacher educators’ continuous learning is important part of their job, hence, cre-
ating professional learning teams within faculty and students are the need of the time. Outside
classroom activities and projects can be developed to provide a broad-based curriculum to tea-
cher-educators, and training to learn from mutual strengths. (Transcription # 7)
The data also reflected that the principals realized that teacher educa-
tion was being given top priority in the national agendas of the advanced
countries. Hence, Pakistan also needed to keep pace with the world, in
terms of budgeting for education. An RP commented, ‘We should
pay attention to teacher education programmes, quality of teacher
educators, providing infra-structures for teacher education colleges’

(Transcription 8).
Most of them noted that different countries have different standards
for teachers’ certification, even after having professional degrees, like
MEd, BEd, etc. They argued that there was a need to pass some
examinations to get a teaching license or teaching certificate. One of the
participants suggested:
I think we should have some institutional body for licensing, even for in-service teachers. Pre-
service teacher education is being imparted by different teacher training institutions but even
though universities they are degree awarding universities or agencies so the people can easily
get degrees but it doesn’t mean that the person having a degree, in some teacher education
programme must be deployed somewhere in some institutions for teaching purpose because
he or she has to pass some licensing or certification, teacher certification examination.
(Transcription #1)
In sum, data revealed that the RPs dwelled on numerous issues of teacher
education in Pakistan within the context of the global situation. They are
alive to the problems of teacher education quality and how it is hampered
due to a number of challenges. Exploring their wisdom of practice, and
learning from their enabling and disabling factors can provide food for
thought to examine some of the key suggestions they make to improve
teacher education today.
Reflections and conclusions
Data analysis revealed that these elementary college principals viewed

themselves as responsible for creating a culture of team learning, profes-
sionalism, empowerment, ownership and accountability in their institu-
tions. They understood that headship entailed capacity building of all at
the institutional level to promote student learning and performance. They
realized that they had to create institutional milieu where learning takes
place. The data analysis also revealed that the principals perceived and
interpreted their roles and responsibilities differently from each other as
well. They did not see a monolithic image of themselves. Due to
contextual differences, they interpret their roles differently; apart from

sharing many factors that are common to them all, like political
interference, resource issues, etc.
Among the conclusions we can draw from this small-scale exploratory
study is that:
RPs perceived their roles and responsibilities in terms of what they

have to do on a daily basis; making sure that things were moving
smoothly that the basic things needed were in place; teachers were
in their classes, teaching; and that the student teachers were attend-
ing the sessions.
Most of them saw their role, primarily, as being administrative and
managerial.
However, many went far beyond the routine and considered their
role to be more focused on learning. Basically, they were more
interested in improving their organizations through better teaching

and learning.
Many found themselves playing the role of leaders and of leading
learners as model teachers.
As articulated above, under different themes, RPs were more nuanced

about the way they saw their problems and their solutions. In some cases,
the principals had to play wide-ranging roles in the wider society. As in
the case of a female principal, who was a volunteer doing social service,
and also doing some daring work of linking her institution with other pro-
fessional institutions, despite the resistance of her institutional commu-
nity. She was so daring that despite the fathers’ or husbands’ opposition
to taking their daughters or wives to a different site for their professional
development, and threats that she would face dire consequences if she
continued to do so. She faced situations where husbands threatened that
if their wives were taken outside their village to another place, they would
divorce their wives. But she managed to convince them and took her
teachers to attend many professional development programmes outside
her college after successfully convincing the relatives of teachers. As a
result, now her institution is seen as a model institution and the threats
have subsided.
What this story tells is that though often women are seen as more
docile, or less innovative or fearful, but in this case, we see that one of
these female leaders was so daring that she made tireless and intelligent
efforts to convert her parental community to her way of thinking and was
able to literally transform them; from a more conservative thinking to a
more accommodating frame of mind. The initiative worked for the better-
ment of the community and the institution she was serving. This is just
one of numerous such stories of the female principals’ daredevil acts of
courage which helped their institutions grow further. Another female prin-
cipal said that she drove in mountainous areas, least worried about the
dangerous roads where often even men feel scared to drive.
Similarly, there was another female principal who told us that despite
extremely threatening environments, she had been able to keep her college
open, regardless of the threats to her life and that of other teachers. The
commitment of female principals to the education of the nation and their
daring support to their institutions is something that was particularly noted
in this study. This is consistent with some literature that mentions that
women leadership is more effective in certain situations than males; they
focus on change and try to provide a more teaching and learning focused
environment than many of their counterparts do (Blackmore, 1999;
Coleman, 2001; Khaki, 2005; Khaki, Bana, Safdar, & Tajik, 2010).
The metaphorical expressions that many of these principals used for
themselves readily make sense when they are seen in this context. Most, if
not all, principals were working in very debilitating circumstances where
security issues, cultural barriers, lack of infrastructure, lack of support of
the government machinery, cultural taboos, rudimentary facilities, politi-
cally hostile environment and near lawlessness; erosion of their authority
in implementing service rules were some of the daunting challenges they
faced. These issues persist in many other contexts of education also; like
schools and district offices. However, probably one of the biggest chal-
lenges that they faced was lack of authority. In fact, it is largely because
of this that one study calls the government officers as ‘toothless tigers’
(Khaki et al., 2010). On paper, their authority looks great but they cannot
exercise it when it comes to actual situations, mostly because of political
pressures. Politicians are more powerful than government officers because
politicians often unduly oblige their voters and thus risk anarchy. Thus,
these principals saw their contexts as ‘dark’ or ‘darkness’ and they
thought of themselves as candles in this darkness; because they were at
least doing something to keep the knowledge lamp burning, otherwise all
those debilitating circumstances threatened the smooth functioning of
their institutions.
Introduction of the ADE programme in their institutions was a source
of hope for these principals, because both the local government and the
donor agencies were taking keen interest to make sure that the pro-
gramme succeeded. Despite their scepticism, as to whether the innovation
will succeed, they were supporting the initiative to make sure it suc-
ceeded. However, they were worried about it being another donor led but
short-lived initiative in the long run, as had happened with many donor-
funded initiatives in the past. The donor-funded initiatives often start with
great fanfare but then, down the road, they prove to be short lived. They
also seemed to be confused about how two different programmes could
work simultaneously in the same institution—one traditional (BEd) char-
acterized by the age-old method of pedantic teaching, and the other, the
modern one, the ADE, which is activity based and research oriented.
They were worried about having two types of teacher training pro-
grammes with such a huge gulf in pedagogy between them, in their peda-
gogical development institutions. However, what they hoped was that if
the ADE proved successful, it would gradually enrich the BEd and all
other old system certification programmes with comparatively enlightened
pedagogies.
Additionally, these leaders showed a deep concern regarding the qual-
ity of the faculty teaching the ADE programme because according to
them, they were not tuned to this way of teaching and learning. They
believed that if teacher educator quality was assured, then there was a
great likelihood that the ADE programme would prove to be a departure
point from the age-old traditional methods of teacher training in the ele-
mentary colleges of education.
They also recommended that the infrastructure of the institutions,
where ADE has been launched, must be upgraded so that the trainee
teachers are provided with an enabling environment to work as per the
requirements of the programme. They also suggested lessening, if not
eliminating, the political interference in the day-to-day running of the
elementary colleges, in terms of transfers of teachers, promotions,
postings and everything that had to do with accountability. Though these
demands seem realistic, but, unfortunately they are less practicable as the
societies where these principals work are so hierarchical and based on
tribal affiliations that it might take many years to overcome these hurdles.
No wonder why Pakistan is known as a ‘hard country’ to govern (Lieven,

2001).
This study was interesting for knowing more about their sources of
motivation/inspiration as to how they sustain themselves, despite such
challenging circumstances, in the government hierarchy, and continue to
serve to the best of their talents. Many principals in the study cited two
key factors: parental and their teachers’ inspiring pieces of advice or role
modelling. Home backgrounds in their early ages did help them develop
some key value systems and continued to inspire them. Many also men-
tioned the role modelling and deep commitment of some of their tradi-
tional teachers, who taught them the meaning of commitment to
knowledge and learning and to developing students as educated individu-
als. This is consistent with the literature that speaks of the impact of role
modelling of parents and teachers (Khaki, 2005; Shafa, 2003) in a culture
where the influence of parents persists till the late age and teachers com-
mand enormous respect. Moreover, this finding is hardly surprising, as
many studies mentioned such influences on perceptions and practices of
individuals working in education.
To sum up, the RPs talked about a whole set of issues in response to
the questions that were asked of them about their roles and responsibili-
ties. They were candid about their issues because they did not feel threa-
tened and were not worried that the expression of their ideas will have
adverse consequences for them. Whatever they said was more or less con-
sistent with what we have heard from many of their counterparts in the
public sector schools or educational training institutions. These problems
are emblematic of the public service in Pakistan; rooted in a compliant,
conflict avoiding, tightly hierarchical, bureaucratic culture, in which the
public servants work (Hofstede, 1997). However, what we saw here was
the struggle—a struggle, on the one hand, to come to grips with a cultural
shift—from the transmission mode to a more transactional or transforma-
tional mode of teaching and learning; and to new ways of administration,
management and leadership. On the other hand, they were expected to be
more pedagogical leaders (Sergiovanni, 1998) than just administrators or
just managers. These ideas were understandably complex for them, as for
many others working at par in other institutions, like universities. What

one particularly notes and appreciates was their struggle to improve—to
improve their own practices of teaching and learning, besides their admin-
istration; their offerings in teacher education are commendable.
We, the researchers, believe that there is a hope that if this kind of
enthusiasm is kept alive in Pakistan and if (this is a big ‘if’) the govern-
ment and the donor agencies continue to support these initiatives for
some reasonable time, till the innovation is socialized, and adjusted well
in the social milieus in which these principals are working, there is hope
that some lasting impact could be created in teacher education in
Pakistan. But if, as per these principals’ scepticism—the donor-driven ini-
tiative is short lived, then there is likelihood that such critical initiatives
would remain as a gimmick to be celebrated, without much substance,
and no long-lasting change in the contexts that they are delivered. Indeed,
they would be a bad omen for teacher education in a globalizing world,
where teacher education, as many other areas of education, has to change

to meet exponentially the ever increasing demands for quality, and glob-
ally useful education.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all the participants of this study for their generos-
ity of time and undertaking the commitment to contribute to this research
study. They freely shared their ideas to help us understand their roles and
responsibilities. We also thank the Research and Policy Studies (RAPS)
unit at the Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development,
Pakistan (AKU-IED, P), and the Ethical Review Committee of the Aga
Khan University (ERC-AKU) for reviewing the proposal, and approving
it. Thanks also to the USAID Teacher Education Project (USAID-TEP)
for funding this research study. We would also like to thank the anony-
mous reviewers and the editor of this article for their constructive feed-
back and refinement. Thanks to AKU-IED for providing us the
opportunity to undertake and complete this study by allowing time off
from our professional commitments.
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International Journal of Leadership in Education

Theory and Practice

ISSN: 1360-3124 (Print) 1464-5092 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tedl20

Exploring leadership practices of principals of

Zubeda Bana & Jan-e-Alam Khaki

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2014.948073

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Exploring leadership practices of principals of

© 2014 Taylor & Francis

improvement in their institutions; and how they perceive the changing

The study of educational leadership and management is relatively a new

Thus, the success of a leader is never absolute; a leader may be successful

most of their time in attending District and Departmental meetings and

decades, as heads in government sector institutions still spend much of

Context and background of the study

This study emerged from the researchers’ experience of working together

losophy, curriculum, pedagogy, duration of study and management of

in Pakistan to help build the capacity of these education managers/leaders

educational excursions and visits to the relevant teacher education institu-

To explore and understand how the education college principals under-

The sample was identified from among the 27 course participants

the researchers were part of the professional development team. There-

The following key findings emerged from the data analysis:

(1) Principals as administrators and role models.

Principals as administrators and role models

The principals in the study mainly perceived themselves as traditional

Another principal went on to say:

Moreover, since these principals had been assigned running the

was to coordinate and communicate outside the institutions, whereas

Another RP identified his role in these words:

My role as a leader-in-action is evident in my punctuality to reach the institution, as the first

Light as the key and common metaphor

To explore the social construction of their leadership theories in action,

Perceptions regarding ADE: hope tinkered with scepticism

Since ADE is a donor-funded project, many principals were sceptical

Challenges and opportunities: infrastructure and political interference,

Poor quality of teacher educators. Reflecting on the quality of teacher edu-

Further elaborating on the problem, the same RP stated:

Citing an example of challenges of the ADE programme, another partici-

Lack of autonomy: paper tigers. Autonomy is considered as one of the

Referring to the same problem, yet another RP commented, if you want to

and postings another RP said:

Utilization of budget. Generally, principals face many challenges with

Political interference. Almost all the participants of the study mentioned

Sharing a story from his context another RP said,

This shows how deep the political interference is in the day-to-day

Lack of infrastructure and incentives. Data reveals that teacher education

Supporting this view, another RP added:

Underlining another problem, the RPs highlighted challenges related to

Thus, these daunting problems made these leaders’ jobs quite

Enabling factor—support from the system

Sources of motivation: values of their families and teachers

Asked about their source of motivation, most of the participants related

So this kind of commitment he had with his profession. (Transcription # 3)

RPs perceived their roles and responsibilities in terms of what they