Location: Ghana, Kenya, Zambia
Timing: June 2023 – December 2023
Budget: 10,000 USD
Donor: Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report UNESCO
Challenge/opportunities
School leadership is recognised broadly as a key factor in enhancing student learning outcomes. Although the school leader does not interact directly with learners in the classroom, they play a big role in ensuring that the school learning environment is conducive to effective learning.
The concept of Ubuntu school leadership highlights unique competences and aspects of leadership, starting from assessing available resources, attending to others’ needs, and raising expectations and commitment to organisational goals.
While most studies on school leadership competences in Africa align with international school leadership models, the concept of Ubuntu leadership could be an emergent approach to school leadership in Africa highlighting unique aspects of leadership. The concept also aligns with a growing interest in the distributed or shared school leadership model.
While the research on distributed school leadership in Africa is still limited, it can indicate a normative shift away from solo leaders, towards shared leadership models. The concept of Ubuntu leadership can be of interest to describe how multiple actors, b¬¬oth within and outside the school and the education system, can collaborate and achieve collective goals. As such, the model also zooms in on the needs and roles of the community.
Goal
To explore unique characteristics of leadership and leadership competencies that are relevant in Sub-Saharan African contexts, describe and further develop the concept of Ubuntu leadership
Partners
- Prof. Dr. Ann Lopez (University of Toronto)
Alignment with the ACSL focus areas
- 1. Policy ☐
- 2. Practice ☐
- 3. Research ☒
- 4. Knowledge mobilisation, advocacy, communication, and sector Coordination ☒
