A systematic review of the role of dialogic leadership: Characterization and impacts

Abstract

As any model of educational leadership is expected to contribute to academic success, dialogic leadership has emerged as an essential model in this domain, providing compelling evidence of significant improvements in the academic outcomes of students, including reduced absenteeism among school children. Dialogic leadership is an emerging leadership approach that conceptualizes the role of members of the educational community (teachers, students, family members …) that develop leadership practices as they engage in dialogue with others. Research has already demonstrated the positive impacts of dialogic leadership in education as well as in other sectors, for example improving leadership skills in students or enabling the participation of community members in schools, but currently, there are no studies that synthesize these findings. The purpose of this paper is to review the impacts of dialogic leadership, consolidate its defining features, and contextualize it within educational leadership research. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) model was used for guidance in the reporting of this systematic review. We carried out an inductive thematic analysis on 27 articles that met the inclusion criteria. As a result, several themes emerged which describe dialogic leadership as an approach and its impacts. It is identified as an egalitarian and social justice-oriented approach that emphasizes inclusion in education. Its impacts are noted across two levels – individual and institutional. At the individual level, it has demonstrated synergies with improvements in the physical and mental wellbeing of adult learners; in self-confidence in children, staff in early education and adult learners, and in the quality of life of educational community members. While at the institutional level, among others, it has led to an improvement in the academic outcomes of students, and it has played the function of social cohesion - bringing society and community members closer and eliminating knowledge gaps through dialogue. We provide a discussion of these themes, along with the implications and suggestions for future research.