Leadership Practices in a School in Cantabria (Spain): Shared Responsibilities, Learning for All and Social Justice

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper aims to identify the leadership practices adopted in a public school in Cantabria (Spain) organized as a community of practice. By means of an ethnographic methodology, we aim to explore and achieve an in-depth understanding of the leadership practices and conditions that have been established and their manifestations in the culture and organization of a school that have enabled this institution to make progress toward an educational model consistent with inclusion and social justice. The research strategies used were participant observation, focus groups, semi structured interviews and documentary analysis. Analysis of the content based on an inductive-deductive process has identified a number of leadership practices that facilitate the inclusive project: establishing a clearly defined direction for the school that focuses on improving learning for all students; school organization that involves shared responsibilities and organizational structures that allow dialogue; internal training to ensure that the school staff members align themselves with the school project; close collaboration between the school, the families, and also with the local community. In conclusion, this study, which is aligned with the “practice-based approach to leadership,” investigates how leadership manifests itself in the organizational and cultural dynamics of the school, while highlighting the importance of collective and intersubjective experience in the practice of leadership.