JELPP – Volume 39 (2025)
Embedding a culture of mentoring in a school: A case study
Kate Thornton
Abstract
This article presents the findings of a case study investigating the mentoring culture at a school in Aotearoa New Zealand. The study arose from the participation of staff in a professional learning course on effective mentoring practices attended by key school leaders, including the principal. Unlike in most schools, mentoring at this school is provided not just for beginning teachers but for all teachers, prompting an examination of the conditions, structures, benefits, and challenges associated with this approach. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, surveys, and document analysis, focusing on participants’ experiences of mentoring. Findings indicate that regular, scheduled mentoring sessions foster mutual trust and support, contributing to both personal and professional growth among staff. Participants highlighted the importance of mentor capabilities such as empathy and emotional intelligence, while also noting challenges associated with mentor selection and the balance of line management responsibilities. The study concludes that a structured mentoring programme can yield significant benefits for teacher well-being and professional development. Recommendations for schools considering similar initiatives include defining clear mentoring purposes, selecting appropriate frameworks, providing training for mentors, and ensuring regular reviews of mentoring effectiveness.
Leading with self-awareness: The antecedent to relational leadership
Andrea Driver
Abstract
For many educational leaders, the move to an online (virtual) teaching and learning environment which requires different ways of engaging from a traditional daily in person leadership approach can be daunting. The research reported in this article explored how I, an education leader who had previously enjoyed traditional face to face leadership roles, could move into an online teaching and learning environment and maintain the relational leadership approach I had strived to enact in face-to-face settings. Through an autoethnographic framework, journaling and critical reflective process, the research data captured the personal and professional characteristics and attributes that influenced my leadership practice. These characteristics were explored through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; 2005), and the philosophical framework of the Whatu metaphor (Hiha, 2015), strengthening the understanding that the personal and professional characteristics identified within my leadership practice had been shaped and influenced by my early life and formative experiences. The findings from the research offer a unique contribution to the limited research demonstrating how education leaders can enact agency of their leadership through self-awareness in an online teaching and learning environment.
Leading through complexity: A single case study on cultivating agility with cultural and emotional intelligence
Mel Martin, Peter Y. T. Sun and Sheralyn Cook
Abstract
Aotearoa New Zealand’s educational landscape is complex, characterised by diverse cultural and emotional dynamics. This single case study explores how primary school leaders harness cultural intelligence (CQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ) to inspire agility amid complexities. Set in a semi-rural context marked by leadership changes and restructuring, a positive school culture has been fostered, making it a school where staff feel proud to teach and eager to send their own children.
Using a qualitative constructivist grounded theory approach, data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and focus groups with the principal, leadership team, and teachers. Three key themes emerged. First, leaders begin by identifying their own purpose and intentionally building trust with their teams and community. From this foundation, leaders draw upon deliberate actions that align their purpose and amplify energy to create an inclusive agile environment. Thirdly, the wider environment influences the leader’s effectiveness and shapes their collective ability to navigate complexity.
The findings underscore the crucial need for educational leaders to be agile. To effectively navigate the complexities of modern leadership, they must cultivate agility by applying a blend of CQ, EQ and cognitive flexibility (CF) to inspire their teams. This combination empowers and inspires their teams, fostering an inclusive, resilient and adaptive culture. Failing to do so risks creating a culture that cannot withstand the complexities and challenges evident in contemporary leadership.
Flipping the script: Children’s experiences of leadership in an early childhood centre
Sandy Radford
Abstract
This paper argues that children’s perspectives are a critical omission in current considerations of leadership in early childhood educational settings. After a brief outline of themes in the existing distributed and pedagogical leadership literature, data is drawn from my PhD research to analyse leadership in an early childhood centre in Aotearoa New Zealand. Two specific leadership stories are then shared, first from the teachers’ perspective, then flipping the script to tell the same stories from the viewpoint of the children’s experiences. The differences suggest that focusing on leadership without simultaneously exploring children’s experiences results in only part of the leadership story being told, threatening the validity and usefulness of current ideas about effective leadership in early childhood settings.
Reclaiming ‘Fun’: A school leader’s reflexive account of a social and emotional learning initiative in primary education
Melanie Drake
Abstract
In an era where schools are under immense pressure to deliver top academic results and meet performance expectations from stakeholders such as government departments, parents, and school boards, the idea of prioritising ‘fun’ over academic outcomes might appear unconventional. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, exposed the fragility of traditional schooling models and underscored the urgency of addressing students’ social and emotional well-being. This South African leadership narrative reflects on how the principal and leadership team, in the first ‘normal’ school year following the pandemic, implemented a year-long initiative known as the Fun Project. Designed to rekindle joy, connection, and emotional recovery, the project centred on fostering Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) through creative, collaborative, and academically aligned cross-curricular learning experiences. Drawing on a reflexive autoethnographic and pracademic approach, this study situates the author’s lived leadership experience within wider educational leadership theory, exploring the tensions between academic accountability and student well-being. The narrative demonstrates how integrating SEL and joy into school culture can reframe educational priorities, cultivate resilience, and model a form of leadership grounded in reflection, relational trust, and hope.
The power of proportion: Observation, listening and speaking as core practices for educational leaders
Michelle Fennick
Abstract
Educational leadership requires balance between urgency and patience, speaking and silence, and action and reflection. Early in my career, I received enduring advice from a veteran leader: “You have two eyes, two ears, and one mouth. You should observe, listen, and speak in proportion.” This guiding idea is widely attributed to the Stoic philosopher Epictetus, whose teachings emphasize the importance of perception, disciplined attention, and intentional speech. This principle has guided my journey from substitute teacher to central office administrator and now as a professor and consultant. Drawing on the legacy of four generations of educators in my family, this article explores the power of proportionate leadership through three case studies. As principal of an elementary school, proportionate observation fostered trust and sustainable change. As a School Support Officer in an Independent School District, I provided proportionate listening and anchored leadership amid organisational instability. As a professor and consultant, proportionate speaking equips aspiring leaders to build trust and credibility. These narratives are situated within scholarship on reflective practice, trust, sustainable leadership, and multiplier leadership. The discussion emphasises implications for practice, leadership preparation, and policy, offering proportionate leadership as a framework for building trust, sustaining organisational health, and preparing leaders who act with wisdom and humility.
Wyi wah mamaskacikiwey itota: The time is now to bridge the gap from what is to what could be!
Wayne Davies
Abstract
This journal article emanates from my original Dissertation-in-Practice (DiP) focusing on the integration of Indigenous culture and academics at Riverview High School, within the Prairie Lakes School District (both names are pseudonyms) in Manitoba, Canada. The article addresses the long-standing Problem of Practice (PoP) concerning the underachievement and lack of engagement among Indigenous students as evidenced by four-year graduation data released by the Manitoba government’s Ministry of Education and Early Childhood Learning. Utilizing a collaborative, community-based approach informed by Indigenous perspectives and change management principles, this article proposes a transformative framework. Key theoretical constructs, including “Two-Eyed Seeing” (Etuaptmumk), TribalCrit, and Deming’s PDSA cycles, are employed to analyze the PoP and guide the change process. The article explores my positionality as a Red River Métis educator, the importance of voice and equity, and the alignment with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It details the problem posed, proposed solutions, communication strategies, and evaluation frameworks, culminating in a call for urgent and sustained action.
Indigenous leadership in a non-Indigenous space A leadership story
Nicole Brouwer
Abstract
This article explores the leadership journey of an Indigenous leader working within a non-Indigenous institutional context in Canada, focusing on the ongoing processes of decolonization and reconciliation. Grounded in the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, the article examines how Indigenous leadership principles are enacted in environments shaped by colonial structures and assumptions. Attention is given to the systemic, relational and personal obstacles that challenge effective leadership, including resistance to change, cultural misalignment, and the emotional labour associated with reconciliation work. The Medicine Wheel is employed as both a conceptual framework and a reflective tool, illustrating its role in guiding holistic, ethical and relational approaches to leadership and organizational transformation. By situating Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing at the centre of the analysis, this article contributes to emerging scholarship on Indigenous leadership in non-Indigenous spaces and offers insights for educators, administrators, and policymakers engaged in meaningful decolonization and reconciliation efforts.