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Article Around the Fishing Net: Leadership Dynamics for Change in an American International School Elizabeth Murakami-Ramalho and Maenette Benham Abstract This study explored the active involvement of school and community members investing in leadership dynamics for change, especially considering the increasingly globalized world and the importance of preparing globally minded citizens. To explore how educators and leaders work to foster dynamic learning experiences in a highly mobile global context, we studied leadership dynamics in kindergarten through secondary American international schools’ environments. We inquired, ‘What kinds of leadership dynamics may be found in international schools that further inform the field about generating sustainable environments for teaching and learning?’ One case scenario is presented to illustrate how leadership in times of complexity and change may enhance sustainable environments for teaching and learning at both local and international contexts. The exploration culminated with a deep analysis of leadership dynamics for change, respecting the individual’s participatory power as well as the importance of collective wisdom in action. Keywords change, international schools, leadership dynamics, school leadership Introduction All of us stand around the fishing-net as equals. Sometimes one person pulls harder than another. Sometimes a person pulls for another. Leadership is like that. Leadership moves around the circle— everyone in the circle should be treated with equal respect because everyone in the circle is a leader, past, present, or future. McLeod (2002) McLeod’s (2002) fishing-net image refers to leadership dynamics and the development of a theory that explains the interaction of individuals and of groups acting collectively to promote effective Corresponding author: Elizabeth Murakami-Ramalho, University of Texas at San Antonio, COHED-ELPS, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA Email: [email protected] Educational Management Administration & Leadership 38(5) 625–643 ª The Author(s) 2010 Reprints and permission: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1741143210373736 emal.sagepub.com at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia on May 24, 2015 ema.sagepub.com Downloaded from
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Article

Around the Fishing Net:Leadership Dynamics forChange in an AmericanInternational School

Elizabeth Murakami-Ramalho and Maenette Benham

AbstractThis study explored the active involvement of school and community members investing inleadership dynamics for change, especially considering the increasingly globalized world and theimportance of preparing globally minded citizens. To explore how educators and leaders work tofoster dynamic learning experiences in a highly mobile global context, we studied leadershipdynamics in kindergarten through secondary American international schools’ environments. Weinquired, ‘What kinds of leadership dynamics may be found in international schools that furtherinform the field about generating sustainable environments for teaching and learning?’ One casescenario is presented to illustrate how leadership in times of complexity and change may enhancesustainable environments for teaching and learning at both local and international contexts. Theexploration culminated with a deep analysis of leadership dynamics for change, respecting theindividual’s participatory power as well as the importance of collective wisdom in action.

Keywordschange, international schools, leadership dynamics, school leadership

Introduction

All of us stand around the fishing-net as equals. Sometimes one person pulls harder than another.

Sometimes a person pulls for another. Leadership is like that. Leadership moves around the circle—

everyone in the circle should be treated with equal respect because everyone in the circle is a leader,

past, present, or future.

McLeod (2002)

McLeod’s (2002) fishing-net image refers to leadership dynamics and the development of a theory

that explains the interaction of individuals and of groups acting collectively to promote effective

Corresponding author:

Elizabeth Murakami-Ramalho, University of Texas at San Antonio, COHED-ELPS, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX,

78249, USA

Email: [email protected]

Educational ManagementAdministration & Leadership38(5) 625–643ª The Author(s) 2010Reprints and permission:sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.navDOI: 10.1177/1741143210373736emal.sagepub.com

at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia on May 24, 2015ema.sagepub.comDownloaded from

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processes for student learning. The purpose of this study was to observe closely leadership as a

process that, when fostered, enables collective forms of leadership and create sustainable environ-

ments for teaching and learning. To explore how school leaders work to foster learning experiences

in a highly dynamic and global context (Allen, 2002; Cambridge, 2003; Cambridge and Thompson,

2004), we studied leadership dynamics in a kindergarten through secondary (that is, K-12) American

international school environment.

Approaches to collective forms of leadership evolved from a variety of theoretical models and

frameworks developed over the past 30 years (Rost, 1991; Weick, 1979). However, schools in rap-

idly changing and increasingly globalized societies seem to require leadership that is distributed

and adaptable to a changing context. In this study we explored the effect on schools of the active

involvement of school members involved in leadership dynamics for change. We asked, ‘What

kind of leadership dynamics may be found in American international schools that further inform

the field about generating sustainable environments for teaching and learning?’

International schools are multiplying around the globe at an impressive rate (Brummitt, 2007),

showing both a need and demand for these types of educational services. These schools are highly

complex organizational systems with different configurations, missions and values, increasingly

drawing the attention of scholars. These schools, including American international schools, often

cater to the needs of expatriate communities, who see the school as a center for citizen and com-

munity participation, and seek it as a place for sustained students’ academic success (Blandford

and Shaw, 2001; Walters, 1983). Unlike national schools, whose focus is to purvey national values,

international schools often serve both host-country and international clienteles. To educate these

students as world citizens, school administrators and faculty develop programs that go beyond

national proficiencies, developing services catered to a community with diverse cultural back-

grounds and expectations. Given this unique situation, a study of leadership dynamics in American

international schools was perceived to be timely and critical, especially in learning from the work

of educators in such schools.

Using a fishing-net metaphor as an ecological image of organization (Morgan, 2006), we

explored leadership dynamics in American international schools. This framework allowed for

an in-depth exploration of human behavior and psycho-dynamics of people’s engagement in an

organization (Gabriel, 1999; Hatch, 2005). In this article, we begin with a definition of leadership

dynamics, and include one American international school case scenario to illustrate the leadership

dynamics in action. Based on the case scenario and other schools we studied, our findings indicate

that a deep understanding of leadership dynamics as incremental organizational learning processes

highly contribute to successful leadership in organizations.

Defining a Framework to Study Leadership Dynamics

In this study, leadership dynamics is defined as the collective interaction of school leadership team

members in creating sustainable environments for teaching and learning. To highlight this concept,

a fishing-net model of leadership dynamics was used as the theoretical framework of this research.

The fishing-net metaphor is supported by ecological approaches to organization as living systems

(Morgan, 2006), contrasting with mechanistic approaches to the analysis of organizations.

Morgan’s (2006) image of the organization as an ecosystem inspired the observation of evolu-

tions, disruptions and life-support systems (Odum, 1993; Prigogine, 1996). Morgan (2006: 66)

recognized that one of the strengths in using the metaphor of organizational ecology is that ‘it stres-

ses the virtue of organic forms of organization in the process of innovation [and a strong approach

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in the interpretation of] flexible, dynamic, project-oriented matrix or organic forms of organization

[rather than] mechanistic-bureaucratic ones’. We recognize, however, the limitations in using

metaphors to evaluate transformational leadership theories (Yukl, 1999). Morgan himself warned

us that the use of metaphors is paradoxical, at the same time illuminating a concept while hiding

other issues. For example, even though the fishing-net metaphor conveys the idea of school initia-

tives as bringing everyone in the organization together for a task, individuals in an organization

present different levels of enthusiasm and engagement, and their participation maybe not be clear

to everyone involved. Nonetheless, the importance of using metaphoric approaches to the analysis

of organizations is noteworthy as they allow researchers to report organizational effectiveness on

the basis of people’s processes of development, their relationships and their influence in the orga-

nizational life cycles, how people survive these organizational pushes and, most importantly, how

people influence and are influenced by organizational tensions, individuals agendas and purpose.

We also used soft systems as a framework to observe people’s actions in the organization

(Checkland, 1981, 1999; Checkland and Scholes, 1990). Soft systems methodology perceives

situations as systemic (pertaining to a ‘whole’), especially when organizations are highly ‘depen-

dent on the unpredictability and richness of human behaviour’ (Winter, 1990: 379). In soft systems

methodology, purposeful action is the unit of analysis. By purposeful action, Checkland (1999: 2)

meant ‘deliberate, decided, willed action, whether by an individual or by a group’. This method of

inquiry provided us with an interesting shift in the study of leadership, allowing for the exploration

of leadership based on complexity and change.

These frameworks contributed to the exploration of complexity and change in leadership as a

collaborative process that, when fostered, enables the inclusion of individual expression in collec-

tive forms of leadership initiatives (Bottery, 2003, 2004; Gronn, 2002; Haeusler, 2003; Harris,

2004; Heck and Hallinger, 1999). In addition, even though studies often stress the importance

of the leaders’ passion, commitment and enthusiasm, these same studies may reject the existence

of other emotions, like disengagement, or anger, as equally influencing initiatives (Gabriel, 1999).

Hence, in an environment of complexity and change, American international schools offered an

appealing setting for this exploration. In the next session we provide an overview of international

schools.

Overview and Focus: International Schools

As of April 2007, 4179 schools could be found delivering an international curriculum in English,

according to the International School Consultancy (ISC) research’s databank (Brummitt, 2007;

ISC Research, 2007). The databank provides current information about international schools

worldwide and shows that the majority of international schools are presently located in Asia,

followed by Europe, the Americas, Africa and Oceania. Interestingly, not all of these schools carry

the same educational goals (Cambridge and Thompson, 2004, Hayden and Thompson, 2000).

International education carries different ideological and pragmatic interests and interpretations

by individuals around the world, according to Cambridge and Thompson (2004). As a conse-

quence, different schools adopt varying interpretations, missions and delivery in preparing their

students.

In this study, we considered American-sponsored elementary and secondary schools around the

globe, which in 2007 encompassed 194 schools in 135 countries (US Department of State, 2007).

The population in these schools varied from five students (Kolkata, India), to 3650 students (Sin-

gapore). The instructional programs offered in these schools are focused on preparing students to

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enter schools, colleges and universities in the USA. For this study, we visited those schools

affiliated with the International Baccalaureate (IB), which allows students to transfer schools with

a consistent IB program and philosophy. The IB program prepares students with academic rigor,

and its philosophy is holistic, focusing on ‘intercultural understanding and respect, not as an alter-

native to a sense of cultural and national identity, but as an essential part of life in the 21st century’

(International Baccalaureate, 2008). Schools adopting this curriculum often view education as

relating to ‘the moral development of the individual’ and the formation of ‘positive attitudes

towards peace, international understanding and responsible world citizenship’ (Cambridge and

Thompson, 2004: 164).

Leadership in international schools is indeed dynamic, according to Blandford and Shaw

(2001), due to important characteristics influencing its leadership (Hayden and Thompson,

1996; Haywood, 2002), which include: (1) parental expectations (maybe due to cultural differ-

ences); (2) high staff and student turnover; (3) the head of school’s precarious position;

(4) over-involvement and itinerant membership of board members; (5) in-country laws and educa-

tional policies; (f) the delivery of the right balance in curriculum; and (6) the head of school’s rela-

tionship with the board of governors. Leadership in international schools therefore presents

multiple layers of complexity, all occurring in isolation in different countries and international

contexts. Blandford and Shaw (2001: 26) recognized that ‘As of yet, we do not perhaps know

enough about how different types of international schools are led.’

Located in host countries, these schools are locally structured as private institutions and some-

times are subject to the countries’ standardized educational policies. In addition, educators in these

schools are involved in culturally rich settings with two or more distinct cultural groups, that is, a

local and an international community in a highly transient environment (Bale, 1984; Vogel, 1992).

In light of their international contexts, these schools as organizations require the leadership of

teachers and leaders with professional capacity to generate and sustain a highly sophisticated cur-

riculum (Burleigh, 1993; Welton, 2001), in unique contextual and sometimes isolated conditions.

Student mobility in international schools can be as high as 35 percent every year (Matthews,

1989). Teachers often are contracted for two-year renewable terms, and head-of-school contracts

average three- to five-year terms (Hardman, 2001). The high mobility of educators and leaders

challenges the stability and continuity of operations at these schools. Yet, despite the high turn-

over, it is possible to find some educators who have taught in international schools for 20 years

or longer. In relation to heads of schools, chances that they will stay longer than three years are

less than 50 percent (Howley, 1995). In fact, this statistic has caught the attention of researchers,

such as Littleford (1999), who affirmed that almost 80 percent of all heads of international schools

contracts were terminated. The causes for this phenomenon are attributed to a number of variables:

frequent changes in trustees and board chairs, trustees being mainly parents rather than community

leaders, and continuous changes in the nature of the job as determined by the board (Littleford,

1999). In addition, heads of school and other administrators have no central office to turn to for

advice (Gonzales, 1987; Harzing, 2001; Walters, 1983) or any formal mentoring systems, espe-

cially when isolated by distance from possible mentors. In fact, opportunities for professional

development for all educators in this environment are sometimes severely limited.

Brummitt (2007: 36) recognized that ‘by their nature, change is the norm in international

schools’. The administrative affairs of these schools are in many cases managed by a unique gov-

erning board composed of members of the multinational community. In fact, boards of education in

international schools have been receiving increased research attention because their political and

moral influence highly affects the school leaders’ performance and the campus ethos and climate

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(Caffyn, 2007; Howley, 1995). This research revealed that micro politics in international schools

may be one of the prevalent reasons for the replacement of 1278 school heads in 2006 alone

(Brummitt, 2007).

Given the foregoing statistics, we believe that a study of leadership dynamics and change in

American international schools is important to the field of educational leadership and the improve-

ment of conditions for educator and leaders in these schools. Taking into account some of the chal-

lenges faced by educators in international schools as described here, and moving beyond mere

descriptions of the activities and structures in international schools, this study adds the educa-

tor-leaders’ lived experiences leading and creating sustainable environments for teaching and

learning in K-12 American international schools.

Methodology

A qualitative approach, examining the participants’ common and distinctive interactions, intensi-

ties, and complexities (Janesick, 2000, 2005) was used in the observation of leadership dynamics in

American international schools. The inquiry included how people make meaning of their actions,

values and beliefs when working collectively towards change. A single case from a larger study of

three campus-wide cases (Murakami-Ramalho, 2005) is used in this report to provide the reader

with some of the challenges that heads of school, teachers and parents encounter in developing

initiatives in American international schools. The larger study included three schools initiatives

(N¼ 30) developed as exploratory case studies based on a variety of evidence (Yin, 1994), includ-

ing artifacts and public records, organizational reports, direct observations and narratives con-

structed from in-depth and focus-group interviews. Pseudonyms were used for all participants,

institutions and country names. Schools with proven stability as organizations were chosen, which

included schools with more than 10 years of existence, documented success in the preparation of

students, stable administrative teams, an established governing board and a head of school with

more than five years of international schools’ experience. Within these schools, we selected

schools that were in the beginning stages of a leadership initiative implementation. Selection for

leadership initiatives included those with school wide (K-12) impact, and the involvement of mul-

tiple internal and external constituents, such as school administrators, teachers, students, parents,

business and community members. The International School of Whisperwind was one of the few

schools that met these characteristics.

School and Participants

The International School of Whisperwind has been in existence for about 30 years. The school’s

affiliation with the IB and adoption of its curriculum and philosophy, and the head of school’s long

experience and success working with international schools were defining factors for its selection.

The head of school provided the researchers’ entry for the observation of a new leadership initia-

tive, which included multiple internal and external constituents. With the use of criterion sampling,

seven participants in the school were considered through their direct involvement and membership

in the school leadership initiative. Figure 1 provides an overview of the participants and their back-

grounds. The initiative enabled participants to give a historical account of events and interactions

without a large time gap between inception and implementation.

The initiative was observed by the end of May 2004. It was important to observe the dynamics

by the end of an August–June school year because enough time would have elapsed between the

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inception and implementation and the participants working together in the initiative would be more

comfortable in their roles, more at ease with each other, and more participative in meetings. In

describing persons, places and events in the inquiry, we adhered to rigorous methodological stan-

dards to ensure that we met the criterion of ‘fairness’ (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) in the examination

of individual perceptions.

Case Narrative and Ethical Considerations

The value of narrative was considered here for its power to provide participants with voice, a closer

personal account of the context with special educative values (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000). The

case study approach was used to provide a portrait of the kind of leadership dynamics that might be

found in selected K-12 American international schools (Stake, 1995, 2000; Yin, 1994). This

approach permitted the construction of a snapshot with boundaries (Richardson, 1994), enabling

the researchers to isolate the case for analytical focus (Marshall and Rossman, 2006).

Figure 1. Participants: around the table at the American International School of Whisperwind

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The school name, participants and geographical location were masked to protect the identity of

the school and its participants. Data-collection methods included: (1) school visits to observe

the initiatives; (2) interviews with initiative participants individually and during focus groups; and

(3) examination of documents and artifacts related to the initiative, that is, communications among

members, announcements, reports and public foruMs To ensure that the group’s equilibrium in

participation and interaction was maintained, observations, in-depth interviews and focus groups

were used to complement each other in the data collection.

The analysis included the leadership processes developed through individual stories, problems

and motives that surrounded the initiative’s inception and implementation, as well as the steps

taken by participants in relation to the initiative. In addition, conditions that might have influenced

each initiative, such as resistance, or meanings and strategies participants described in their per-

sonal accounts were considered. Artifacts and documents complemented the interactions among

participants. The findings were drawn from the analysis and triangulation with the other cases

in the larger study. There are limitations in this case as well as the larger study related to its small

sample, and generalizations from this study are limited only to initiatives, schools and conditions

similar to those presented here.

Case Scenario: The American International School of Whisperwind

The American International School of Whisperwind is a proprietary school located in the suburb

of a large metropolitan area. Whisperwind opened over 30 years ago with 50 students. Today the

school welcomes more than 600 students aged 4–18. According to documents, Whisperwind

houses a medium-size population of expatriate children of about 40 nationalities and 26 languages.

The Whisperwind campus encompasses 11 acres; facilities include a stately mansion and adjacent

buildings that house classrooms, computer labs, libraries and an auditorium, surrounded by

well-manicured gardens. The city, with approximately 360,000 inhabitants, is a geographical

harbor with people of all nationalities. The diverse business and expatriate communities concen-

trated in the country are mirrored in the population attending this school. Nevertheless, Mrs

Shepard, the current head of school, noted that the school’s demographics changed after 9/11, due

to US events:

Americans coming overseas have decreased, or if the companies have maintained the same number,

they are choosing older executives whose children already graduated, or they’re choosing executives

that are single because many American families were very sensitive after September 11 to bring young

families overseas. They’re starting to come back, but I would say that if you talked to all the schools in

[Whisperwind], I’d say that most of them experienced anywhere from 5 percent to 15 percent drop in

enrolment.

Nonetheless, according to school brochures, the city’s progressive economy has attracted peo-

ple of many nationalities to invest in businesses there, especially because the city of Whisperwind

is located at a convenient port of entry for businesses and product exchange. The city’s inviting

economy also has contributed to the establishment of more than six American schools in the vici-

nity. Because expatriates in the city of Whisperwind have several educational options, the school is

challenged to deliver quality education and unique options to its constituents.

Educators new to Whisperwind noticed the influence of a global society on the school popula-

tion and environment. One of the teachers commented:

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How many times can you sit down and talk to an Angolan child about what’s happening in the world,

and in the evening go to the Saudi Arabian embassy and experience no alcohol and women you cannot

shake hands with? You are just blown away by some of these experiences. But then you come back

saying, ‘Wow! I understand some of the cultural dimensions of what’s going on, I understand a little

about the world. I understand about world issues better.’

Whisperwind is perceived as offering an ‘international program based on American values’.

The school offers three diplomas: the American high school diploma, the IB Diploma and the

local high school diploma. Curricular programs include Advanced Placement and International

Baccalaureate courses. In addition, Whisperwind is subject to local accreditation processes.

Whisperwind’s mission statement reflects the school’s commitment to serving multiple cultures

and a highly mobile population:

At the American International School of Whisperwind, we encourage a positive attitude toward edu-

cation and lifelong learning; provide meaningful educational experiences that enable students to

acquire and apply knowledge, concepts, and skills; help each student realize his/her academic, crea-

tive, and physical potential; provide opportunities for students to understand, appreciate and develop

sensitivity for other cultures; encourage charities; promote a partnership with parents to meet the

needs of students; and offer programs that address issues associated with a highly mobile

population.

Because Whisperwind is a proprietary school, the head of school is seen as a middle manager

(vulnerable from top-down decisions), serving under an executive director and a board of govern-

ance located in the largest of the three schools owned by the proprietary entity in other parts of

town. Teachers had little interaction with the executive director. For example, Mrs Bassett, the lan-

guages teacher, who had served the school for more than 26 years, did not recall ever being visited

by or even talking to the executive director.

School Culture and Climate

Behind the peaceful gardens at Whisperwind, the school community was healing. Faculty and

staff familiar with the history of Whisperwind claimed that people still harbored intense feelings

and avoided talking about the head of school who had been asked to leave after serving the

institution for almost 20 years. The well-liked head of school, his wife (a teacher at the school)

and their son (a high school student at the time) were asked to leave, for undisclosed reasons.

The head of school later filed a lawsuit against the school, thereby dividing the community,

causing many teachers to resign, and leaving the remaining ones confused and bitter. In the four

years since that episode, Whisperwind had hired two other heads of school, but both had been

unsuccessful at alleviating the survivors’ sense of grief and loss; thus the disengagement and

resistance of faculty and staff grew deeper. Now, six years after the event, a third head of

school, Mrs Shepard, in her second year in this position, had begun implementing a school-

wide strategic plan.

Aware of the school’s recent history, Mrs Shepard systematically involved both new and

senior (long-term) teachers and coordinators from different divisions of the school to form

a steering committee (see Figure 1). Ms Basset, for example, was forthcoming in providing

her input because she had been at the school for 26 years. Also included was Mr Bernard,

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who had been at the school for 22 years. Both Mr Bernard and Ms Basset would provide a

historical account of episodes that ‘had gone wrong’ at Whisperwind. Symbolically, this

affirmed the importance of school history and the need to acknowledge that something had

gone wrong, so that the healing process could begin in earnest, and new direction might grow

from it.

Initiative and Leadership Dynamics

Mrs Shepard relied on the expertise of the steering committee, which would meet monthly to

oversee the strategic plan. ‘My idea behind the concept of the steering committee, which generally

goes with accreditation, was that we needed a small group to be able to coordinate the work

produced by the general meetings.’ Around the table (Figure 1), the steering committee gathered

to talk about the strategic plan. Before engaging in the initiative, all participants stressed that

they did not want to talk about past incidents. However, it became apparent from their frequent

references to past episodes that all of them thought it necessary to reopen the wound so that

Mrs Shepard would be aware of how it had affected them—they had to retell their story. Ms Corgi

and Mr Welsh used a ship metaphor to describe the result of numerous difficult incidents with

previous heads of schools:

We were a ship that was in very strong waters, and a lot of people would not accept just anybody as a

new school head. And you cannot change a ship by simply changing the school head. And that was a

problem because we had too much history floating around. The rumbling and the after flow was still

there.

Mrs Shepard, in fact, had learned about the school community’s feelings before she accepted

the superintendence. Resistance was the word the hiring board used when describing the school

climate to Mrs Shepard. To reach the entire community, Mrs Shepard would have to involve every-

one in reshaping the school culture. Upon her arrival, Mrs Shepard talked to several teachers. One

of them, Mr Lakeland, who was in his second year at the school, told her he believed he was being

negatively affected by the resistant culture in the school when implementing innovative teaching

and learning strategies. Ms Terrier, conversely, was enthusiastic about Mrs Shepard’s arrival, and

believed that it presaged new and better times for Whisperwind. Parents and other community

members were divided in their viewpoints; some knew the school’s recent history with regard

to the heads of school, whereas some of the newer families were confident that Mrs Shepard was

conducting things differently—‘she seemed genuine’. At the suggestion of certain members

around the table, Mrs Shepard decided to involve all staff members in developing a strategic plan

by asking for everyone’s input during faculty meetings throughout the year. The process was ini-

tiated in the school year’s first general session in September. Mrs Shepard reflected:

This is the first time that I’ve ever done a strategic plan where I invited every single member from the

staff—from the security personnel to the principal. I’ve written every single thing that every person

said, and had it fed back to them, and did not leave anybody’s opinion out. I cannot tell you the amount

of work it was—it was absolutely unbelievable.

To begin formulating the strategic plan, each faculty and staff member was asked to indicate

‘What was the most important change that could improve the school in the areas of curricula,

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communications, facilities and school members’ (including the faculty) well-being?’ They were to

write their suggestion on a piece of paper but were not required to identify themselves. Faculty and

staff were hesitant to provide suggestions during the first meeting. They perceived this as a point-

less exercise, especially for a head of school who might not even last long enough to fulfill their

promises. Mrs Shepard insisted that everyone contribute their ideas, and pleaded, ‘Let’s just try it,

OK? Let’s just try it.’ During subsequent meetings, people still were reluctant to participate but

was slowly seeing some of their suggestions being implemented. How could school members trust

that Mrs Shepard had a genuine interest in improving curricula, communications, facilities and

faculty and student lives at Whisperwind?

In subsequent months, the faculty and staff gradually were getting involved in identifying areas

of concern within the various divisions of the school. However, even though people had begun par-

ticipating in delineating concerns, they did not necessarily agree with how the meetings were con-

ducted, or how the plan was being organized. Mr Lakeland talked about some school members’

resistance to taking part in the initiative:

The process initiated by Mrs Shepard is cumbersome, it takes up time. People wonder if it is a waste of

time. They wonder why, for example, I as a high school teacher would have to comment on some facet

of lower school instruction or facilities—and what do I know, what do I care?—And, of course, there is

merit to that objection. But overall I would say if we were to look at it on balance, I think that Mrs

Shepard’s approach is fairly daring and innovative, even though admittedly inefficient. I don’t think

that efficiency is her number one goal anyway—but as far as interacting with the faculty, I think Mrs

Shepard wisely and in a way reflects who she is as a human being—her humanity and her essential

sense of fairness and democracy. She really wanted input.

Reluctantly, the participants recognized that their voices were now being heard. Mr Barnard

believed this was the first time that people from the whole school had been approached to start

a project and saw the strategic plan as an initiative that was educating people to be active partici-

pants in the school:

In education sometimes the journey is what you need to learn—not the finished goal. And I think that

our strategic plan started us off on a journey. It has given us a map and ‘Here’s some ways that we can

go and change things.’ I don’t think that the real true goal of a strategic plan is that everything on that

checklist is going to be done at the end of five years. But I think there is a process that will be taking

place between the administration and the staff and various people saying, ‘Look, this is important,

where do we go here? How did we get here? Why did we say we wanted to do this?’ I think the biggest

part has been that collectively there is a voice now that has been given an avenue of expression.

Mrs Shepard said that subsequent meetings related to the strategic plan gradually became more

engaging. People were thinking more deeply about building facilities, curricular needs, profes-

sional development and especially the administration. Mr Bernard recalled that various groups

commented on each other’s recommendations on different issues, and that many good ideas

emerged. Mrs Shepard indicated that maintaining a steady pace was important in trust-building:

I learned that you have to keep the momentum moving, that you have to get the right balance—if you

move too fast, you’re going to have to go backwards, and if you move too slow you’ll never get people

on board. So for me, it was a matter of pacing and knowing how to work with people when they feel that

they have input. And they feel all along the line that they have input. I learned most about pacing and

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feeling how people will react and be willing to be flexible and say, ‘Okay, you’ve got a point. Let’s

slow down, and let’s analyse this.’

Nonetheless, the faculty and staff were aware of the organizational hierarchy limiting Mrs

Shepard in making decisions because she served under an executive director and a board of gov-

ernance. Even though Mrs Shepard represented a bridge between the school’s needs and the exec-

utive director, the faculty and staff could not forget the traumatic experiences in the past or trust

that the new head of school was a stable presence in the school. That tension made them reluctant

to engage in new school activities. Mr Bernard attested: ‘Mrs Shepard is trying to do a very good

job and trying to be open, be friendly, and do everything that she can, but in the back of us old

timers’ minds there is still somebody above her who could go, bang!’For the first time, Ms Corgi thought things were not being changed solely for change’s sake. ‘The

school is much calmer,’ she affirmed. ‘Finally the waters have started to calm again, and we are quite

steady. There are still odd peaks, but from my perspective I feel that we’re going in the right direction.’

The Whisperwind case displayed a social and transformative process in terms of leadership

dynamics. The dynamics included important features such as the power of individual participation,

intense negotiations stemming from individual commitments, conciliation during these negotia-

tions, and a collective wisdom in the decisions. In the next section we develop a thematic analysis

of the case using the fishing-net conceptual model of leadership dynamics.

Around the Fishing Net: Findings on LeadershipDynamics for Change

In this study we observed systemic cycles of purposeful action in schools, and the dynamics related

to multiple social dimensions in leadership through a non-static and organic nature. To more

closely analyze the dynamics in action, we prompted a fishing-net metaphor, which allowed for

an understanding of a group of people engaging in purposeful action. In the examination we valued

decentralized and less bureaucratic systems as organizational structures (Gronn, 2002; Spillane

et al., 2001) that accompany the fast contemporary trends of students and families living overseas.

The fishing-net metaphor was used as a model of shared purpose requiring individual participation

and commitment to improve the context of student learning (see Figure 2).

In a fishing-net metaphor, ‘sometimes one person pulls harder than another, [and] sometimes a

person pulls for another,’ added McLeod (2002: 10). We perceived the negotiated tension in the

pulling and pushing of individuals as the necessary energy that created sustainable teaching and

learning for students. In the case of Whisperwind, power relations were evident in the tensions

described by the people pushing or pulling the fishing net in order to focus on a strategic plan. The

dynamics were enriched by the participants’ levels of participation and sometimes even resistance

to the initiative, demonstrating how leadership was organic and alive. As Morgan (2006: 338)

highlighted, theories in organization and management illustrated through metaphors allow us to

‘see, understand, and imagine situations’. The fishing-net metaphor provided us with an insight

of the dynamics of people at Whisperwind.

This study’s findings reveal critical elements of individual and group interdependence in schools

as organizations and an expansion in the theories that examine leadership in American international

schools. In our larger study of American international schools we found that a pattern of continuous

change and transition was evident not only among the students and their families, but among the edu-

cators as well. Due to the high turnover of educators and administrators, we raised questions based on

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leadership issues of school sustainability, especially when examining the behavior of educator-

leaders in the face of challenges encountered while working in complex and uncertain environments.

Environmental Influence on the Development of Organizational Initiatives in Schools

Fishing depends on an environmental alignment, like the climate and the tides. The American

international school of Whisperwind provided an interesting scenario in which the individuals in

the organization needed to be aligned so that the school culture and climate could be restored.

Cultural aspects influenced this case’s management strategies (Harris et al., 2004). However,

Whisperwind’s case scenario focused less on the school’s international aspect, and more on the

internal organizational environment as hindering the adoption of new initiatives. Morgan (2006:

68) advised that when considering organizations as organisms, it is assumed that there should be

a ‘state of unity where everyone is pulling together’. Even though this is not often realistic, in

Figure 2. A Fishing-Net Model of Leadership Dynamics for Change

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the case of Whisperwind, the school needed to realign its members in order to move forward

into activities that would bring common purpose in creating environments conducive to teach-

ing and learning. This theoretical consideration has been expanded through contingency theories

and the observation of organizational health and development (Donaldson, 2001; Lawrence

and Losrch, 1967). Therefore, the ‘organic forms of organization in the process of innovation’

(Morgan, 2006: 68) were identified, especially the fit between the organizational environment

and its members.

At Whisperwind, Mrs Shepard identified a situation calling for action, and she used a purposeful

activity to address it. The purposeful action was the object of our analysis of leadership dynamics.

Through a series of school wide meetings for strategic planning, which were met with much resis-

tance, Mrs Shepard provided the avenue for individual voices to be heard and specific school needs

to be addressed. The strategic plan focused on curricula, communications, facilities, and faculty–

student/ community well-being. As Winter (1990: 382) indicated, in soft systems methodology,

analysis of the ‘constraints of the situation faced’ by its members was of utmost importance in

understanding leadership dynamics. As the school was in the early stages of change, Mrs Shepard

understood that school members needed to feel stability and trust before adopting any changes

(Noer, 1993). At Whisperwind, people needed to express their emotions first. It required a deep

understanding of the people’s feelings and history of the school, as well as their needs and dreams;

an understanding of the organizational environment.

Individuals Influencing Organizational Initiatives

Using a fish net requires that everyone holds the net and move towards purposeful action. Gabriel

(1999) highlighted that each individual’s approach to the organization is different, and participation

in organizations is dependent on the individual’s psychological character, as well as the individual’s

ability to relate to others. He (1999: 79) also contended that organizations ‘are constructs that carry

symbolic resonances’, comprising the several individual psychological characters. ‘At the core of the

way in which different individuals relate to organizations is emotion,’ affirmed Gabriel (1999: 80),

‘which can range from loyalty, commitment, responsibility, and pride, to fear, contempt, and hate’.

At Whisperwind, some educators developed dissociative sociocultural patterns (Blase and

Anderson, 1995), especially in the micro politics of teacher-administrator relations. Long-serving

teachers provided an account of past historical events at Whisperwind and in many ways helped

Mrs Shepard reshape the organizational culture. Nevertheless, many Whisperwind school members

carried negative micro political reactions due to issues related to undisclosed early administrative

decisions. As a result, they chose to protect themselves from administrative requests for participation.

Blase and Anderson, in fact, emphasize that negative micro-political reactions in schools are aggra-

vated in situations in which school administrators are seen as ineffective.

As an effective head of school, Mrs Shepard therefore needed to address the resistance of school

members before getting them involved in any initiatives, a fact that was even mentioned during her

hiring. Without addressing these unresolved issues, individuals in the organization were not ready to

contribute collectively to school initiatives. School members needed time to grieve and to reflect on

the purpose of schooling. Mrs Shepard highlighted the importance of ‘nurturing baby steps toward

the planning, development, and implementation of the strategic plan, recognizing the momentum

and keeping the momentum going’. She added, ‘You have to get the right balance—if you move too

fast, you’re going to have to go backwards, and if you move too slow you’ll never get people on

board.’ Mrs Shepard focused on the human side of change, fundamental to their future successes

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or failures, indicating that building trust and developing commitment and collective responsibility

among school members were the key first steps to moving the organization forward.

Individuals and their Relationships: Emotional and Life Cycles in Organizations

As soon as positive fishing conditions are identified, there is some discussion as to which way to

go, and how to proceed. The emotional cycle that created much tension among participants and

school stakeholders was perceived as a challenge in the negotiation of increased participation and

buy-in of all members into the new strategic plan. Attention to the tensions and complexities

among individuals in organizational life cycles is, in fact, important in any study of leadership,

according to Leithwood and Jantzi (1990). So, at Whisperwind, the organizational life cycle

included the staff members’ feelings of betrayal. Until their grief was addressed and negotiated,

some of the educators and community members refused to hold the fishnet. Those that agreed

to hold the net maintained a purposeful tension, while Mrs Shepard concentrated her efforts on uni-

fying school members in order to bring about change.

Similarly, the core leadership team members around the table at Whisperwind had to lay aside

their hurts and egos, and embrace a process that required them to be open to alternative ideas and

listen without hidden agendas (Gabriel, 1999). Just as the fishermen work together, pushing and

pulling the net in ways that make sense and move them toward their catch, the core leadership team

were pulling and pushing in order to balance their individual agendas and programmatic needs in

order to reach a collective agreement to build leadership capacity (Johnson and Johnson, 2003).

An important consideration in bringing about successful change in international schools is the

fact that the development of initiatives is dependent on a high turnover of staff. Therefore,

the interval from inception to implementation and sustainability of an initiative depends largely

on the pace with which initiatives are developed. At Whisperwind leadership capacity, which is

both a social and a transformative process (Heller and Firestone, 1995; Lambert, 2005), was slowly

being built through a sense of collective responsibility toward the work of schooling. It took some

time to involve participants in the leadership team to no longer focus on who was maneuvering the

fishing net, but to be attentive to the fishing activity itself. Only then, they could motivate others

into collective intent and action.

Organizational Learning

Fishing with a fishing net requires collective learning. In order to create change, leadership capac-

ity depended on the development of organizational learning at Whisperwind. Organizational learn-

ing requires that all members of the school system—students, teachers, staff, board members and

community partners—work intentionally and visibly while learning with one another in an open

and transparent manner (Checkland and Poulter, 2006; Harris, 2004; Limerick et al., 1998). To

achieve generative levels of participation and interdependence (Giles, 2006; Leithwood and Louis,

1999; Mitchell and Sackney 2000), the strategic plan as a purposeful action for change seemed to

be the right opportunity to enable school members to function collectively.

Organizational learning requires that participants learn enough to make changes to policies, pro-

cedures and practices that define how the school structure operates (Harris, 2004; Hatcher, 2005). At

Whisperwind, organizational learning was occurring through trust-building activities. Keys to the

adoption of this initiative were the long-serving educators, who inspired other members to refocus

their emotions on new energies for school improvement. In the process of building alliances, ‘when a

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group acquires the know-how associated with its ability to carry out its collective activities—that

constitutes organizational learning,’ attested Cook and Yanow (1996: 438).

Conclusion

When the tides are favourable and the fish are running, fishermen prepare. Working together, they

discuss each step of their process to ensure a healthy catch. At the appointed time, each responsible

for a part of the fishing net, they enter the sea. They stretch their nets as they move cautiously into the

waves. The net must have both adequate tension and slack. Their purpose is clear, and hopes are high as

they skilfully manoeuvre the net, which results in a good catch that will provide for all of their families.

(McLeod, 2002)

McLeod’s (2002) fishing-net metaphor helped in the examination of leadership dynamics in

schools. The metaphor helped us understand the interaction of individuals and of groups acting

collectively to promote effective processes for student learning. After analyzing the case of the

American international school of Whisperwind (and similar international schools in the larger proj-

ect), we concluded that in order to build an effective alignment of purpose and intent multiple

layers of complexity must be recognized.

Recognizably, educators in schools are individuals from different backgrounds, upbringing and

expertise. When working together, these individuals present interesting compositions influencing

the organizational culture. The fishing-net metaphor showed that people working together bring

with them their personal histories, identities, and fears and emotions, which can be challenged and

triggered in workplace situations.

Individuals around the table at Whisperwind revealed strong emotions and personal agendas.

Their emotions revealed instances of disengagement, and reactions such as micro politics (Gabriel,

1999), which had to be negotiated before any organizational initiatives could be implemented.

These negotiations were important in further generating healthy organizational-level interactions,

and leadership capital.

While observing the group members’ interdependence, we found that school members were

simultaneously developing individual and collective capacities to plan, create and implement a

new initiative. Initial chaos and micro-political interactions were recognized as a positive part

of this process and identified in a number of other cases in local and international schools. Change

seemed to be dependent on the stakeholders’ identification of the purpose of schooling. First they

had to abandon individual fears to later focus on collective and purposeful activities. The isolation

of the international school community on foreign soil in fact can help or hinder the collective work

of educator-leaders. Of utmost importance was the respect give to all participants, in which ‘every

person has a role and each role is important to the whole’ (Benham and Mann, 2003: 144). This is

especially true when an expatriate community works toward creating sustainable spaces for

dynamic teaching and learning.

The short life cycle of heads of school, coupled with the short life cycles of teachers, students

and families, posed a threat to generating sustainable environments for teaching and learning in

American international schools. The head of school has limited chances in developing significant

and sustainable initiatives when teachers stay for just a short period of time (Hardman, 2001), espe-

cially knowing that his or her job stability is also at stake. Moreover, if the heads of schools are

replaced at the same speed as teachers (Littleford, 1999) they can do little to influence the stability

and sustainability of these schools.

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Nonetheless, the turnover of educators in international schools, which at first appeared to be a

barrier to change, began to take on new meaning in this study. Building and sustaining leadership

capacity to create change in international schools depend greatly on individuals who have the com-

petence to recognize emotions in organizations and passion to solve teaching and learning chal-

lenges. Purposeful action is successful when those involved generate new and deep learning

about the issues they confront.

We recognize that metaphors create insights but they are also problematic as they distort and

have limitations. The limitations in the fishing-net metaphor may create the illusion that people

at Whisperwind were collectively agreeing with the strategic plan, when, in reality, the dynamics

was not as idyllic. Nevertheless, the fishing-net metaphor in this case helped us examine the envi-

ronment in which this group of people was operating revealing their vulnerabilities within the orga-

nizational culture. Our challenge was to document these dynamics in order to understand the

complexities and the learning that occurs with individuals in creating meaningful action in

organizations.

The fishing-net metaphor contributed to furthering our understanding of leadership dynamics in

organizations and the implementation of initiatives in American international schools. Leadership

dynamics in international schools can reveal valuable self-renewing processes that include contin-

uous learning to build vital leadership capital. We perceive our contribution as an invitation for

future research—to continue to observe processes that may appear messy and chaotic at first, but

that may contain valuable learning lessons for the sustainable improvement of schools.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Corrie Giles, PhD, for his thoughtful review and suggestions for this

manuscript.

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Biographical Notes

Elizabeth Murakami-Ramalho is an Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership in the Depart-

ment of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas-San Antonio. Dr

Murakami worked in American international schools for 14 years. She now teaches graduate-level

courses. Her research focuses on urban and international education, including a critical examina-

tion of organizational learning and ecology, leadership dynamics, globalization, hybrid identities/

communities, social justice, race, and gender.

Maenette Benham is a professor in and Dean of the Hawai’inui�akea School of Hawaiian Knowl-

edge, University of Hawai’i-M�anoa. She began a 15-year pre- K-12 education career teaching K/1,

3/4 and 7-12 (California, Texas and Hawai‘i). She joined the College of Education faculty at

Michigan State University in January of 1993, where she built a strong base of inquiry that centers

on: the nature of engaged and collective educational leadership; the wisdom of knowing and praxis

of social justice; the meaning and value of systems knowledge; and the effects of educational and

social policy on vulnerable communities.

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