Understanding leadership practices in a sustainable school model: A case from Turkey

Abstract

Dissatisfaction from the current schooling alternatives has been the basic driver behind the search for an alternative schooling system among parents in Turkey. Being concerned about the quality of available public and private schooling alternatives, a group of parents has initiated an alternative schooling system which is based on different structure, values and goals. The aim of this chapter is to reveal the general features of the so called Another School is Possible (ASIP) movement and the roles and responsibilities of the school principal in creating a sustainable and alternative school system. We used document analysis, observation and interview as sources of data for revealing administrative and academic features of this alternative school system as well as investigating leadership traits and behaviors for accomplishing a sustainable school system. The data suggest that ASIP model is based on four main values including alternative education, democratic management, ecological stance and authentic finance, which guide all administrative, instructional and financial actions at schools. The leadership function is distributed across different constituencies, including the principals, teachers, parents and the students. However, the principal is orchestrating body for realizing a sustained, bottom-up, and successful school model.