Dialogic leadership in learning communities

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to present and discuss the findings obtained in three Learning Communities with regards to the processes of creation, development and consolidation of the dialogic leadership. In the analysis, the role of the different community members in the school organization is included. Design/methodology: A review of the scientific literature about the concepts of leadership, educational leadership and dialogic leadership is presented. On this basis, the empirical work has been developed on the basis of the communicative methodology, which stresses the egalitarian dialogue between researchers and the subjects of the social reality being studied. Three schools transformed into a Learning Community in diverse moments (1978, 2001 and 2013) have been selected and people with different profiles were interviewed. Findings: The results obtained contribute to the understanding about the development of the dialogic learning in these three Learning Communities, as well as how it is reinforced with the community. On the basis of the results obtained in the interviews, the aspects of participation and leadership in relation to the learning processes are highlighted. Research limitations/implications: Dialogic leadership in Learning Communities is developed in very diverse school contexts, being this article focused in three schools. Practical implications: The participation of the whole community in the dialogic leadership in Learning Communities has implications that go beyond the school. Social implications: Learning Communities have demonstrated the improvement of academic results and the overcoming of school failure, according with the objectives of the European Strategy 2020. In this sense, the dialogic leadership reinforces this dimension contributing to social impact. Originality/value: This article presents empirical data about how the dialogic leadership is created, developed and consolidated in three Learning Communities, according to the dialogic turn of societies and social sciences.