Thinking Relationally About the “School Leader”

Abstract

This paper engages with the program outlined by Scott Eacott (2015) in Educational Leadership Relationally. I aim to mobilize some of the themes explored in the book in order to analyse a contemporary phenomenon in the administration of education, namely, the enactment of standards for leadership practice. I situate my analysis in the Canadian context, in particular, the province of Ontario. This analytical engagement has two purposes: first, to investigate the possibilities that a relational approach has to offer to the study of the enactment of leadership standards in education; and second, to interrogate some of the assumptions and implications of the relational project for the study of educational administration. I conclude with critical comments, recommendations, and suggestions for further exploration and scholarship.