Email this article 
Distributed Leadership: A Potential Agency for Traversing Power Relations as Impediments to Curriculum Transformation and Implementation of Environmental Education
Abstract
Decades after the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm declared environmental education (EE) an essential tool to mitigate environmental challenges, the implementation of EE still faces many obstacles. Accordingly, innovative, and solution-oriented approaches remain vital to enable environment-driven pedagogy in formal and non-formal education settings. This paper, which is located within the context of a case study that was conducted with the aim to investigate the application of distributed leadership in the teaching of EE in South Africa, reports on hierarchical power relations as impediments to curriculum transformation and implementation and, by extension, a hindrance to the infusion of EE in pedagogy. The results of this study suggest that hierarchical power relations in the schooling system hamper the involvement and participation of various stakeholders in key decision-making responsibilities, particularly, curriculum management. Accordingly, processes such as curriculum modification which are essential to enable the implementation of EE are impeded. The researchers of the current study argue that, based on its marked successes in various spaces, especially in the realm of education; distributed leadership could be one of the viable agencies to enable EE implementation.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Ajayi, O.V. 2017. Distinguish between Primary Sources of Data and Secondary Sources of Data. [Unpublished PhD Science Education Report]. Benue State University: Makurdi.
Alhojailan, M. I. 2012, ‘Thematic Analysis: A Critical Review of Its Process and Evaluation’, West East Journal of Social Sciences, vol.1, no.1, pp.39 - 47.
Alsubaie, M.A 2016, ‘Curriculum development: Teacher involvement in curriculum development, Journal of Education and Practice, vol.7, no.9, 106 -7
Anderson, A. & Ronson, B 2005, ‘Democracy-The First Principle of Health Promoting Schools’, The International Electronic Journal of Health Education, vol. 8, pp.24-35.
Annan-Diab, F. & Molinari, C 2017, ‘Interdisciplinarity: Practical approach to advancing education for sustainability and for the Sustainable Development Goals’, The International Journal of Management Education, vol. 15, pp.73 – 83.
Anney, V.N 2014, ‘Ensuring the Quality of the Findings of Qualitative Research: Looking at Trustworthiness Criteria’, Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, vol.5, no.2, pp.272-81.
Avissar, I., Alkaher, I. & Gan, D 2018, ‘The role of distributed leadership in mainstreaming environmental sustainability into campus life in an Israeli teaching college: A case study’, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol.19, no.3, pp.518-46
Aypay, A. & Akyürek, M.I 2021, ‘A systematic review of distributed leadership research from 2000 to 2020’, Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, vol.5, pp.1-39.
Bamford-Wade, A., & Moss, C 2010, ‘Transformational leadership and shared governance: an action study’, Journal of Nursing Management, vol.18, pp.815-21.
Benjamin D., and Adu, E. O 2019, ‘Challenges teachers face in the integration of Environmental Education into the South African curriculum’, American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, vol.3, no.10, pp.157-66.
Check, J. & Schutt, R.K. 2012. Research Methods in education. London: Sage.
Coetzee, D. 2019. The effect of the ideology of new managerial professionalism on the South African education system’, South African Journal of Education, vol. 39, no. 3, https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v39n4a1871
Cosenza, M.N 2015, ‘Defining Teacher Leadership Affirming the Teacher Leader Model Standards’, Issues in Teacher Education, vol. 24, no.12, 79-99.
Creswell, J.W 2015, Educational Research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. [5th Ed.]. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Crossman, A 2018, Understanding Purposive Sampling: An Overview of the Method and Its Applications, viewed 3 December 2022,.
Courpasson, D., and Golsorkhi, D. 2011. Power and resistance: variations on “what’s going on politically in and around organizations?” Management, vol.15 no.1, pp.1-46
Department of Basic Education, DBE 1995. White Paper on Education and Training, Pretoria: Government Printer.
Department of Basic Education, (DBE) 2011, National curriculum statement (NSC) – Curriculum and assessment policy statement (CAPS): Natural Sciences Senior Phase grade 7-9, Pretoria: Government Printer.
Department of Basic Education, DBE 2020, Subject Advisor Profiling Study South Africa. Pretoria: Government Printers
Department of Home Affairs 2016, Green paper on international migration. Government Gazette, 24 June 2016. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Department of Social Development 2021, Green paper on comprehensive social security and retirement reform (2021). Government Gazette, 18 August 2021, Pretoria: Government Printer.
Erjavec, J 2021, Stakeholders in curriculum development – case of Supply Chain and Logistics programme. 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd’21) Universitat Polit`ecnica de Val`encia, Val`encia, 2021, pp.397 – 403. Accessed on 14 October 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/HEAd21.2021.12875
Fagrell, P., Fahlgren, A. & Gunnarsson, S 2020, ‘Curriculum development and quality work in higher education in Sweden: The external stakeholder perspective’, Journal of Praxis in Higher Education, vol.2, no.1, pp.2-19
Heimans, S., Singh, P., & Kwok, H 2022, ‘Pedagogic rights, public education, and democracy. European Educational Research Journal, vol.21, no.1, pp.71 – 82. https://doi.org/10.1177/14749041211011920
Leal Filho, W., Raath, S., Lazzarini, B., Vargas, V.R., de Souza, Anholon, R, Quelhas, O.L. G, Haddad, R., Klavins, M. & Orlovic, V.L 2018, ‘The role of transformation in learning and education for sustainability’, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol.199, pp.286-95.
Flaherty, A 2018, Power and empowerment in schools, pp. 23-36. In Weinberger, Y. & Libman, Z. (Eds.), Contemporary pedagogies in teacher education and development, London: INTEC OPEN.
Foucault, M 1982, ‘The subject and power’ Critical Inquiry, vol.8, no.4, pp.777-9.
Glavič, P 2020, ‘Identifying key issues of education for sustainable development’, Sustainability, vol.12, no.16, 6500. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166500
Goksoy, D 2016, ‘Analysis of the relationship between shared leadership and distributed leadership’, Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, vol.65, pp.295-312.
Grant, C 2017, ‘Distributed leadership in South Africa: yet another passing fad or a robust theoretical tool for investigating school leadership practice?’, School Leadership & Management, vol.37, no.5, pp.457-75
Green, M., & Somerville, M 2015, ‘Sustainable education researching practice in primary schools’, Environmental Education Research, vol.2, no.6, pp.832–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2014.923382
Grenda, J.P 2011, Instances and principles of distributed leadership: A multiple cases study of Illinois middle school principals’ leadership practices. Unpublished PhD Thesis. Illinois: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Guattari, F 1992. Pour une refondation des pratiques sociales.” Le monde diplomatique, October 1992, 26 – 27. viewed 08 September 2022, .
Gürsoy, E & Sağlam, GT 2011, ‘ELT teacher trainees’ attitudes towards environmental education and their tendency to use it in the language classroom’, Journal of International Education Research, vol.7 no.4: pp.47-52.
Ham, S.H. & Sewing, D.R 1988, ‘Barriers to environmental education’, Journal of Environmental Education, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 17-24.
Hammersley, M. & Traianou, A 2012, Ethics and Educational Research. British Educational Research Association. viewed 18 May 2021, .
Harris, A 2008, ‘Distributed leadership: according to the evidence’, Journal of Educational Administration, vol.46, no,2, pp.172-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09578230810863253
Hebe, H.N 2015, Exploring the implementation of environmental education in grade R: A case study of selected early childhood development (ECD) centres. PhD Thesis Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University
Hoy, WK. & Sweetland, S.R. 2000, ‘School bureaucracies that work: Enabling, not coercive’, Journal of School Leadership, vol.10, pp.525-41.
Jennings, J. L., & Bearak, J.M 2014, ‘Teaching to the Test” in the NCLB era: How test predictability affects our understanding of student performance’, Educational Researcher, vol.43, no.8, pp.381-9. DOI: 10.3102/0013189X14554449
Johnston, J 2009, ‘Transformative Environmental Education: Stepping Outside the Curriculum Box’, Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, vol.14, pp.149-57.
Jones, C 2009, ‘Interdisciplinary approach: Advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits of interdisciplinary studies’, ESSAI, 7, pp. 76 – 81.
Jurado-de-los-Santos, P., Colmenero-Ruiz, M.J., Valle-Flórez, R.E., Castellary-López, M. & Figueredo-Canosa, V 2021, ‘The teacher’s perspective on inclusion in education: An analysis of curriculum design’, Sustainability, 13, 4766. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094766
Kamaruzaman, N. L., Musa, K., & Hashim, Z 2020, ‘Teacher Leadership: Concept and Framework’, International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 574-87.
Ketlhoilwe, M 2003, ‘Environmental education policy implementation in Botswana: The role of secondary education officers and school heads’, Southern African Journal of Environmental Education, vol. 20, pp. 75 – 84.
Koskei, K.K 2015, ‘Assessment of stakeholders’ influence on curriculum development process in secondary schools in Kericho County’, Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol.20 no. 3, pp.79 – 87.
Ladkin, S 2017, ‘Exploring unequal power relations within schools: The authenticity of the student voice’, Journal of Initial Teacher Inquiry, vol.3, pp. 37 – 40.
Leedy, P. D. & Ormord, J. E 2013, Practical Research: Planning and Design. [10th ed.]. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Luppi, E 2011, ‘Training to education for sustainable development through e-learning’, Procedia Social and Behavioural Sciences, vol. 15, 3244e3251. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.04.279
Maharajh, L.R., Nkosi, T. & Mkhize, M.C 2016, ‘Teachers’ experiences of the implementation of the curriculum and assessment policy statement (CAPS) in three primary schools in KwaZulu–Natal’, Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review, vol.4, no.3, pp. 371-88.
Mahmood, A 2012, ‘Role of education in human development: A study of South Asian countries’, Business Review, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 130-42. https://doi.org/10.54784/1990-6587.1210
Manni, A., Sporre, K., & Ottander, C 2017, ‘Emotions and values: a case study of meaning-making in ESE’, Environmental Education Research, vol. 23, no.4, pp. 451-464, DOI:10.1080/13504622.2016.1175549
Marques, R & Xavier, C.R 2020, ‘The challenges and difficulties of teachers in the insertion and practice of environmental education in the school curriculum’, International Journal on Social and Education Sciences, vol.2, no.1: pp.49 – 56.
Maryono. M.M 2015 ‘The Implementation of the Environmental Education at “Adiwiyata” Schools in Pacitan Regency: An Analysis of the Implementation of Grindle Model Policy’, Journal of Education and Practice, vol. 6, no. 17, pp. 31–42.
Mavuso, M. P 2016, ‘Scratching the outside? Perspectives of subject advisors on their practices in supporting teaching and learning in South African schools’, International Journal of Educational Sciences, vol.12, no.3, pp.184-91
Mwendwa, B 2017, ‘Learning for sustainable development: Integrated environmental education in the curriculum of ordinary secondary schools in Tanzania’, Journal of Sustainable Education, vol.12.
Nawab, A., & Asad, M. M 2020, ‘Leadership practices of school principal through a distributed leadership lens: a case study of secondary school in urban Pakistan’, International Journal of Public Leadership, vol.16, no.4, pp.411- 22.
Obi, U.N & Rembe S 2017, ‘What categories of teachers and subject advisers are involved in curriculum development in the Fort Beaufort District in the Eastern Cape Province?’, International Journal of Educational Science, vol.16, no. 1, pp.130 -7.
Palmer, J. & De Klerk, D 2012, ‘Power relations: exploring meanings in the curriculum and assessment policy statement (2011)’, Communitas, vol.17, pp. 61-79.
Permanasari, G.H., Suherman, S & Budiati, L 2021, ‘The implementation of environmental education to achieve sustainable development: literature review’, E3S Web of Conferences 317, 01069.
Pitsoe, V. & Letseka, M 2012, ‘Foucault’s discourse and power: Implications for instructionist classroom management’, Open Journal of Philosophy, vol. 3, no. 1, pp.23 – 28
Qadach, M., Schechter, C & Da’as, R 2020, From Principals to Teachers to Students: Exploring an Integrative Model for Predicting Students’ Achievements. Educational Administration Quarterly, 1– 43.
Räthzel, N. & Uzzell, D 2009, ‘Transformative environmental education: a collective rehearsal for reality’, Environmental Education Research, vol.15, no.3, 263-77. DOI: 10.1080/13504620802567015
Reddy C 2021, ‘Environmental education, social justice, and teacher education: Enabling meaningful environmental learning in local contexts’, South African Journal of Higher Education, vol.35, no. 1, pp.161-77.
Saziso, M. & Chimhenga, S 2021, ‘Curriculum modification as a critical approach to assist learners with special needs in institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe’, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, vol.5, no.3, pp.437-44.
Shabalala, N. P 2019, Perceptions of teachers and learners towards the integration of environmental education in the classroom. Unpublished MEd dissertation, Pretoria: University of South Africa.
Sharma, R. & Monteiro, S 2016, ‘Creating social change: The ultimate goal of education for sustainability’, International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, vol.6, no.1, pp.72-6.
Sobh, R. & Perry, C 2006, ‘Research Design and Data Analysis in Realism Research’, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 40, no. 11, pp.1194-209.
Spillane, J.P., Camburn, E.M., Pustejovsky, J., Pareja, A.S. & Lewis, G 2008, ‘Taking a distributed perspective Epistemological and methodological trade-off in operationalizing the leader-plus aspect’, Journal of Educational Administration, vol.46, no.2, pp.189-213.
Strydom, H. & Venter, L. 2002, Sampling and Sampling Methods. In: De Vos, A.S., Ed., Research at Grass Roots: For the Social Sciences and Human Service Profession. Van Schaik: Pretoria, pp.197-211.
Trammell, J. M 2016, The relationship between distributed leadership and teacher affective commitment in public and private schools [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Carson-Newman University.
Vaismoradi, M. & Snelgrove, S 2019, ‘Theme in qualitative Content Analysis and Thematic Analysis. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, vol.20, no. 3, 1-14.
Volante, L 2004, ‘What every educator and policymaker should know’, Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, vol.35, pp.1-6.
Wattleton, F 2000, Teachers as leaders, viewed 28 December 2022,
Woods, P.A., Bennett, N., Harvey, J.A. & Wise, C 2004, ‘Variabilities and Dualities in Distributed Leadership: Findings from a Systematic Literature Review’, Educational Management Administration & Leadership, vol.32 pp.40, pp. 439-57. DOI: 10.1177/1741143204046497
Yin, R 2014, Case Study Research Design and Methods. [5th Ed.]. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 282
Zheng, X., Yin, H., & Liu, Y 2019, ‘The Relationship between Distributed Leadership and Teacher Efficacy in China: The Mediation of Satisfaction and Trust’, The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 509-18.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30870/jppi.v9i1.19500
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2023 Jurnal Penelitian dan Pembelajaran IPA
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Jurnal Penelitian dan Pembelajaran IPA is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Copyright © 2023 Jurnal Penelitian dan Pembelajaran IPA. All rights reserved.