Indicators of improved learning contexts: a collaborative perspective on educational leadership

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to illustrate indicators for improved learning contexts based on the notion of collaborative leadership. Collaborative leadership refers to synergetic educational leadership practices through co-performance and a continuous and shared learning process. We argue that the indicators could serve as a bridge between education and the complex and increasing change within the social life and world of work. For finding the indicators, we combined two intertwining dimensions: ‘leadership in education’ and ‘education for leadership’. They were studied by a tested model describing collaborative leadership by a set of attributes. We then applied these attributes to a curriculum reform in a global business school, which aims at educating future leaders. Our data consist of the curricular narrative and interviews with the expert group that designed the curriculum. As a result of a qualitative content analysis, we found altogether 31 indicators, of which we introduce the ones that were related to the most frequent attributes of collaborative leadership. However, we suggest that some or even all of the indicators could be adaptable to other learning contexts at other educational levels.