Leadership practices of Catholic secondary schools principals within a multi-religious context towards a framework of educational leadership in Bangladesh

• Main Author: Gomes, Shankar Dominic
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2017
• Subjects: Educational leadership > Bangladesh; School principals > Bangladesh; Catholic schools > Bangladesh; High school principals > Bangladesh
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/1328
• Institution: De La Salle University

This dissertation explores the principals nettrito/leadership practices in Catholic Secondary Schools in Bangladesh by focusing and developing a framework for educational leadership within a multi-religious context that is anchored on the Christian faith based on the Gospel values. The Creswell (2009) model was adapted for qualitative case study, initially investigating the leadership practices of the principals that is evaluated either as transformational, transactional, or laissez faire leadership styles. The six subjects of these Case studies were principals of six Catholic Secondary Schools in Rajshahi Diocese of Bangladesh. Semi-structured personal interviews based on ten common questions, observations and review of documents was used as techniques to gather data the six steps of Creswell (2009) were also used to analyze the transcribed interviews. The analytical process required open coding method that progressed into a comparison of concepts, cluster categories, themes, and emergent concepts that led to a nettrito/leadership framework which is based on principal leadership practices. Transformational and servant leadership styles influenced the practices, anchored on Christian faith and beliefs with great emphasis given to the Gospel values. These important themes synthesized the ten common questions which resulted in the story line that answered the four research questions. The principals have had adequate and long experience firmly anchored in faith and Christian beliefs. The unique leadership features of Bangladeshi principals were found in their practice of encouraging multi-religious ceremonies that embraced all the beliefs both transformational and servant in leading followers, practicing plurality and inclusiveness with regular pastoral visits and used their faith experience to address the challenges in spite of scant resources that included family crises, abject poverty, interference in school administration from local leaders, various pagan practices of tribal leaders, preference of parents to make their children work in farms (a prevalent practice in rural areas), and technology gap between teachers and their students, even in the use of cellular phones and computers. There is also the important component of regular pastoral visits to show concern for the welfare of students and their parents. Future research could focus on teachers’, students’ and parents’ perceptions of Catholic Secondary School principals’ leadership within multi-religious context in Bangladesh.