Leading Practices of Steiner School Principals: A Reflective Practice Perspective

Abstract

The study is located in a Steiner and broader educational context. There has been a shift towards a principal leadership model in Steiner school settings that have been required to meet the contemporary realities of increased regulatory and compliance-driven demands. This is at odds with non-hierarchical Steiner organisational models, which reflect the educational and social renewal ideals of Steiner’s world view. Steiner school principals are caught in the crossfire of this ideological divide. Through an autoethnographic inquiry using the theory of practice architectures as a framing and an analytic tool, I explored the nature of my leading practices as principal in a volatile Steiner school context where I ‘sat in the fire’ of whole school upheaval over a sustained period. My narrative inquiry has revealed that the practice of shared and collective responsibility within Steiner’s republican/democratic ideal is not impossible where there is a principal role in the school’s leadership arrangements. Capable, praxis-led leading practices are not only possible to overcome persistent doubt and uncertainty in the Steiner context, but also crucial in developing both its educational and social ideals. This involves moving beyond simplistic binaries of hierarchy/non-hierarchy to acknowledge multiple authorities in the school, as well as a deep and shared understanding of the role of decision making, pedagogical leadership, and the power of reflective practice in shaping capable, praxis-led leading practices towards renewal. The research findings are highly significant, as the first in Australia which focuses on lived experience as a basis for bringing to light the nature of such leading practices in a specific context.