Understanding Educational Leadership Through Semi-Structured Interviews: Some Instructional and Practical Insights

Location

DeSantis Room 1049

Format Type

Plenary

Format Type

Paper

Start Date

15-1-2020 1:15 PM

End Date

15-1-2020 1:35 PM

Abstract

Understanding educational leadership through semi-structured interviews: Some instructional and practical insights

based on my teaching experience in a course about educational leadership, the aim of this presentation is to illuminate the challenges, complexities, strategies, and benefits of semi-structured interviewing in academic assignments about leadership (e.g., principalship, assistant principalship) in educational organizations.

The purpose of the interview is to allow MA students in Educational Administration to trace the professional histories and life stories of educational leaders and experience the wealth of information one can gain from semi-structured interviews. Basically, the students are required to interview an educational leader (during two meetings), using an interview guide aimed at exploring the leaders' career cycle and leadership orientations. Thus, the presentation will focus on several aspects of this learning assignment:

  • The 'unknown mission'; teaching students to study an 'unexplored terrain' by means of the qualitative research.
  • The process of teaching the essentials of semi-structured interviews as part of the final assignment in the course.
  • The inductive analysis expected from the students and the challenges underlying this kind of assignment.
  • Teaching methods intended to increase students' capacity in writing a qualitative report.

In this presentation the presenter analyzes the distinctive characteristics of the planning phase (e.g., sample, sampling, location) and the implementation phase (e.g., the opening stage, rapport, hazards) in interviewing educational leaders about their career experiences, leadership styles, self-concept, emotion, and so on.

Keywords

Instructional assignment, educational leadership, HE teaching in qualitative research

Comments

I chose to present in the track of 'Teaching and Learning' in HE

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Jan 15th, 1:15 PM Jan 15th, 1:35 PM

Understanding Educational Leadership Through Semi-Structured Interviews: Some Instructional and Practical Insights

DeSantis Room 1049

Understanding educational leadership through semi-structured interviews: Some instructional and practical insights

based on my teaching experience in a course about educational leadership, the aim of this presentation is to illuminate the challenges, complexities, strategies, and benefits of semi-structured interviewing in academic assignments about leadership (e.g., principalship, assistant principalship) in educational organizations.

The purpose of the interview is to allow MA students in Educational Administration to trace the professional histories and life stories of educational leaders and experience the wealth of information one can gain from semi-structured interviews. Basically, the students are required to interview an educational leader (during two meetings), using an interview guide aimed at exploring the leaders' career cycle and leadership orientations. Thus, the presentation will focus on several aspects of this learning assignment:

  • The 'unknown mission'; teaching students to study an 'unexplored terrain' by means of the qualitative research.
  • The process of teaching the essentials of semi-structured interviews as part of the final assignment in the course.
  • The inductive analysis expected from the students and the challenges underlying this kind of assignment.
  • Teaching methods intended to increase students' capacity in writing a qualitative report.

In this presentation the presenter analyzes the distinctive characteristics of the planning phase (e.g., sample, sampling, location) and the implementation phase (e.g., the opening stage, rapport, hazards) in interviewing educational leaders about their career experiences, leadership styles, self-concept, emotion, and so on.