Phenomenological Representation of Entrepreneurial Leadership Experience in Secondary Schools

Document Type : Scientific - Research

Authors

1 Ph.D. student in Educational Administration,, Department of Educational Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran

2 Department of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran

3 Department of Education<, University of Khorramabad, Khorramabad Iran

10.48308/mpes.2023.232819.1365

Abstract

Purpose: Despite the complexity and ambiguity in the concept of entrepreneurship, the expectations of governments, policymakers and education stakeholders have led to increased pressure on schools to develop entrepreneurship and financial independence. Despite the very few researches that have been done about entrepreneurial leadership in schools, the main issue of the current research was that what kind of connection can entrepreneurship and school leadership have in the current situation and conditions of society and the educational system of Iran?
Materials and methods: Focusing on the transcendental phenomenology approach of Moustakas, the current research tried to count the lived experiences of 19 participants who were selected purposefully and using the criterion sampling technique from among school principals. A three-step sequential phenomenological interview protocol, researchers' field observations, and English and Persian published documents were used to create research data. Analysis and coding of the texts was done using three-stage thematic analysis (basic, organizing and global) and drawing networks of themes. In this process, Maxqda2020 software was used for data management.
Discussion and conclusion: Thematic analysis led to the emergence of 90 basic themes, 34 organizing themes and 9 overarching themes, which were: acquisition entrepreneurship, financial efficiency, financial literacy, educational entrepreneurship, social activism, school cultural ambassador, organizational entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship Independent. Representing the experiences of the participants indicated that school leaders adopted two main strategies to implement entrepreneurial leadership: first, policies to advance school affairs, communicating with parents and teachers, providing diverse courses and extracurriculars for students, prioritizing students' products. and promoting flexibility in the teaching-learning process, which were intra-school solutions. On the other hand, entrepreneurial school leaders used other methods such as giving opportunities to the public to visit the school, taking risks, promoting collaborative work, and achieving and empowering school members, which were extracurricular strategies.

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