Critical Leadership Towards Transformative Change: Re-Imagining School Leadership Development in Post-Colonial Africa

Research on school leadership preparation and development on the African continent has been growing significantly in recent years. A close examination of this literature reveals a deficit bias that presents leadership preparation as inadequate leading to perceptions of ineffective leadership practice. In this literature, leadership preparation is understood as the formal training of school principals and those who hold similar positions of authority. The paper argues that this conception is premised on Western models that center individualism and the hierarchy of leadership and is incongruent with the socio-cultural realities within the African context. Within this contextual dissonance, leadership learning is narrowly conceptualized and is thus constraining to the applied context. The paper adopts a critical post-structural analysis to make a case for a dialogical and transformative approach to leadership preparation and development. It draws upon Global South philosophies of Paulo Freire—a South American philosopher whose approach to leadership development centers dialogue, critical consciousness and continuous engagement; Sophie Oluwole, a Nigerian philosopher from the Yoruba tribe, whose philosophy centers cultural acceptance that promotes dialogue and continuous criticism; and the Ubuntu-centered philosophy of Mogobe Ramose, which encourages critical dialogue between knowledge systems. The constant engagement and dialogue espoused in the three philosophical stances allow for contestation and fluidity that serve as bedrocks for healthy and trusting environments for leadership development, permitting a more nuanced understanding of how leadership is learned. The proposed approach politicizes leadership learning and recognizes it as contextual, collectivist and contested. The paper thus advances a radical way of thinking about school leadership preparation and development, which arguably holds better prospects for leadership that is more responsive, inclusive, and sustainable.