Presenting the Model of Eco-Leadership in Elementary Schools with an Interpretive Phenomenological Approach

Introduction: Nowadays, environmental protection and conservation have become a critical issue worldwide. This has led to significant managerial and leadership challenges in the current state of the educational fabric of schools. Many principals and teachers argue that talking about ecological educa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Adel Zahed babolan, Seyyedmohammad Seyyedkalan
Format: Article
Language:fas
Published: Research Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (RCESD) 2024-10-01
Series:محیط زیست و توسعه فرابخشی
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.envjournal.ir/article_202756_52402ff44329ef80c451ab6ffb05c28a.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832586573618610176
author Adel Zahed babolan
Seyyedmohammad Seyyedkalan
author_facet Adel Zahed babolan
Seyyedmohammad Seyyedkalan
author_sort Adel Zahed babolan
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Nowadays, environmental protection and conservation have become a critical issue worldwide. This has led to significant managerial and leadership challenges in the current state of the educational fabric of schools. Many principals and teachers argue that talking about ecological educational and training activities and observing the environmental conditions of schools is still the missing link in the educational system, which is impossible without valid reflections and criticisms of the school environment. Thus, schools need environmental leadership to address these challenges, which has attracted the special attention of leadership researchers. This research aims to present an ecological leadership model in elementary schools with an interpretive phenomenological approach.Materials and Methods: The research method is qualitative regarding its objectives and interpretive phenomenology in data collection. The research environment consists of school principals and teachers who have a history of green schools. They were selected using a targeted snowball sampling method to reach 23 participants until theoretical saturation was achieved. The data collection tool was a semi-structured interview developed based on the understanding and experiences of teachers and school principals in different regions of Ardabil province. The interview protocol was evaluated for validity and reliability using Cohen's Kappa coefficient, which yielded a value of 0.71, indicating a relatively high level of agreement between coders.Results: The study uncovered that environmental leadership is delineated by 98 concepts across 17 axes, organized into three main themes. Drawing from insights of managers and teachers, it embodies six core attributes: fostering group cohesion, envisioning ideals, acting on beliefs, showing individual consideration, and providing inspirational motivation. These characteristics of environmental leadership are nurtured through value philosophy, goals and objectives, overarching policies, educational and training frameworks, psychological underpinnings, and sociological contexts. Nonetheless, advancing environmental leadership encounters significant challenges, necessitating a nuanced grasp of supportive environments from academic and training policymakers.     Discussion: Given the urgent need for environmental leadership in elementary schools, achieving sustainable environmental practices in the future depends on training school administrators and engaging both internal and external stakeholders. This research addresses the challenges and issues fronted by these agendas, aligning with recent Ministry of Education initiatives (since 2018) aimed at implementing environmental programs in schools. The findings of this research have innovatively defined environmental leadership within educational management, identified and analyzed environmental challenges specific to elementary schools, and proposed solutions. These insights pave the way for a new leadership model capable of navigating school ecological complexities and addressing local community environmental concerns in future crises.
format Article
id doaj-art-5b64fc956331450da658d658c673e94d
institution Kabale University
issn 2980-9088
language fas
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher Research Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (RCESD)
record_format Article
series محیط زیست و توسعه فرابخشی
spelling doaj-art-5b64fc956331450da658d658c673e94d2025-01-25T07:55:49ZfasResearch Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (RCESD)محیط زیست و توسعه فرابخشی2980-90882024-10-0198511410.22034/envj.2024.436078.1338202756Presenting the Model of Eco-Leadership in Elementary Schools with an Interpretive Phenomenological ApproachAdel Zahed babolan0Seyyedmohammad Seyyedkalan1Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Educational scinence and psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, IranDepartment of Educational Administration, Farhangian University, P.O. Box 14665-889, Tehran, IranIntroduction: Nowadays, environmental protection and conservation have become a critical issue worldwide. This has led to significant managerial and leadership challenges in the current state of the educational fabric of schools. Many principals and teachers argue that talking about ecological educational and training activities and observing the environmental conditions of schools is still the missing link in the educational system, which is impossible without valid reflections and criticisms of the school environment. Thus, schools need environmental leadership to address these challenges, which has attracted the special attention of leadership researchers. This research aims to present an ecological leadership model in elementary schools with an interpretive phenomenological approach.Materials and Methods: The research method is qualitative regarding its objectives and interpretive phenomenology in data collection. The research environment consists of school principals and teachers who have a history of green schools. They were selected using a targeted snowball sampling method to reach 23 participants until theoretical saturation was achieved. The data collection tool was a semi-structured interview developed based on the understanding and experiences of teachers and school principals in different regions of Ardabil province. The interview protocol was evaluated for validity and reliability using Cohen's Kappa coefficient, which yielded a value of 0.71, indicating a relatively high level of agreement between coders.Results: The study uncovered that environmental leadership is delineated by 98 concepts across 17 axes, organized into three main themes. Drawing from insights of managers and teachers, it embodies six core attributes: fostering group cohesion, envisioning ideals, acting on beliefs, showing individual consideration, and providing inspirational motivation. These characteristics of environmental leadership are nurtured through value philosophy, goals and objectives, overarching policies, educational and training frameworks, psychological underpinnings, and sociological contexts. Nonetheless, advancing environmental leadership encounters significant challenges, necessitating a nuanced grasp of supportive environments from academic and training policymakers.     Discussion: Given the urgent need for environmental leadership in elementary schools, achieving sustainable environmental practices in the future depends on training school administrators and engaging both internal and external stakeholders. This research addresses the challenges and issues fronted by these agendas, aligning with recent Ministry of Education initiatives (since 2018) aimed at implementing environmental programs in schools. The findings of this research have innovatively defined environmental leadership within educational management, identified and analyzed environmental challenges specific to elementary schools, and proposed solutions. These insights pave the way for a new leadership model capable of navigating school ecological complexities and addressing local community environmental concerns in future crises.https://www.envjournal.ir/article_202756_52402ff44329ef80c451ab6ffb05c28a.pdfleadershipenvironmental leadershipelementary schoolsinterpretive phenomenological approach
spellingShingle Adel Zahed babolan
Seyyedmohammad Seyyedkalan
Presenting the Model of Eco-Leadership in Elementary Schools with an Interpretive Phenomenological Approach
محیط زیست و توسعه فرابخشی
leadership
environmental leadership
elementary schools
interpretive phenomenological approach
title Presenting the Model of Eco-Leadership in Elementary Schools with an Interpretive Phenomenological Approach
title_full Presenting the Model of Eco-Leadership in Elementary Schools with an Interpretive Phenomenological Approach
title_fullStr Presenting the Model of Eco-Leadership in Elementary Schools with an Interpretive Phenomenological Approach
title_full_unstemmed Presenting the Model of Eco-Leadership in Elementary Schools with an Interpretive Phenomenological Approach
title_short Presenting the Model of Eco-Leadership in Elementary Schools with an Interpretive Phenomenological Approach
title_sort presenting the model of eco leadership in elementary schools with an interpretive phenomenological approach
topic leadership
environmental leadership
elementary schools
interpretive phenomenological approach
url https://www.envjournal.ir/article_202756_52402ff44329ef80c451ab6ffb05c28a.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT adelzahedbabolan presentingthemodelofecoleadershipinelementaryschoolswithaninterpretivephenomenologicalapproach
AT seyyedmohammadseyyedkalan presentingthemodelofecoleadershipinelementaryschoolswithaninterpretivephenomenologicalapproach