Leadership, Learning, and Change in Post-Conflict Schools: Much Ado About a Lot

Abstract

Interest in education in post-conflict societies has grown considerably over the last decade. This might well be because contemporary conflicts tend to be more deadly for children and more destructive of civilian infrastructure, including schools, than traditional wars. Consequently, conventional priorities in these contexts, including the provision of food, shelter, and healthcare, no longer take precedence over schooling, which is now recognised as being essential to maintaining communities, the psychological recovery of children, and the general recovery of society. Research into the complexities of school leadership in post-conflict contexts, however, has been neglected. The main purpose of this chapter, therefore, is to assist in rectifying this deficit by highlighting the issues and influences that school leaders face as they perform their work, as well as the nature of the context within which these issues and influences arise. In doing so, particular reference is made to their implications for student, professional, and organisational learning agendas. Finally, the chapter advocates that this expository work serves as a vital precursor to empirical case-study research for generating robust examples of school leadership exercised in post-new war environments that may be used to develop theoretical models for informing “best practice.”