COMPLEXITY LEADERSHIP THEORY IN EDUCATION REFORM: ILLUMINATING LEADERSHIP STRATEGY THROUGH VALUE-CREATION STORIES

Abstract

Even educational leaders that advocate and support systemic change are limited by their own individual agency. Embracing this paradox, founded on complexity leadership theory (CLT), this doctoral dissertation used value-creation stories to illuminate the personalization inherent in leadership strategy, bringing voice to the experience of human agents, all to increase our understanding of enabling leadership for the purpose of supporting education reform. Rich descriptions of the six enabling leadership practices were generated from the participants who were actively living meaningful reform through the construction and implementation of a blended learning framework project at a Canadian polytechnic institution during COVID-19. Three types of memory, retained information that influenced future actions, were revealed: inside memory, outside memory, and absent memory. How each of these types of memories behave as either an inhibitor or a catalyst to information flows is demonstrated throughout this case study. How understanding behaves as a strange attractor was another significant finding. These case study findings should be used by practitioners from any educational setting to support successful education reform and to improve the effectiveness of their own enabling leadership practice.