1 Revisioning Theories of Rurality and Rural Educational Leadership
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Revisioning theories of rurality and rural educational leadership: Rural contexts and rural school principals in Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. by Kathryn Gay Hardwick-Franco Thesis Submitted to Flinders University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy College of Education, Psychology and Social Work February 2021 1 Declaration I certify that this thesis: 1. Does not incorporate without acknowledgment any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university; and 2. To the best of my knowledge and belief, does not contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text. Signed Kathryn Gay Hardwick-Franco Date 4th September 2020 I acknowledge and I am very thankful for the privilege that is the contribution of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. I am also thankful for the Australian Postgraduate Awards scholarship, founded by the Australian Federal Government. 2 Acknowledgment I acknowledge the support from my loving and wonderful husband, John Franco. I thank him for his unwavering support of my study for the past thirty years; since we met and fell in love at the University of Adelaide while studying the Bachelor of Arts. Without his support and encouragement, I could have invested neither the time nor money into my studies and research. I acknowledge the support of my beautiful daughters, Tijana and Grace. I thank them for their continued encouragement and fitting their lives in and around my study. Their friendship and intellect inspire me. What the next generation have to bring to the world is exciting and hope filled. My parents encouraged and supported my learning and for that I thank them. They both engaged in adult learning, role modelling the possibility of life long study. For that I thank Brian Hardwick and Judy Phelps. I must also thank my old, blind Jack Russel dog, Rosie – my study-buddy – who sat with me through the years it took to research and write my PhD. I thank Associate Professor A. Kimi Coaldrake and Steven Knopoff for their work with me during my first four degrees. They stood by me when a lengthy candidature, protracted by pregnancy and related illnesses, could have seen me withdraw. They demanded the highest standards in scholarship, which set me in good stead. I thank staff at Flinders University who offered support in the form of questions and challenges that spurred me to complete. I especially thank Professor Tara Brabazon for, with her support, I have been able to complete the PhD and publish work in parallel to my doctoral studies during the candidature. Her weekly Friday WriteBunch skype sessions and weekly vlogs offered me a way to connect to academia while residing and researching in remote South Australia. Her intellect is breathtaking. She remains personable, 3 supportive and positive; her supervision of my thesis has been nothing short of incredible, inspiring, encouraging, positive, demanding...the superlatives go on. I thank the rural school principals who allowed me insights into the role. For ethical reasons, I cannot name them. But their generosity and sharing of their experiences informs the thesis. I must thank the Australian Government for the Research Training Program Scholarship and the Australian Postgraduate Awards scholarship. Being awarded a scholarship to study at doctoral level is a privilege I take very seriously. I thank university staff for supporting my application. I thank family and friends for sharing the journey. The following thesis is my own work. I have not used a professional editor. I take full responsibility for the work. 4 Acknowledgement of country Flinders University acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians, both past and present, of the various locations the University operates on, and recognises their continued relationship and responsibility to these Lands and waters. The research for this thesis was conducted on Kaurna Land and Barngarla Land. 5 Abstract This doctoral thesis examines the intersections between rurality and rural educational leadership. Yet the rationale for this research extends far beyond this nexus. What happens in rural contexts also impacts non- rural contexts, and it is leaders in the rural setting who bear the responsibility of supporting the rural community to address the complex and multiple impacts. Currently, political leaders and citizens are looking for ways to navigate the effects from multiple crises including climate change, health pandemics, resulting mass movement of humanity, the black lives matter movements and a pending collapse of capitalism. Much of the impact from these effects are experienced in rural contexts. Within our current global environment, there is an urgent need to understand and account for the ways in which rurality and rural educational leadership can support the planet, thereby ensuring a future for humanity. My original contribution to knowledge includes revisioning theories of rurality, reconfiguring rural educational leadership and revealing the nature of rural educational leadership in Eyre Peninsula, South Australia (EPSA). This doctoral thesis summons existing research, while offering a new pathway to combine the theoretical and empirical, to formulate new models of rurality and rural leadership. Section One revisions theories of rurality. This cannot be achieved through contemporary conservative empirical research, for rurality does ‘not sit in a petri dish, waiting to be researched’ (Brabazon, Redhead & Chivaura, 2019, p. 4). Results highlight an urgent need to reference contemporary knowledge about rurality, to revision theories of rurality. The result of revisioning rurality is a model that articulates 6-meta-impacts. The implication from my research is that the 6-meta-impacts can inform future research undertaken about contemporary rurality. Section Two, similarly, theorises rural educational leadership. The result is a model defining nine aspects, which configure rural educational leadership. A consequence of my findings is that these nine aspects inform research into rural educational leadership. Section Three undertakes empirical research through an examination of results of interviews with rural educational leaders who live and work in EPSA. I show how to use the two models, the 6-meta-impacts that inform revisioning theories of rurality, and the model that defines nine aspects of rural educational leadership. While the research examined rural 6 leadership through the role of the rural principal, the theorising has implications for other leaders in rural contexts. Results highlight the nature of educational leadership is distinct for rural principals. An outcome of the findings is a set of recommendations designed to inform the support required by rural educational leaders. My research is informed by an examination of the work of scholars, global-NGOs, and nation-states. I show ways in which the work of each of these three sectors influences the work of the other sectors. I investigate how the work of each sector (data collection, research, publications, policy and funding decisions) impacts the data, research, publications, policy and funding decisions of the other sectors. My examination exposes that currently, there is not sufficient disaggregation of data to determine the levels to which rurality is different from non-rurality. Instead, I show that rurality and non-rurality are at once the same as - and different from - one another. Future research is required that differentiates for a range of rural contexts, before disaggregated data can expose the full nature of the reality of contemporary ruralities and rural leadership. The thesis shows how revisioning theories of rurality contributes to - and intersects with - theorising rural educational leadership. The two models I developed are used to create new knowledge that exposes the nature of contemporary rurality and rural leadership. It is this knowledge that is required in order to determine ways in which the world can support rurality and rural leaders, for the success of rurality and rural leaders also impact those in non-rurality. It is in rurality that leaders are now required to address the multiple crises playing out across the globe that threaten the existence of much of humanity. Key words: rural, leadership, theory, rural educational leadership, rural principal, rural education. 7 Contents Declaration ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgment ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgement of country ........................................................................................................................... 5 Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................. 6 Contents ............................................................................................................................................................ 8 Table of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... 11 Table of Tables ................................................................................................................................................