Thesis Is Presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Western Australia
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LEADERSHIP AT THE PRIMARY SCHOOL LEVEL IN POST-CONFLICT TIMOR-LESTE: A STUDY OF THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND CURRENT CONCERNS OF SCHOOL LEADERS Shayla Maria Babo Ribeiro Master of Business Administration Master of Management Bachelor of Science (Cartography) This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The University of Western Australia Graduate School of Education Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education 2019 THESIS DECLARATION I, Shayla Maria Babo Ribeiro, certify that: This thesis has been substantially accomplished during enrolment in the degree. This thesis does not contain material which has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma in my name, in any university or other tertiary institution. No part of this work will, in the future, be used in a submission in my name, for any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution without the prior approval of The University of Western Australia and where applicable, any partner institution responsible for the joint-award of this degree. This thesis does not contain any material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. The work(s) are not in any way a violation or infringement of any copyright, trademark, patent, or other rights whatsoever of any person. The research involving human data reported in this thesis was assessed and approved by The University of Western Australia Human Research Ethics Committee. Approval #: RA/4/1/7396. Written patient consent was obtained and archived for the research involving patient data reported in this thesis. I The following approvals were obtained prior to commencing the relevant work described in this thesis: Research Proposal presented to the Graduate School of Education, Research authority from the Ministry of Education, Timor-Leste, and Human Research Ethics Approval from The University of Western Australia. This thesis does not contain any work that I have published, nor work under review for publication. Shayla Maria Babo Ribeiro Date: 17 October 2019 II ABSTRACT Based on the premise that leadership can only be understood within the context in which it is exercised, the study reported in this thesis aimed to develop an understanding of leadership at the primary school level in the post-conflict and developing country of Timor- Leste. It investigated the historical background to, and recent developments in relation to primary school leadership, as well as the current concerns encountered by primary school leaders and the strategies adopted by them in order to deal with those concerns. Review of the school leadership literature indicated that on the one hand, it has been dominated by perspectives generated from Western and conflict-free environments. On the other hand, there has been a dearth of research and associated literature relating to leadership at the individual school level in post-conflict societies. Similarly, only a limited corpus of research exists on school level leadership in developing countries. The study reported in this thesis is one contribution to addressing these deficits. The reported study was guided by the theoretical underpinnings of interpretivism. It employed qualitative methods of data collection, including semi-structured interviews, document analysis and unstructured non-participant observations. Maximum variation sampling and purposive sampling were the strategies used for the selection of the primary schools and interview participants. A total of 30 individual interviews were conducted. These comprised 14 interviews with school leaders (in each of the selected government primary schools), including three female and 11 male school leaders. In addition, 14 interviews were conducted with a representative of the Parent Teacher Association in each primary school, comprising five female and nine male participants. Interviews were also conducted with two male education officials. Data were analysed using grounded theory methods of data analysis, specifically the use of constant comparison through open coding. The results pertaining to the historical background to primary school leadership in East Timor from colonial times to 2002, revealed that promoting and/ or developing Timorese primary school leadership was not an education objective of the three distinct foreign administrations (Portugal from approximately 1515 to 1975, Indonesia from 1975 to 1999, and UNTAET from 1999 to 2002) in East Timor. The results pertaining to the recent developments in relation to primary school leadership in Timor-Leste from 2002 to 2016, revealed that there were some developments aimed at increasing access and improving the quality of Basic Education, while simultaneously recognising the important role that effective primary school leadership has in sustainable and incremental improvements of the education system. The results pertaining to the current concerns encountered by primary school leaders in Timor-Leste, revealed that they encounter challenges related to ‘teaching and learning’, ‘infrastructure’, and ‘leadership development’. Some of these can be attributed to the legacies of historical foreign administrations and war, while others are better understood in relation to the context of a country that is transitioning from post- conflict stabilisation to development. The reported study also revealed several strategies that are pursued by Timorese primary school leaders in order to deal with their concerns. These results are pertinent to the academic literature and future research on education leadership. They also have implications for policy development and practice. In particular, III they should be useful for researchers in the field of educational leadership, for school leaders, for education policy makers, and for those in charge of preparing, developing, and implementing professional development programmes for primary school leaders in Timor- Leste, as well as in other post-conflict and developing countries. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS THESIS DECLARATION ..............................................................................................................i ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... xii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ xiii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1 1.2 Post-conflict transition ...............................................................................................................3 1.3 Aims of the study .......................................................................................................................7 1.4 An example of the path to school leadership ............................................................................8 1.5 Justification for the study ....................................................................................................... 12 1.6 Research methodology ........................................................................................................... 14 1.7 The three central research questions ..................................................................................... 16 1.7.1 First research question..................................................................................................... 16 1.7.2 Second research question ................................................................................................ 17 1.7.3 Third research question ................................................................................................... 18 1.8 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER TWO OVERVIEW OF THE CONTEXT ......................................................................... 21 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 21 2.2 Primary school education system ........................................................................................... 21 2.3 Basic Education policy ............................................................................................................. 24 2.4 Primary school cluster-based system ..................................................................................... 28 2.5 Management structure of Basic Education............................................................................. 29 2.6 Primary school leadership ....................................................................................................... 30 2.7 International perspectives on colonisation and education .................................................... 32 2.8 Education in post-conflict societies