Galdames, Sergio;
(2020)
Exploring School Leadership in Chile Using Generational Theory: A Multiple Case Study of The Careers of Boomer, GenerationX and Millennial Headteachers.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Generation theory (Mannheim, 1952) argues that members of the same cohort or generational location, share a similar set of beliefs, attitudes and behaviours. These ideas have underpinned a series of studies in diverse areas, including sociology of work, aiming to understand individual and organisational practices (Smola and Sutton, 2002). In recent years, popularise by the work of Howe and Strauss (2000), the labels of Silent (90 and 71 years old), Boomers (70-55), GenXs (54-40), and Millennials (20-39) have populated both research and popular media. There is a growing interest in the education sector for generational studies (Stone-Johnson, 2011; Edge et al., 2016). Previous studies have concentrated in the English speaker northern hemisphere, less is known about the influence of generation in Latin-American. Chilean public-schools are led by three different cohorts: Boomers (65%), GenX (25%) and Millennials (10%) (Galdames, 2019). Shaped by a turbulent socio-political background, each generation grew up in a specific temporal location. As most Latin-American countries, Chile experienced a long military dictatorship between 1973 and 1990, breaking down these cohorts in before-and-after democratic time pockets (Cornejo et al., 2013). Moreover, the lack of a formal career path for school leaders leaves the professional decisions to the discretion of each aspiring headteacher. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the discussion about careers, leadership and generation, seeking to understand the influence of generation theory in the professional path of public-school headteachers. Under a qualitative approach, I conducted biographical interviews with 28 public school headteachers (9 Boomers; 10 GenX; 9 Millennials), exploring their childhood, their experiences as teachers, their trajectories towards the headship and their ideas about the future. The findings aim to expand research and to feed the public policies for school leaders’ careers, acknowledging the unique characteristic and demands of each generation.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Exploring School Leadership in Chile Using Generational Theory: A Multiple Case Study of The Careers of Boomer, GenerationX and Millennial Headteachers |
| Event: | UCL (University College London) |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2020. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Culture, Communication and Media |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10094648 |
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