Overview

In studying leading as a way of changing meaning, this research documents a journey of inner exploration amongst five self-nominated leaders in education.

In contrast to change limited by outer dimensional structure, changing meaning in an inner dimension was seen as the necessary complement in creating real difference in educators and in educating.

Over a period of almost a year, the leaders participated in an online project, travelling together through email dialogue focused around leading, changing and meaning.  In this, they experiments with a changing way of researching, developing a personalised space of changing in which they could truth-test their thoughts and feelings about the multiple facts of leading and meaning.  Such a space - interstitial to their outer working and inner personal lives, but deeply connective of both - was found useful in supporting coherent change processes in the participants leaders.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface

1.  Introduction

2.  Research Focus

Research Problem

Rationale for Research

Significance of Research

Aims of Research

Research Questions

Limitations and Definitions of Research

3.  Research Framework

Introduction

Changing

The Changing Way of Being

• Participation
• Moments of participations

The Changing Way of Relating

The Changing Way of Knowing

The Changing Way of Representing

The Changing Way of Leading

The Changing Way of Becoming

The Leading Way of Changing Meaning

The Changing Way of Researching

• The participative, socially constructed way of researching
• The open, generative way of researching
• The risking, vulnerable and trusting way of researching
• The truthful, valid way of researching

The Changing Space of Researching

The Virtual Space of Researching

4.  Researching The Leading Way of Changing Meaning

Introduction

Methodology

Design Considerations

Project Implementation

Data Processing

• Sources informing data shaping
• Changing form
• Reading the data
• Themes
• Data summaries

Analysis

• Changing
• The changing way of being
• The changing way of relating
• The changing way of knowing
• The changing way of representing
• The changing way of meaning
• The changing way of leading
• The changing way of becoming
• The leading way of changing meaning
• The changing way of researching
• The changing spaced of researching
• The virtual space of researching

Outcomes

• Synthesis
• Searching again

Towards changing meaning in the leading way

Conclusions

Recommendations

5.  Future Directions

Bibliography