No abstract

Policy makers are increasingly attentive to the importance of supportive school climates, even as many students report that schools seem to be uncaring places. Using recent scholarship that foregrounds the organizational and contextual dimensions of educational caring and student engagement, we use qualitative case study interview data to examine these concepts in two schools. We find that organizational and contextual factors such as students' sense of continuity and the manner and degree of staff collaboration have important implications for caring, student engagement, and school climate writ broadly. Implications for policy makers and education leaders are discussed.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine how context shapes leaders' caring approach in ways that influence organizational learning and the cultivation of professional capital.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory study draws on case study data from two schools. Within each school, the authors draw primarily on semi-structured interviews with teachers and leaders.FindingsThe authors found that school context and the accompanying leader beliefs shaped the structures and practices where organizational learning occurred, and thereby influence the diffusion of organizational learning in the school and the flexibility by which organizational lessons can be applied.Research limitations/implicationsThis research demonstrates that the context and place in which schools are situated influence how problems are apprehended and addressed. Leaders' relational approach, bounded by this context, influences how members of the school develop professional capacity. Larger scale studies would help clarify the nature of these effects.Originality/valueAlthough context has been shown to influence leadership, no study has examined the links between context, leaders' relational approach and organizational learning.