THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL LEADERSHIP ON EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM
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Abstract
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) demands effective school leadership to embed sustainability in schools’ culture, curriculum and practices. This study explored the leadership qualities and leadership competencies of principals, ISA coordinators and teachers of the Catholic Board of Education (CBE), in the context of implementing ESD in Catholic secondary and lower secondary schools of Karachi. A case study design was used with 18 respondents who filled out Northouse's Leadership Traits Questionnaire (LTQ) and the Leadership Skills Inventory (LSI). Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used for analysis. In general, the leadership competencies of principals were higher, with the ISA coordinators also having high scores across the combined competencies of collaborative leadership. The study concludes that collaborative leadership, good communication and good leadership skills are factors that can help in the effective implementation of Education for Sustainable Development. The results add to the sparse body of research surrounding the concept of ‘sustainable educational leadership' in Pakistan and offer practical lessons for the development of educational leadership in schools.
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