Heads of schools recognise that positive relationships between teachers, students and their parents are important for the success of the school, but in the absence of this, the energy of school leaders shifted from teaching and learning – the core task of school leadership – to solving hitches and conflicts. This was the main finding of a PhD thesis entitled ‘Enhancing positive relationships for effective leadership in Maltese schools,’ undertaken by David Debono for which he was recently awarded a PhD by the University of Sheffield.

[attach id=698689 size="medium" align="right"]David Debono[/attach]

Dr Debono’s PhD thesis adopted a case-study approach in a State college in Malta and used semi-structured interviews, focus groups and questionnaires, and offers practical insights for educational leaders to enhance school leadership through positive relationships.

The major outcome of Dr Debono’s research study is a conceptual framework presented in a cyclical model, showing clearly that communication, trust, motivation, sense of community, and the fact that people matter, all result from positive relationships

The data confirmed that these themes all contributed to enhancing school leadership, and Debono’s PhD thesis referred to the term ‘Leadership that loves’ to describe a focus on leadership in schools that features care, respect and love. The research findings indicate that the link between positive relationships and the emerging themes is highly dependent on how a school leader goes about nurturing all of these qualities.

Dr Debono’s examiners said his thesis was “very strong” and addressed a gap in knowledge – that of positive relationships of school leaders with teachers and students, adding that the concept of ‘Leadership that loves’ made the study significant for the society we are living in, which is characterised by a constantly changing and turbulent world, where school leaders were being faced with an environment that includes issues such as migration, fragmented families, injustices and acts of terrorism, extreme politics and divisions.

They also commented that the use of appropriate methods, concepts and thorough analysis in Dr Debono’s thesis ensured its rigour and potential to foster changes in practice and policy, also in the Maltese context.

Dr David Debono holds a BEd (Hons) in Mathematics from the University of Malta and an MSc in Educational Leadership from the University of Leicester. His PhD research study at the University of Sheffield was partially funded by the Endeavour Scholarships Scheme.

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