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Negotiating meaning in multiple communities of practice: reconciliation and dis-identification in the identity work of headteachers leaving Anglican primary schools

Whiteoak, Daphne; Thomson, Pat

Authors

Daphne Whiteoak



Contributors

Steven J. Courtney
Editor

Ruth McGinity
Editor

Helen M. Gunter
Editor

Abstract

Understanding why headteachers leave their posts and leave headship before retirement is crucial to limit the haemorrhaging of headteachers from the system. We utilise the communities of practice framework to examine the identity work of Anglican headteachers as members of multiple communities. The challenges of negotiating meaning can lead to dis-identification with members and/or the practice of communities and is made more complex by the need to reconcile different forms of membership across boundaries. This conceptual framework provides a powerful analytic tool through which to understand the identity work of headteachers and headteacher departure.

Citation

Whiteoak, D., & Thomson, P. (2018). Negotiating meaning in multiple communities of practice: reconciliation and dis-identification in the identity work of headteachers leaving Anglican primary schools. In R. McGinity, S. J. Courtney, & H. M. Gunter (Eds.), Educational Leadership: Theorising Professional Practice in Neoliberal Times. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge

Acceptance Date Aug 10, 2017
Online Publication Date Oct 16, 2019
Publication Date 2018
Deposit Date Jan 6, 2021
Publisher Routledge
Edition 1st
Book Title Educational Leadership: Theorising Professional Practice in Neoliberal Times
Chapter Number 5
ISBN 9781317217367
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1214513
Publisher URL https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315620572-5/negotiating-meaning-multiple-communities-practice-daphne-whiteoak-pat-thomson