Methodology Based on Critical Reflective Dialogue to Optimize Educational Leadership

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank you for sharing your work in this area. I can see the relevance to the context in terms of the diverse populations of Peru that are included as a part of this study. Overall, I think this manuscript has clear aims, but where I experienced the most confusion was in relationship to the articulation of theoretical constructs that came out of the study. I understand abstractly, what were the authors goals in this regard, but the explanation of the theories and how they all came together could have used improvement. For example, on page 11, there was a visual demonstrating both general and substantive theories, but it was unclear what the specific arrows between them meant, or how one should interpret moving from one to another. Additionally, it seems that all of the theories articulated on page 11 were involved in the final articulation of the theoretical construct of the author, is that how the reader should interpret it? In other words, clearer articulation of the relationship of the general and substantive theories would be needed in order to help the reader make sense of them all and how to understand their connections. The theoretical contributions of this manuscript in other words, are where the most revisions are required in order to help the reader make sense of and tease out the various theories and how they come together as a result of the empirical work of the manuscript.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The writing was understandable in most areas, but there were other areas where it was harder to comprehend the points being made based on diction and syntax

Author Response

Dear reviewer, please see the attached file.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This article urgently needs to be published. I urge the author(s) to please consider the following major amendments to (i) do themselves justice and (ii) to get this vital paper published in this highly prestigious journal.

Overall clear definitions for management and for leadership need to be provided. They are currently used interchangeably but they are very different.  Please see Pring, R. 2014. ‘Leadership: Skilled Manager or Virtuous Professional?’, In Investing in our Education? Leading, Learning, Researching and the Doctorate, edited by A.Taysum and S. Rayner,  International Perspectives on Higher Education Research, Volume 13, 59-73. Bingley: Emerald Publishing.

The items of the questionnaire need to map back item by item, to the deconstructed constructs of the literature review. At the end of the literature review the model to be tested for proof of concept needs to be presented and the questionnaire then maps back to the model. Example items are not sufficient, every item needs to be presented as an item of the 5 constructs. Currently none of the 5 constructs refer to social justice and this is not reflected in the title. The title refers to optimizing educational leadership but is this optimizing educational leadership for social justice or optimizing Machiavellian educational leadership, and does this relate to management or not?

p.2 lines 57-61 In countries where cultural diversity prevails, no model does not incorporate the strategy of dialogue as a mechanism to develop cultural and social sensitivity (Domínguez et al., 2020); in addition, the values and good practices that guide good pedagogical leadership (Vassallo, 2022).

 

What does it mean –

p.2 64-66 Educational leadership for social justice focuses its actions on strategies to generate  favourable conditions so that all students, especially those from vulnerable backgrounds, can enhance their abilities to achieve lasting learning.

What are the purposes of education so that the learning is meaningful and worthwhile to achieve what exactly?

 

1. 2 79-83 However, being the school a center of complex interactions, it has not been fully studied how the interactions change the educational leader and the teachers themselves (Hawkins & James, 2017), let alone how the construction of a theoretical model allows for strengthening the formation of the educational leader to work for the disadvantaged.

How and in what ways has Leithwood examined this?

 

p.3 Line 100 These equitable leadership practices-where does it state that all white staff have reversed their unconscious bias? Where is an inventory of equitable leadership practices to demonstrate every item of the model is equitable. There is a gap of understanding here.

 

p.3 Line 101 – 103 collaborative decision-making making, and having the entire staff in the school, especially teachers, who are the ones who align the curricula and subjects with the resources available to the school to reach the proposed goals (Leithwood, 2021). -there is no evidence in this ideal model that qualitative pathways to improvement achieve this model’s constructs item by item, or any discussion of how policy as a pathway to achieve social justice and the sustainable development goals aligns with the model.

1. 4 Line114 the training of educational leaders focused on pedagogical processes im- 114

plies training towards a professional identity – how does this relate to standards and is this literature review focusing on UK and US which is where most of the literature Leithwood drew on came from.

Methodology

What was the population size from which the sample of 136 was drawn?

How and why did you arrive at a sample of 16 for the semi-structured interview?

Why were the data collection tools administered simultaneously?

Results

20. 6 line 209-210 What does the following mean- The results of the descriptive statistics of the survey applied to teachers show that the best leadership practice is in ensuring responsibilities, and the lowest is in improving instructional programs, with 20.6%., and how does this refer to the literature review and the objectives of the study.

 

The results of the qualitative phase need to map back to the semi-structured interview schedule, which needs to map back to the literature review, which needs to map back to the research questions which needs to map back to the objectives.

 

The organisation of the article needs addressing along with the objectives.

 

The objective of the research is to evaluate the educational leadership exercised by managers in eight educational institutions in a region of the Peruvian jungle and to establish a training model based on critical and reflective dialogue to improve this leadership.

 

This objective is not related to large chunks of the paper, for example

 

1. 7 247-253 In the interview with the teachers, they stated that they do not participate in the establishment of goals for the school year since these meetings are held at the end of the year, and some have their contracts at the beginning of the school year, and others in April. However, they expressed that they receive a programming structure for the year from the coordinator of their curricular area, as well as the activities that correspond to the school calendar. Regarding the participation of parents, they expressed that attendance is very low when they are summoned for the handing out of notebooks, and they do not know if there are other times when they are summoned to the school.

Overall, it strikes me an objective of the paper is to examine ‘interaction among community members (teachers - managers - parents - local community). Perhaps this might include leadership once you are clear who the managers are, who the leaders are and if Directors are leaders or managers or both?

and

In general, there is a school-community disconnection; without the social component, as expressed by Sarkr & O’Sullivan (2022), dialogue, action, and collaborative reflection are impossible, requiring a formation of the emotional component to recognize the value provided by the community and the context conducive to educational work. Without the recognition of the diversity provided by the context as an opportunity and challenge to meet the felt learning needs of students, it is impossible to reduce inequalities in academic performance (Smith & Gumus, 2022).

Perhaps this critical paper that requires urgent publication could start with these objectives:

Therefore, sensitivity to the social context implies that principals, as educational leaders and teachers, can propose strategies that promote the participation of parents, getting involved from a critical reflection that stimulates action (Vigo-Arrazola & Beach, 2020). To do so, they should start from the context that directs the ethical practice of the educational leader (linked to social justice and your definition of and inventory to identify social justice) to establish better relationships among the members of the educational community  and thus be oriented towards the same objectives (Argyropoulou & Lintzerakou, 2025).

This connects with the need for culturally relevant curricular – and you write –The disconnection of the curricula with the local context. The curricula and the way the curriculum is developed have a sense that converges with the needs of the community, of which managers and teachers should be aware (Martínez et al., 2018). This means that the curricula should collect the knowledge that students bring about the problems of the community, which can be used pedagogically from dialogue and reflection as the absenteeism of students in harvest time can become relevant learning situations if well channelled by the school.

It remains unclear why there is a conceptual phase after the findings have been presented. Perhaps Figure 1 could be the subheadings for the literature review.

If you structure the paper in this way, figure 2 could emerge as a synthesis of your literature review (what you have called your conceptual phase) and your findings and becomes your new contribution to knowledge that focuses on the role of dialogue in interactions within and between all groups of stakeholders in the Peruvian education system.

If reflection on action is important to your research do consider drawing on Schon (see free downloadable pdf here https://www.academia.edu/36335079/Donald_A_Sch%C3%B6n_The_Reflective_Practitioner_How_Professionals_Think_In_Action_Basic_Books_1984_pdf

When considering on p. 13 lines 523-524 social, cultural, and economic dynamics that the manager does not consider connects with Vygotsky, Yrjö Engström and Michael Cole’s social cultural activity theory that is presented in your conceptual phase that could be moved to the literature review. 

Thus the framework could focus on line 545- 550 - The school is a space where critical reflection on the educational process is shared not only among teachers and principals but also among other members of the educational community, promoting innovative initiatives such as structuring the curriculum and methodologies to the reality of the educational context, For example, student absenteeism during the harvest season is reverted through a new school calendar or generating learning spaces that go beyond the classroom walls and are related to experiential situations that respond to the diversity and situations of the context.

This connects with a culturally relevant curriculum that might connect to building value added chains to help the communities generate new income streams from the traditional harvests.

The synthesis of the new literature review and the findings could incorporate ‘The Phase of Epistemic Transcendence’.

Please do consider if the paper is going to focus on social justice, do not assume the leader is male as you do in the following: In terms of regularity. Throughout the process, each of the cores strengthens the educational leader's capacity to internalize the educational reality from a sensibility that makes him question his role and generate identity. In this sense, the close and sensitive dialogue with the active community and the transformation of the school organization to serve the felt needs of the students and their families generates commitment and involves all the actors in the transforming action of the school.

The conclusions and recommendations and abstract would need redrafting after the above amendments have been made.

As stated before, please do consider making these changes because an excellent paper has become buried in the paper and moving this from a 'whodunnit' to a clearly structured paper of A) professional challenge and research questions that address these, B) literature review, C) methodology, D) findings synthesised with the literature to arrive at your recommendations for community dialogues, led by ethical leadership to achieve culturally relevant education pathways to social, cultural and economic sustainability mapped to the Sustainable Development Goals. 

 

Author Response

Dear reviewer, please see the attached file.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors

Please find my minor amendments suggested below with some typographical errors that need addressing.

Superb addressing of the feedback and the outcome is a well written paper.

The objective of the research is to examine the interaction between community members such as directors, teachers and parents in eight educational institutions in the Peruvian jungle and propose a formative theoretical model based on critical and reflective dialogue from the review of various theories that have contributed to the formation of a dialogue based on indignation and questioning of the context.

 

At the end of the introduction, I recommend adding three questions. First, how and in what ways do different community stakeholders interact in eight educational institutions in the Peruvian Jungle. Second, how can this be theorised. Third, what training Model of Leadership emerges to ensure community dialogues include lesser-heard voices to inform culturally relevant curriculum? Such curriculum can teach contextual real-life skills to stimulate economic growth. This must be done through cultures that honour and respect the diverse cultural heritages, values and beliefs of the community. This can build relationships of trust and associations that underpin self-management of the productive capacity of communities, particularly the poor and the most vulnerable with formal firms and workers (The World Bank, 2023). Curricular that can empower young societal innovators, the future treasure of the Peruvian Jungle communities, to build value added chains from harvested commodities and resources, can build resilience to external shocks and build circular green energy systems. Teachers are then poised, with culturally relevant curriculum and productive community dialogues, to prepare Peruvian Jungle communities to generate strategies to mitigate for climate change for sustainable development. This is because the National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology of Peru estimates ‘by 2050, the amount of precipitation will decline by as much as 40 percent in some areas of the country. Similarly, the temperature is expected to rise by as much as 3.5°C’.

References SENAMHI (National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology of Peru). 2021. Escenarios climáticos: Cambios en los extremos climáticos en el Perú al 2050. Lima, Peru.

The World Bank (2023) Rising Strong: Peru Poverty and Equity Assessment. Online: https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099042523145533834/pdf/P17673806236d70120a8920886c1651ceea.pdf

 

Line 174, contextual is not a new paradigm, because it is essentially the concept of being culturally relevant that many have espoused including Dewey and those that have developed ‘situational leadership’.

In the methodology can you include a short table with each of the 8 principals’ details e.g. length of post of principal if you have it, gender, code you are using in the findings. This will clarify each is a principal and remove the ambiguity of ‘management’ or ‘director’ and what their code is that you use in the findings section. You could do the same for the 8 teachers. Whatever label you use for them, use it throughout the paper.

 

The readership will be aware of machismo in Latin America and maybe all the leaders are male, but perhaps your model could give the impression there is a potential for a female leader by using the pronouns for leader as s/he. If only male leaders were included in the sample state that is why the pronoun is ‘he’, but do leave the door open for females aspiring to leadership for SDG 5 and evolving gender relationships.

 

I am very impressed with the items mapping back to the constructs in the literature review, which is to be commended, but my advice is to be consistent and clear with the labels in Table 2 of the findings and use the label leaders. This maps back to your excellent use of Pring’s definition of leadership and delivers on your clearly stated ethical objective. Currently Table 2 mixes the labels up and calls the respondents principals, managers and directors in the finding sections.

You have explicitly stated in the methodology ‘The sample consisted of eight managers and eight teachers’. I recommend you state that The sample consisted of eight leaders (all of which were principals) and eight teachers’.

Remove any reference to managers, management or directors because it is confusing – this includes in the tables and in the qualitative findings section.

In table 2 is the domain ‘set directions’ rather than ‘set addresses’ ( and then throughout the paper).

 

p.9 287-288 I totally understand/agree with what you have written ‘Unlike items 11 and 12, where learning communities led by the principal and the limited integration of families in actions that the school can organize to integrate into their children's learning are almost never or only occasionally carried out.  However, I had to read the sentence three times because it is a bit clumsy. If you want this to be a core text in the leadership training programme in your context and for Educational Sciences readership, can you make it so that this sentence flows as beautifully as all your other sentences.

 

p.9 line302 ‘Ensuring Accountability domain is one of the leadership practices with the best results’ -what is the percentage, and do you want to say ‘highest’ if you say ‘insuring instructional programs’ has the lowest with 20.6%. As a field, we have to be careful about putting values on percentages if we have not defined these values and critiqued their constructs using different perspectives.  Also do you mean 'ensuring'?

You have two Table 2s. Please call the second Table 2 a different name, and if it has derived from Table 2, why not Table 2a?

 

p.10 line 328 set addresses should be ‘set directions’.

 

p.10 line 341 – again be clear about labels – the management response could be ‘leadership response’ and 352 they are directors. To eliminate confusion call them all leaders and if they were principals say the 8 leaders were all principals. If you wish, and it complies with house editing style, you can refer the reader to a footnote or endnote that you are focusing on the 8 principals’ leadership in the translation from Spanish, or Quechua or Aymara or whatever first language was used.

 

Please check throughout the paper e.g. p. 12 lines 411- 415 etc.

 

p.12 line 424 Please remove all ‘directors response’ and ‘management response’ and call them ‘leaders (principals) response’.

p.13 line 489 At no point did teachers mention participation or dialogue with the principal about 489 the skills or content they prioritize – excellent finding of fact – if the parents and community cannot see the value of education because it does not add value to the quality of their lives culturally or economically, they are not going to engage. This links to my previous comments in my feedback regarding the culturally relevant curriculum teaching skills to add value chains to the harvests so that communities can sell products via the digitised markets rather than be held captive by commodity chains e.g. p. 14 line 522 “(...) the villagers here no longer have expectations; they know that he will be a motorcycle taxi driver or that he will work in the fields like his father” (D8).

 

p.15 line 561 – 563 These findings demonstrate the need to develop a theoretical and practical model for training educational leaders that promotes reflection based on openness to interaction with families and the community, especially in areas with a predominance of high diversity.

Then lines 570 – 572  the Proposed Theoretical Framework educational leadership is called  the theoretical proposal for a training management model. I recommend you call this a Training Educational Leadership Model based on critical and reflective dialogue that emerges from your  theoretical review and the results corroborated by research on educational leadership for social justice.

 

My advice is to say on line 574, something like, it aims to serve as the foundation for training programs for educational leaders starting with principals rather than ‘for executives’. This keeps the research consistent, meaningful and worthwhile by eliminating any changes in the titles of roles e.g. management, director, executive. If you write ‘educational leaders’ then this could include the principals’ line managers and create a more formal structure. I suggest this because informality appears to be undermining democratic rule of law that safeguards human rights to protect health and wellbeing according to the World Bank (2023). I don’t think you need to mention illegal mining of gold, the deforestation to enable this, the toxic pollutants from arsenic and mercury in the mining process, but if your model develops, the people will have a voice. This creates opportunities for formal feedback loops to policy makers by taking a grassroots up approach to holding government officials formally accountable. Your model offers a communication infrastructure for social audits and community generated databases as Science with and for Society. I don’t think you need to say all this because it links to p. 16 lines 601- 605, but it is why I believe your paper is so important. You are to be commended for your excellent contribution that makes Agenda 2030’s goals more realistic for the communities you are working with and beyond.

 

p.19 - which involves supporting the principal from the moment they enter a new educational institution. You have discussed formation, and perhaps the formation of leadership starts before the accession to principalship – I agree it needs to start with principals in post now, because it is a new intervention. However, you might state something like, in the long term this could be part of an integrated leadership preparation programme for those identified as aspiring principals, even from early career teacher, as part of a formal leadership succession plan.

 

p.19 Lines 757-758 ‘This is channeled into a decontextualized curriculum, where educational leaders assume that responsibility for learning falls solely on families’ is this: ‘This is channeled into a decontextualized curriculum, where educational leaders assume that responsibility for learning falls solely on teachers’ – see p. 13 line 501.

 

p.19 lines 763 ‘A training management model’ - ‘A training leadership model’

,

Typographical

 

P1. Line 20 no upper case ‘F’- ‘From general’

 

Table 1 no. 2 specific practices ‘Promote he growth’ – ‘Promote the growth’?

And part of this line has been cut off – ‘demonstrate ward each staff member’ – ‘demonstrate consideration to ward each staff member’? In fact please check this whole table because ‘build relationships’ has also been cut off – including no. 3 and ‘he leadership’ and no. 4 ‘supervise he learning’ and no. 5  ‘Promote he sense’ again.

 

Please check fair use for Table 1 – I totally appreciate it is very helpful to share Leithwood’s models when helping the field understand the constructs you are examining and their importance and we have all used his 2021 work as seminal in our teaching and training of educational leaders, but sadly, you will need to check fair use here even if you reference the work very carefully.

 

p.4 line 138 Schon needs an umlaut over the ‘o’, apologies I did not include this in my feedback – please check throughout e.g. Shon on line 140.

 

Long sentence p. 4 -5 lines 162-172.

 

p.12 line 427 my advice is to use ‘do not’ rather than ‘don't’. It is fine to use can’t e.g p.

p.12 line 451 if it is from a direct quote.

p.16 line 599 ( Morin , 2009, 2011) gap between ( and M.

 

p.16 line 616- 617 starts at ‘highlights the contribution of Freire's transformative dialogical education (1975, 617 1983, 1997)’ – maybe some words missing?

p.16 line 623 producing in managers and teachers – maybe change to producing in leaders and teachers

p.16 line 625 ‘stands out its vision’

p.16 line 626 ‘the educational leader is the professional and manager responsible’ changed to ‘the educational leader is the professional responsible’

 

p.16 lines 631-635 long sentence –‘Another contribution is the formation of educational networks, based on Fullan & 631 Rincón (2016) , (Fullan, 2021) and (Azorín & Fullan, 2022) , which highlight the experiences of the school's paradigm path, as well as the frustrations involved in critical reflection for transformative action, which turn educational networks into a social fabric that 634 supports collective action and reflection for the quality of learning’.

 

p.16 line 642 ‘and It’ should read ‘and it’

p.16 line 643 ‘These are the result’ may read ‘These are the results’

 

p.17 646-647 ‘In this sense, the research provides a theoretical reconstruction of a formative management model’ – may read ‘In this sense, the research provides a theoretical reconstruction of a formative leadership model’.

 

Figure 2 central core ‘Training management of critical reflective’?  to ‘Training Model for Critical and Reflective Leadership’ or something like that.

p.17 line 667 ‘The proposal for a formative management model based on critical and reflective dialogue’ and again on line 670 may read ‘The proposal for a formative leadership model based on critical and reflective dialogue’.

 

p.17 line 677 culturedly

 

p.18 line 678 ‘Openness and the ability’ – ‘openness and the ability’

 

p.18 lines 690 – 693 ‘the core of building collaborative dialogic networks with a responsive character It proposes the creation of collaborative spaces with other principals or educational leaders who share the same path to share experiences.

Please revisit this sentence, I don’t think you need an upper case ‘I’ for ‘It’.

 

p.18 – Lines 695 – 697 ‘Educational networks work collaboratively to establish agreements and joint responsibilities, such as jointly addressing educational policies for transformative action that benefits their schools’. To ‘Educational networks work collaboratively to establish agreements and joint responsibilities, such as jointly addressing educational policies for transformative action in schools’ processes and practices that benefits schools’ communities.

 

p.19 line 706 ‘Finally, the core of strengthening innovative leaders with an ethical sense It is’ might read ‘Finally, the core of strengthening innovative leaders with an ethical sense is’

 

p.19 line 715 formative management of critical and reflective dialogue, to ‘Training Model for Critical and Reflective Leadership’ – whatever you call your Model in Figure 2 use the term consistently throughout.

p.19 lines 716-723 long sentence This requires an initial, essential relationship composed of the first three pillars: the interaction of a culturally sensitive dialogue, the development of critical reflection for social justice, and the construction of collaborative dialogic networks with a sensitive approach that allow leadership practices to have a high degree of awareness and criticality by recognizing the potential and needs of the community to work collaboratively with teachers, families, and other community stakeholders for an education that eliminates all forms of discrimination and allows for the generation of opportunities for all students.

 

p.20 line 741 , ‘the formative management model’, to ‘Training Model for Critical and Reflective Leadership’ or ‘Model for Critical and Reflective Leadership’.

 

Check your full stops, some come after a gap rather than after the last letter of the sentence.

Author Response

Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your input, which I have considered and present for your review.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf