Leadership, rural schools, and rural revitalisation : a study of Guizhou, China

Abstract

Rural school leadership and rural schools are confronted with fast socioeconomic and cultural changes since the launching of Rural Revitalisation after the elimination of absolute poverty in China. Such changes have greatly affected schools, teachers, and students in the rural educational ecological systems. What and how could school leaders do to tackle the benefits and ongoing challenges of rural transformations to maintain and develop their organisations? This case study approached this issue with theories of ecological systems, transformational leadership, and transformative leadership. Online survey, in-depth interview, and school observation data from Ceheng, one of the least developed counties in China’s southwest province of Guizhou, revealed three major findings surrounding rural school leadership and rural school development. First, Rural Revitalisation has brought benefits and challenges to rural schools. Second, there were personal, structural, and systematic factors that affected the mode and practice of rural school leadership. Third, different types of school leadership have been practised and they contributed to the diverging status of traditional and emerging rural schools. This study suggests that Rural Revitalisation has profoundly impacted the ecological systems of rural schools. It argues that the future of rural schools remains uncertain amid the polarisation of rural schools and the conflict between rising rural educational expectations and static rural school governance. It also recommends transformational leadership as a forward path to develop rural schools in the era of drastic rural changes.