Headteachers in rural China: aspects of ambition

Authors: RIBBINS P.; ZHANG J.H.

Source: International Journal of Leadership in Education, Volume 7, Number 2, April-June 2004 , pp. 127-146(20)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

Ambition has attracted a great deal of attention in the literature and philosophy of Western and Eastern cultures, if with rather different orientations, but a good deal less within the social sciences and the field of educational administration. This article draws upon these literatures, especially the work of Aristotle, to develop a framework for the study of ambition in educational leadership. The framework is applied to a qualitative, in-depth interview-based study of the lives and careers of 25 secondary headteachers from Yunnan, a rural and impoverished province in western China. Much of the discussion focuses on aspects of personal and vocational aspiration among these headteachers and considers the relative influence of nature and nurture in determining ambition. It concludes with some thoughts on the possible implications of this research for the improvement of education in China.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1360312042000211437

Publication date: 2004-04-01

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