Rethinking Instructional Leadership: Deconstructing Teacher Marginalization to Foster Sustainable Accounting Education Practices
Keywords:
accounting education; curriculum sustainability; deconstructing; instructional leadership; transformative leadershipAbstract
In many postcolonial education systems, authoritarian instructional leadership models continue to dominate, reinforcing hierarchical control and undermining teacher agency. This tension between top-down leadership and the need for justice-oriented, participatory approaches is particularly evident in curriculum-intensive subjects such as accounting. This study investigated how instructional leadership practices influence teacher identity and curriculum sustainability in secondary school accounting education in Lesotho. Grounded in transformative leadership theory, the research adopted a qualitative case study design and drew on semi-structured interviews with three accounting teachers and three school principals from purposefully selected schools. Thematic analysis revealed four interrelated leadership challenges: limited strategic support, lack of collaborative structures, ineffective developmental feedback, and teacher marginalization in decision-making. These findings demonstrate how entrenched managerialism contributes to professional disempowerment and curricular stagnation. Transformative leadership theory was chosen for its critical potential to challenge entrenched power relations and advocate for equity, inclusion, and teacher empowerment. In the Lesotho context, where instructional leadership often reflects inherited bureaucratic norms, the framework enables a reimagining of leadership as ethically grounded and socially responsive. The study’s findings underscore the need for policy reforms that decentralize decision-making, mandate subject-specific instructional support, and embed collaborative professional structures within schools. Furthermore, teacher professional development should prioritize context-sensitive, justice-driven leadership approaches that value teachers as curriculum co-constructors. By positioning teacher agency as central to educational change, this study contributes to decolonial and transformative discourses on leadership and curriculum reform in the Global South and offers actionable insights for building more inclusive and sustainable accounting education systems.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.24.7.17
References
Abedi, E. A. (2024). Tensions between technology integration practices of teachers and ICT in education policy expectations: Implications for change in teacher knowledge, beliefs and teaching practices. Journal of Computers in Education, 11(4), 1215–1234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40692-023-00296-6
Boomer, G. (2024). Democracy, bureaucracy and the classroom. In J. D. Chapman, & J. F. Dunstan (Eds.), Democracy and bureaucracy: Tensions in public schooling (pp. 115–130). Routledge.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Bush, T. (2020). Theories of educational leadership and management (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
Carrington, S., Park, E., McKay, L., Saggers, B., Harper-Hill, K., & Somerwil, T. (2024). Evidence of transformative leadership for inclusive practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 141, Article 104466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104466
Chikoko, V., Gilmour, J. D., Harber, C., & Serf, J. (2018). Teaching controversial issues and teacher education in England and South Africa. Journal of Education for Teaching: International Research and Pedagogy, 37(1), 5–19. 10.1080/02607476.2011.538268
Dei, G. J., & Adhami, A. (2022). Coming to know and knowing differently: Implications of educational leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 58(5), 780–809. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0013161X211036079
Dinham, S. (2005). Principal leadership for outstanding educational outcomes. Journal of Educational Administration, 43(4), 338–356. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230510605405
Dyer, M. A., & McMahon, S. (2022). Professionalism and leadership in Early Childhood Education and Care. Routledge.
Esquierdo-Leal, J. L., & Houmanfar, R. A. (2021). Creating inclusive and equitable cultural practices by linking leadership to systemic change. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 14(2), 499–512. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00519-7
Freire, P. (1970). Cultural action and conscientization. Harvard Educational Review, 40(3), 452–477. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.40.3.h76250x720j43175
Groenewald, C. A., Groenewald, E., Uy, F., Mugadza, J. M., Cuyos, A. N., & Kilag, O. K. (2024). Exploring multiculturalism and educational leadership: A systematic review of global perspectives. International Multidisciplinary Journal of Research for Innovation, Sustainability, and Excellence (IMJRISE), 1(3), 45–50. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Coenrad-Adolph-Groenewald/publication/378698001
Hallinger, P., & Murphy, J. (1985). Assessing the instructional management behavior of principals. The Elementary School Journal, 86(2), 217–247. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1001205
Hays, J., & Reinders, H. (2020). Sustainable learning and education: A curriculum for the future. International Review of Education, 66(1), 29–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-020-09820-7
Jiang, A. L., & Zhang, L. J. (2021). Teacher learning as identity change: The case of EFL teachers in the context of curriculum reform. TESOL Quarterly, 55(1), 271–284. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3017
Kareem, J., Patrick, H. A., Prabakaran, N., Tantia, V., Kumar, P., & Mukherjee, U. (2023). Transformational educational leaders inspire school educators’ commitment. Frontiers in Education, 8, Article 1171513. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1171513
Kong, S.-C., & Wang, Y.-Q. (2024). The impact of school support for professional development on teachers’ adoption of student-centered pedagogy, students’ cognitive learning and abilities: A three-level analysis. Computers & Education, 215, Article 105016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105016
Larson, C. L., & Murtadha, K. (2002). Leadership for social justice. Teachers College Record, 104(9), 134–161. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/016146810210400907
Leek, J. (2025). Uncertainty as an opportunity: Teacher partnerships in international schools in Poland. European Educational Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/14749041251324583
‘Nei, M. F. (2024). Collaborative leadership practices of district-based education inspectors in supporting teacher professional development in Lesotho [Doctoral dissertation]. University of the Free State, Bloemfontein. https://scholar.ufs.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/495a2e34-f5da-4348-8e6a-487f4bad2da6/content
Makore, S., Ugwu, C. I., Maboka, K., Raditshego, E., & Pansiri, N. O. (2022). Eurocentric cultural invasions on school leadership practices in Botswana, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. Journal of African Education, 3(3), 29.
https://doi.org/10.31920/2633-2930/2022/v3n3a2
Mincu, M. (2022). Why is school leadership key to transforming education? Structural and cultural assumptions for quality education in diverse contexts. Prospects, 52(3), 231–242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-022-09625-6
Mphatsoane, L. (2020). Strategies for improving professional curriculum leadership in accounting classes of Lesotho [master’s dissertation]. University of the Free State, Bloemfontein. http://hdl.handle.net/11660/11434
Nadeem, M. (2024). Distributed leadership in educational contexts: A catalyst for school improvement. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 9, Article 100835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.100835
Ngcobo, T., & Tikly, L. P. (2010). Key dimensions of effective leadership for change: A focus on township and rural schools in South Africa. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 38(2), 202-228. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143209356359
Pietersen, D., Langeveldt, D., & van Wyk, A. (2023). The multidimensional role of the principal in post-apartheid-South-Africa. Research in Educational Policy and Management, 5(2), 263–274. https://doi.org/10.46303/repam.2023.30
Poekert, P., Alexandrou, A., & Shannon, D. (2016). How teachers become leaders: An internationally validated theoretical model of teacher leadership development. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 21(4), 307–329. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2016.1226559
Rajoo, T. (2012). An investigation into the role of the Head of Department (HOD) as an instructional leader in the leadership and management of the teaching & learning of accounting in two secondary schools in one district in Gauteng. University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa).
Ramango, S. P., & Naicker, S. R. (2022). Conceptualising a framework for school leaders as they foster an inclusive education culture in schools. Journal of Education (University of KwaZulu-Natal), (86), 85-106.
a. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5045-8050
Reimann, P., Bull, S., Kickmeier-Rust, M., Vatrapu, R., & Wasson, B. (Eds.). (2016). Measuring and visualizing learning in the information-rich classroom. Routledge.
Samier, E. A. (2021). Critical and postcolonial approaches to educational administration curriculum and pedagogy. In E. Samier, E. ElKaleh, & W. Hammad (Eds.), Internationalisation of educational administration and leadership curriculum: Voices and experiences from the ‘peripheries’ (pp. 47–68). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/75787/1/Samier_IEALC_2021_Critical_and_postcolonial_approaches_to_educational_administration_curriculum_and_pedagogy.pdf
Schiuma, G., Santarsiero, F., Carlucci, D., & Jarrar, Y. (2024). Transformative leadership competencies for organizational digital transformation. Business Horizons, 67(4), 425–437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2024.04.004
Shal, T., Ghamrawi, N., Abu-Tineh, A., Al-Shaboul, Y. M., & Sellami, A. (2024). Teacher leadership and virtual communities: Unpacking teacher agency and distributed leadership. Education and Information Technologies, 29(12), 15025–15042. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12446-5
Sharma, S. N., & Adeoye, M. A. (2024). New perspectives on transformative leadership in education. Edupedia Publications. https://doi.org/%2010.5281/zenodo.10970922
Shi, H., Wang, Y., & Wang, Y. (2025). “Not waiting for the storm to pass, but dancing in the rain”: Professional identity construction of EFL teachers at tutoring institutions. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 10, Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-024-00304-x
Shields, C. M. (2010). Transformative leadership: Working for equity in diverse contexts. Educational administration quarterly, 46(4), 558-589.
a. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X10375609
Shields, C. M. (2018). Transformative leadership primer. Journal of Transformative Leadership & Policy Studies, 7(2), 67–72. file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/JTLPS_7.2_color_508compliant+79-84.pdf
Shields, C. M., & Hesbol, K. A. (2020). Transformative leadership approaches to inclusion, equity, and social justice. Journal of School Leadership, 30(1), 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052684619873343
Skeen, G. E. (2024). Institutional pressures on school leadership and innovation after pandemic-related school closures: A phenomenological study [Doctoral dissertation]. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.
Tankiso-Mphunyane, L. M. (2023). A relational leadership strategy for the implementation of the integrated curriculum in Lesotho [Doctoral dissertation]. University of the Free State, Bloemfontein. http://hdl.handle.net/11660/12401
Torres, L. L. (2022). School organizational culture and leadership: Theoretical trends and new analytical proposals. Education Sciences, 12(4), Article 254. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12040254
Wieczorek, D., Aguilar, I., & Mette, I. M. (2022). System-level leaders’ local control of teacher supervision and evaluation under Every Student Succeeds Act. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 19(3), 10–31. https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1062&context=org_fac
Wilkinson, J. (2021). Educational leadership through a practice lens: Practice matters. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7629-1
Witness, K., Nyirenda, R., Mutimukuru-Maravanyika, T., Matose, F., Ngwenya, M., & Sibanda, L. (2023). Sustaining adaptive collaborative management processes: Challenges and opportunities from Mafungautsi State Forest, Gokwe, Zimbabwe. In C. J. Pierce Colfer, & R. Prabhu (Eds.), Responding to environmental issues through adaptive collaborative management (pp. 164–193). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003325932-13
York-Barr, J., & Duke, K. (2004). What do we know about teacher leadership? Findings from two decades of scholarship. Review of Educational Research, 74(3), 255–316. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074003255
Yu, Y., Appiah, D., Zulu, B., & Adu-Poku, K. A. (2024). Integrating rural development, education, and management: Challenges and strategies. Sustainability, 16(15), Article 6474. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156474
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Lineo Amelia Mphatsoane Sesoane, Molaodi Tshelane, Loyiso Currell Jita
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All articles published by IJLTER are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 International License (CCBY-NC-ND4.0).
