Cultural Borrowing of Educational P

Cultural Borrowing of Educational Policies and Practices

Our third justification for adopting a cross-cultural approach to comparative educa- tional management relates to the globalisation of policy and practice (Hallinger & Leithwood 1996b; Dimmock 1998). Policy-makers and practitioners are increas- ingly adopting policy blueprints, management structures, leadership practices and professional development programmes fashioned in different cultural settings while giving little consideration to their cultural fit. In seeking to understand why some leadership practices appear to be workable in some contexts but not others, and the nature of adaptation needed, there is a clear need to take the cultural and cross- cultural contexts into account.
The dominance of Anglo-American theory, policy and practice denies or understates the influence that culture, and societal culture in particular, may have on the successful implementation of policy. There is serious risk at present that our understandings will remain too narrowly conceived. A comparative approach to educational leadership and management can expose the value of theory and practice from different cultural perspectives which may then, in turn, inform and influence existing dominant Western paradigms.