Understanding leadership practices in secondary government schools in Pakistan: addressing issues of equity and inclusion

• In Event: Gender, Leadership, and Equity in Education: Power, Perception, and Practice Across Contexts

Proposal

Pakistan’s education system continues to struggle with deep-rooted structural challenges, including limited infrastructure, outdated curricula, insufficient teaching resources, and inconsistent instructional quality (Ahmad et al., 2014). Amidst these constraints, school leadership has been identified as a critical yet underdeveloped area of education reform. In government schools in particular, principals often lack formal training, professional support, and the autonomy necessary to lead effectively (Kandasamy & Blaton, 2004). In response, this study explores how different leadership practices shape teaching and learning experiences, and student outcomes in public secondary schools in Pakistan.
This research is informed by key theoretical contributions from educational leadership literature, which underscore the relational and contextual nature of leadership practices (Anderson, 2017; Northouse, 2012). Effective leadership has been strongly linked to improved student achievement, teacher development, and school climate (Leithwood, 2005; Hallinger, 2018). However, much of the existing literature is based on high-income or Western contexts, with limited attention to how leadership is enacted and experienced in low- and middle-income countries, where resource constraints and sociocultural dynamics significantly shape school functioning. To address this gap, the present study adopted a contextually grounded and culturally responsive approach to examine school leadership within the Pakistani public education system. The overarching research question guiding the study is: How do leadership practices shape teaching and learning experiences, and student learning outcomes in secondary government schools in Pakistan?
The study is situated in Sindh and Punjab, Pakistan’s two most populous provinces, which together account for the largest share of students, teachers, and school leaders in the country. The research focuses on a sample of secondary government schools - both boys’ and girls’ institutions - that met selected indicators of high- and low-performing schools, such as academic performance and teacher retention. This purposive sampling allowed for a nuanced and complex understanding of how leadership practices influence school functionings.
Drawing on interpretive and constructivist research paradigms, the study employs qualitative methodologies to foreground the perspectives of key education stakeholders. Data collection methods include semi-structured interviews with principals and teachers, focus group discussions with parents, and participatory methods with students. This multi-perspective design facilitates a rich, layered understanding of how leadership is enacted, interpreted, and experienced across roles and relational dynamics. In line with situated approaches (Crossley, 2008; Crossley & Jarvis, 2001), the study prioritises local meanings and sociocultural context in its analysis of leadership practices.
The study’s findings provide significant insight into how leadership addresses equity and inclusion (e.g., gender, disability, rural-urban divides), instructional support, language diversity, and crises response. These dimensions are especially salient in a system marked by resource scarcity and sociopolitical complexity. By centring these aspects, the study aimed to move beyond generalised notions of ‘effective leadership’ (that are often conceptualised in resource rich environments (Carrington et al., 2024; Sparks, 2021) towards a more situated understanding of what leadership means, and what it enables, in specific educational contexts. Acknowledging the drivers and impacts of instructional and transformational leadership as outlined by global literature (Leithwood, 2005) , the findings also highlight the notion of altruistically motivated leadership (Chaudhary, 2024; Christian & Sayed, 2023) that foregrounds equity and inclusion in resource constrained school environments.
This research makes two key contributions. First, it expands the empirical base on school leadership in low- and middle-income countries by offering detailed, qualitative insights from Pakistan. Second, it offers a policy-relevant, contextually grounded typology of leadership styles that can inform leadership development programs, education reform efforts, and broader debates on educational equity and effectiveness. By engaging with local actors and privileging their voices, the study underscores the importance of culturally informed and context-sensitive leadership practices in achieving educational improvement. The findings hold relevance for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners working to strengthen public education systems under challenging conditions.

Authors

• Camilla Hadi Chaudhary, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

• Abbas Rashid