Walking a Tightrope: Discursive Construction of Leadership During Turbulent Times

• In Event: Equitable Education Systems and Organizational Leadership

Abstract

Building on previous research, this study analyzed the discursive construction of leaders and leadership during 2020-21, a turbulent year in higher education. Guided by discourse theory, CRT, and feminist perspectives, investigators employed a basic interpretive qualitative design to analyze 80 articles and opinion pieces published in The Chronicle of Higher Education between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. Initial findings revealed predominant images of vulnerable, failing, relational, and social justice leaders including sub-themes within each. Dominant discourses including gender, marketplace, morality, and crisis, both reiterate and extend findings from previous timeframes. An alternative critical discourse contributed to shaping the social justice Leader subject position. Leader awareness of dominant discourses shaping perceptions and other implications are discussed.

Authors

• Elizabeth J. Allan, University of Maine

• Jessica Chubbuck, University of Maine at Orono

• Susan V. Iverson, Manhattanville College

• Suzanne Parish Gordon, Husson College