Zeitschrift für Hochschuldidaktik Nr. 1/1997
Problem-based Learning: Theory, Practice and Research
Brigid Limerick (Brisbane, Australia) and Frank Crowther (Toowoomba, Australia)
Leader Development Through Problem-based Learning: An Exploratory Analysis
Summary
Our teaching and research work in the area of professional development for educational leaders through problem-based learning has led us to rethink our approach to leader learning. In this paper we discuss the outcomes of a two-year research and development project (1994-1995) in which we engaged as researchers and critical friends to a cohort of 120 educational leaders in Queensland, Australia. We examine four theoretical approaches to leadership which are prevalent in the Australian literature and indicate some of the difficulties that seem to arise when attempting to transpose these approaches into leader development programs. Our analysis of ways that participants interpreted and applied problem-based learning throughout the four semesters of the project led us to identify five approaches to leader learning which reflected their multiple views of what constitutes leadership. We tentatively labelled these five approaches as: Exploring Positional Authority, Exploring Managerialism, Exploring Cultural and Social Issues, Exploring Community and Exploring Quality of Life Linkages. We believe that the way in which we used problem-based learning allowed these multiple learning approaches to emerge but that this outcome raises some serious questions about the usefulness of current leadership theory.
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