A narrative review of the research on school leaders’ emotional labor: A typology inspired by Habermas’s cognitive interests
Publication in refereed journal
Full Text
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) DOI for CUHK Users View Full-text in Publisher Website |
Altmetrics Information
.
Other information
AbstractPurpose – Guided by Habermas’s three cognitive interests, this paper reviews the studies on school leaders’
emotional labor. It seeks to provide a typology of how researchers inquire about school leaders’ emotional labor
by focusing on different understandings, topics and characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach – This is a narrative review with 38 studies finally selected for analysis.
Guided by Habermas’s three cognitive interests, all the studies were examined carefully and were found to fall
into different clusters of understanding of school leaders’ emotional labor.
Findings – The review revealed three understandings of school leaders’ emotional labor, namely instrumental
understanding, practical understanding and emancipatory understanding. The instrumental understanding
treats school leaders’ emotional labor as a tool to effectively control the schools; the practical understanding
regards emotional labor as a way to build and maintain relationships and as the process of meaning-making;
the emancipatory understanding perceives emotional labor as a site for school leaders’ reflection and action for
achieving a more just and self-determined leadership.
Originality/value – This review contributes to the growing literature on school leadership and emotional
labor by providing a theory-guided typology and synthesis of the existing understanding of school leaders’
emotional labor, which lays a knowledge base and points out directions for future scholarly inquiries. It also
provides practical suggestions for educational policy, school leaders’ practice and leadership training.
emotional labor. It seeks to provide a typology of how researchers inquire about school leaders’ emotional labor
by focusing on different understandings, topics and characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach – This is a narrative review with 38 studies finally selected for analysis.
Guided by Habermas’s three cognitive interests, all the studies were examined carefully and were found to fall
into different clusters of understanding of school leaders’ emotional labor.
Findings – The review revealed three understandings of school leaders’ emotional labor, namely instrumental
understanding, practical understanding and emancipatory understanding. The instrumental understanding
treats school leaders’ emotional labor as a tool to effectively control the schools; the practical understanding
regards emotional labor as a way to build and maintain relationships and as the process of meaning-making;
the emancipatory understanding perceives emotional labor as a site for school leaders’ reflection and action for
achieving a more just and self-determined leadership.
Originality/value – This review contributes to the growing literature on school leadership and emotional
labor by providing a theory-guided typology and synthesis of the existing understanding of school leaders’
emotional labor, which lays a knowledge base and points out directions for future scholarly inquiries. It also
provides practical suggestions for educational policy, school leaders’ practice and leadership training.
All Author(s) ListYingying Huang, Hongbiao Yin
Journal nameJournal of Educational Administration
Year2024
Month5
Day14
Volume Number62
Issue Number3
PublisherEmerald
Pages325 - 340
ISSN0957-8234
LanguagesEnglish-United States
KeywordsSchool principals, Leadership, Emotional labor, Habermas, Cognitive interests
