| Some studies suggest that successful schools are more likely to be sustained by effective leaders, while other research draws attention to the relationships between leadership styles and organizational culture. However, less is known regarding how models of leadership align with various cultural contexts found across educational settings, and especially among faith-based educational systems. Accordingly, this study used a comparative historical case-study approach to examine 10 classic models of leadership to identify a best-practice model for Christian school systems. The research drew data from historical documents and contemporary research literature to form a series of matrices for the comparative analyses. Biographical documentations of 10 historical religious leaders were analyzed for significant statements regarding characteristics and behaviors that could be attributed to leadership. These were then coded for patterns across cases that were represented as five common themes of spirituality, mastery, values, state of being, and service. These a priori themes that spanned major religions were then used to code characteristics and behaviors attributed to Jesus Christ found within Christian canon to validate them for relevance within that culture. The refined themes were then used to form a comparative matrix of convergence and divergence with the central tenants of 10 leadership theories resulting in the conclusion that servant leadership represented the most congruent theoretical model for application within Christian-based schools. The study contributes to social change by informing leadership training that closely aligns to the culture of Christian schools and organizations. Moreover, these findings could be generalized to other organizational cultures and professional networks that value more altruistic leadership styles. |
