Lefaiver, Mary (2023) Operationalising Feminist Pedagogic E-leadership-as-practice in Enterprise Learning and Development : An Autoethnographic Bricolage. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.
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Abstract
This thesis explores synergies between three theoretical pillars – feminist pedagogy, Leadership-as-practice (LAP), and e-Leadership – applied in an enterprise learning and development (L&D) setting. I argue that uniting these concepts in an intentional, sustained, and reflective leadership practice contributes to individual growth, higher performing teams, and improved organisational outcomes. The research aims to examine critically the experience of leading a global virtual team (GVT) as an L&D middle-manager commencing with the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic in protracted, real-time. As a complete member researcher (CMR), my objectives include depicting my lived experience and identifying discrete themes specific to the research context. This thesis addresses calls in literature for greater cross-disciplinary research in educational leadership, development, and praxis and empirical study of how the mechanics of leadership coalesce to produce meaningful human-centred results. It illuminates how L&D practitioners, both in business and educational settings, can apply theory and scholarship to reshape leadership as more inclusive, empowering, de-hierarchised, and collaborative. Autoethnographic narratives anchor the research, augmented by interviews and reflections contributed by ten participants. Bricolage, an emergent qualitative method, was employed to respond to participant reflections of the current zeitgeist vis-à-vis leadership practice. Findings support that feminist practices embedded in quotidian activities can profoundly impact individual, team, and organisational objectives. I offer a leadership framework representing the symbiotic relationship between the three pillars. The research also discusses challenges of adopting feminist pedagogic e-leadership-as-practice (eLAP). The outcomes are significant in that they contribute to the advancement of the L&D profession, including developing praxis and applying theory. They offer an insider view of educational leadership within a business context, a relatively unexplored subject. Finally, I demonstrate how to utilise and craft bricolage as a qualitative method of inquiry. I suggest recommendations for future research, including further study of LAP across other staff levels, feminist pedagogy as a counter to implicit leadership beliefs, and challenging the suggested framework in additional contextual settings.