Leadership perceptions of Krishnamurti school administrators: a phenomenological study

Krishnamurti schools are influenced by the educational philosophy of the Indian teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti and offer a unique approach to holistic education. Current and former principals of Krishnamurti schools express concern that Krishnamurti did not provide a blueprint for the institutional aspects of his schools (Herzberger, 2018b). With the task of shaping school culture relegated to the teachers and administrators of each school, this study sought to discern administrators' perceptual experiences of how they interpreted Krishnamurti's educational intentions, translated them into educational aims, and created school cultures that cohered with those aims. This study examines the leadership perceptions of individuals in administrative roles, such as principals, rectors, or directors, using a phenomenological approach. The core meanings of leadership expressed by these individuals reveal an embodied ontology deeply rooted in a secular-sacred spirituality. The sacred aspect aligns with the immanent nature of spirituality, in keeping with the kinship worldview of Indigenous cultures, while the secular aspect relates to ‘relational bureaucracy,’ in which formal structures facilitate knowledgeable, caring interactions. The leadership structure consists of five elements: (1) clarity of the school’s purpose; (2) interpretation and preservation of the founder’s vision of holistic education; (3) a dialectical relationship between structure and agency; (4) values as a fundamental and embodied part of school culture; and (5) the school’s ability to adapt to its local context. A comprehensive theoretical perspective based on the five elements that constitute the structure of leadership is presented. Additionally, the interactions arising from the overlap of the five elements provide a broader perspective on leadership that people working in schools, adopting Krishnamurti’s educational philosophy or aligned approaches, may find helpful. Beyond the leadership perceptions of school administrators, this study's results could be expanded to examine teachers' and other stakeholders' perceptions. As research suggests, ascertaining the alignment between leaders' self-awareness and self-perception and those of others, primarily parents who have a stake in students' education, contributes to understanding leadership effectiveness. The implications of this study are highlighted, and how they could contribute to leadership development in holistic education contexts.

Department dc:contributor.department

Leadership, Higher and Adult Education

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Selvanathan, Morgan

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Flessa, Joseph JF

• Aesthetic Leadership
• Context-specific leadership
• Holistic Education
• Krishnamurti Schools
• Phenomenology of Leadership
• Values-based Leadership

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1807/151996

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/151996