Author Identifier (ORCID)

Shankar Dhakal: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9293-0958

Geoffrey W. Lummis: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1632-6676

Andrew Jones: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1085-2915

Abstract

This paper presents a re-storied account of my (lead author) decade-long (2007–2017) professional journey as a high school principal in diverse educational settings in Nepal. Using an autoethnographic approach, I have theorized my leadership transformation approaches through professional storytelling, employing critical reflexivity to trace intimate leadership experiences where authoritarian approaches to leadership, disparities, and inequalities in schools run rampant. My perspectival myopia, professional vulnerabilities, and the discrepancies between my leadership ideals and behaviors resulted in issues such as perceptions of disengagement, underperformance, and dissatisfaction on the receiving end, prompting me to contemplate professional transformation. While outlining several significant steps and missteps in transforming my actional and cognitive behaviors, this paper explores my evolution toward a more reflective, democratic, ethical, equitable, and participative conceptualization of educational leadership and underscores the transformative potential of personal-professional development through adaptable perspectives and critical self-reflection, offering valuable insights for educational leaders globally.

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

1-1-2026

Volume

25

Issue

1

Publication Title

Leadership and Policy in Schools

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

School

School of Education

RAS ID

70392

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Comments

Dhakal, S., Lummis, G. W., & Jones, A. (2026). From perspectival myopia to professional transformation: An autoethnographic retrospection of a high school principal from Nepal. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 25(1), 79-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2024.2373480

First Page

79

Last Page

95

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1080/15700763.2024.2373480