Author Identifier (ORCID)
Shankar Dhakal: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9293-0958
Abstract
Community schools in Nepal, particularly in remote areas, face persistent challenges in managing human, financial, and physical resources, which hinder educational quality and equity. Through a multiple case study design guided by Ecological Systems Theory, this research conducted semi-structured interviews with six headteachers from diverse geographical contexts, revealing critical issues including teacher shortages, financial instability, and inadequate infrastructure. Despite these barriers, headteachers demonstrate remarkable resilience through community engagement, strategic resource mobilization, and adaptive leadership strategies that paradoxically become more sophisticated under severe constraints. Positioning Nepal as a critical case for understanding educational leadership in resource-constrained environments globally, the study advances ecological theory and offers transferable insights for the Global South, highlighting needs for sustainable funding, targeted teacher deployment, and inclusive infrastructure development.
Keywords
Educational leadership, community schools, resource-constrained contexts, ecological systems theory, school management, Global South
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
Publication Title
Leadership and Policy in Schools
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
School
School of Education
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
Dhakal, S., & Panta, C. N. (2026). Leading against the odds: School leadership in under-resourced community schools in Nepal. Leadership and Policy in Schools. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2026.2628840