Leading with Purpose? New Language and Lenses for Considering Educational Purpose and Analysis of Purpose Statements in Australia, Singapore, Finland and Japan

Murphy, MT; Wilson, R; Dong, RK; Dhillon, R

Leading with Purpose? New Language and Lenses for Considering Educational Purpose and Analysis of Purpose Statements in Australia, Singapore, Finland and Japan

Murphy, MT Wilson, R

Dong, RK Dhillon, R

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Publisher:: MDPI
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Education Sciences, 15, (8), pp. 1019

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Murphy, MT
dc.contributor.author	Wilson, R https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2550-1253
dc.contributor.author	Dong, RK
dc.contributor.author	Dhillon, R
dc.date.accessioned	2025-08-19T12:55:06Z
dc.date.available	2025-08-19T12:55:06Z
dc.identifier.citation	Education Sciences, 15, (8), pp. 1019
dc.identifier.issn	2227-7102
dc.identifier.issn	2227-7102
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/189501
dc.description.abstract	The purpose of education, viewed as a wicked problem, requires critical examination, particularly in the context of policy that may shape leadership in schools and systems. Given that purpose is a complex and multidimensional construct, it requires multiple frameworks for a comprehensive exploration. We build on Gert Biesta’s three domains of education, qualification, socialisation and subjectification, by developing a novel typology of different perceived benefits of educational purpose and then explore the tensions inherent within these. The benefits typology is derived from the literature specifically exploring educational purpose since 2000, and we employ a tensional analysis framework to untangle competing and interrelated benefit perspectives and identify the paradoxes, dilemmas, dualities and dialectics inherent in purpose statements, which in turn have significant implications for the challenges educational leaders must navigate. We apply this new lens and language for reflection and consideration of purpose by using the framework to examine purpose statements from four international contexts (Australia, Singapore, Finland and Japan), illustrating new ways of conceptualising and analysing the complexity of educational purpose. By extending Biesta’s framework with additional theoretical and practical approaches for educational leaders and researchers seeking to critically examine dominant purpose narratives, this paper makes a small but significant contribution to development of more holistic, sustainable and equitable conceptions of educational purpose in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex global landscape.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	MDPI
dc.relation.ispartof	Education Sciences
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3390/educsci15081019
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1301 Education Systems, 1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy, 1303 Specialist Studies in Education
dc.subject.classification	3901 Curriculum and pedagogy
dc.subject.classification	3902 Education policy, sociology and philosophy
dc.subject.classification	3904 Specialist studies in education
dc.title	Leading with Purpose? New Language and Lenses for Considering Educational Purpose and Analysis of Purpose Statements in Australia, Singapore, Finland and Japan
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	15
utslib.for	1301 Education Systems
utslib.for	1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy
utslib.for	1303 Specialist Studies in Education
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Business School
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Business School/Management Discipline
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-08-19T12:55:04Z
pubs.issue	8
pubs.publication-status	Published online
pubs.volume	15
utslib.citation.issue	8

Abstract:

The purpose of education, viewed as a wicked problem, requires critical examination, particularly in the context of policy that may shape leadership in schools and systems. Given that purpose is a complex and multidimensional construct, it requires multiple frameworks for a comprehensive exploration. We build on Gert Biesta’s three domains of education, qualification, socialisation and subjectification, by developing a novel typology of different perceived benefits of educational purpose and then explore the tensions inherent within these. The benefits typology is derived from the literature specifically exploring educational purpose since 2000, and we employ a tensional analysis framework to untangle competing and interrelated benefit perspectives and identify the paradoxes, dilemmas, dualities and dialectics inherent in purpose statements, which in turn have significant implications for the challenges educational leaders must navigate. We apply this new lens and language for reflection and consideration of purpose by using the framework to examine purpose statements from four international contexts (Australia, Singapore, Finland and Japan), illustrating new ways of conceptualising and analysing the complexity of educational purpose. By extending Biesta’s framework with additional theoretical and practical approaches for educational leaders and researchers seeking to critically examine dominant purpose narratives, this paper makes a small but significant contribution to development of more holistic, sustainable and equitable conceptions of educational purpose in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex global landscape.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/189501