This article reports on the values and moral dilemmas of one Icelandic headteacher.
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leaders in Icelandic basic schools. The research explores the values underpinning
the work of female and male educational leaders and how values impact upon their
actions, in particular when encountering moral dilemmas. Data were collected from
semi-structured interviews with participants who all work in Reykjavik, the capital
of Iceland. The main tool of analysis is an adapted version of Begley's `arenas of
administration'. This article adds another theoretical dimension, that of gender, to
Begley's model. Results show that the motivation behind the headteachers' values is
primarily based on consensus. They also show how the headteacher attempts to act as
a mediator between competing values of the various leadership arenas while coming to
terms with her own. Gender was found to effect on the headteacher in various ways as
she felt the need to negotiate and contest her values and leadership actions against
stakeholders of various arenas.
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