Leading curriculum renewal: servant leadership and the Systemic Innovation in Education (SIE) model : a case study of a Dutch University of Applied Sciences
Mensink, Lieke (2025)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025053118802
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025053118802
Tiivistelmä
This case study explored how educational leaders in the Tourism Manage-ment program at Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) demonstrate servant leadership qualities in the context of curriculum renewal, and to what extent these qualities align with the leadership demands of the Systemic Inno-vation in Education (SIE) model.
Drawing on servant leadership theory and the SIE framework, the research investigated eight BUas leadership characteristics: authenticity, modesty, stewardship, accountability, empowerment, empathy, appreciation, and cour-age. Data was collected through qualitative interviews with educational lead-ers and analysed using thematic coding.
The findings showed that servant leadership is actively practiced at BUas, par-ticularly through empowerment, authenticity, and empathy. These qualities support key aspects of the SIE model, including shared ownership, relational trust, and ethical decision-making. However, tensions emerged where struc-tural ambiguity or emotional labor limited the full expression of servant.
The study concludes that servant leadership can support systemic curriculum innovation when paired with organizational clarity, reflective leadership devel-opment, and cultural readiness for change.
Further research is required to explore servant leadership in other faculties or institutions implementing curriculum innovation, enabling cross-contextual comparison.
Drawing on servant leadership theory and the SIE framework, the research investigated eight BUas leadership characteristics: authenticity, modesty, stewardship, accountability, empowerment, empathy, appreciation, and cour-age. Data was collected through qualitative interviews with educational lead-ers and analysed using thematic coding.
The findings showed that servant leadership is actively practiced at BUas, par-ticularly through empowerment, authenticity, and empathy. These qualities support key aspects of the SIE model, including shared ownership, relational trust, and ethical decision-making. However, tensions emerged where struc-tural ambiguity or emotional labor limited the full expression of servant.
The study concludes that servant leadership can support systemic curriculum innovation when paired with organizational clarity, reflective leadership devel-opment, and cultural readiness for change.
Further research is required to explore servant leadership in other faculties or institutions implementing curriculum innovation, enabling cross-contextual comparison.