Leading Under Duress: How Exceptional Teachers Thrive in the Global South

This comparative study of teacher attrition in the Global South and OECD countries examines the exceptionality of twenty selected learning leaders in the D.R. Congo, Ghana, and Uganda who have stayed in the teaching profession and led their student learning with devotion and integrity. Like any learning leader, exceptional teachers live the challenges and pressures that have caused some of their peers to leave the profession. The extraordinary learning leaders - from elementary, secondary, and higher education - have stood victorious amid education devaluations and professional tensions. The author gives voice to those ＂exceptional＂ teachers and analyzes the ethical rationale behind their unfailing commitment to their teaching vocation. Their teaching philosophies and personal accounts revealed altruistic impulses. This book further explores the exceptional teachers’ narratives and their selfless actions through the lens of philanthropic and leadership ethics theories. Although the exceptional teachers’ altruism appears self-sacrificing - it embodies some form of self-benefit because one can hardly fathom altruism for altruism’s sake. Nevertheless, the twenty exceptional teachers acted in a self-sacrificing manner. The author appeals to the Global South countries to implement education policies that should redecorate the profession of learning leadership.

Jean-Pierre Bongila is professor of educational leadership and Director of the master’s program in Educational Leadership at the University of St. Thomas.