Conference Agenda

South Africa's deep-rooted inequality, a legacy of apartheid, continues to segregate many Black communities into impoverished areas, leading to substantial social and economic disparities (Chikoko, 2018; Maringe et al., 2015). In these deprived contexts, leading schools requires a nuanced approach where strong, caring instructional and social support is essential to improving learner outcomes and well-being. Novice principals often find themselves thrust into these demanding roles, navigating the challenges of deprivation alongside the dual pressures of professional and personal demands, often with inadequate preparation (Wieczorek & Manard, 2018).

This paper, derived from a study on the lived experiences of novice principals in deprived contexts, specifically examines how they employ caring leadership practices in such challenging environments. The central question guiding the research is: How do novice principals enact caring leadership in schools located in deprived contexts? The study, grounded in narrative inquiry, utilizes sensemaking theory to explore how these principals interpret and respond to complex, ambiguous situations (Maitlis & Christiansen, 2014). Four novice principals, each with less than three years of service, were purposively selected for life history interviews. The data were analyzed through narrative analysis to construct coherent accounts and identify emergent themes (Polkinghorne, 1995).

Findings reveal that novice principals display profound contextual mindfulness, which guides their leadership practices. They prioritize students' well-being by adopting roles beyond traditional educational frameworks, such as surrogate parents and social workers. At the organizational level, they demonstrate flexibility in policy implementation and actively seek resources to enhance the learning environment. This research provides valuable insights into the leadership challenges in deprived settings and underscores the critical role of caring leadership in fostering quality teaching and learning in such contexts.

Despite broad consensus on the centrality of the field practicum in educator preparation programs (EPPs), the role of field supervisor is understudied, undersupported, and underappreciated. Field supervisors are often seen as technical administrators, monitoring and evaluating pre-service teachers’ (PSTs’) progress, while course instructors and mentor teachers shoulder the “real work” of teacher preparation (McCormack et al., 2019; Zeichner, 2005). Our research analyzes the practices of two veteran supervisors who view their work as more fundamental and important to EPPs than often portrayed.

We adopt Cuenca’s (2010) framework of care, thoughtfulness, and tact to examine these supervisors’ practices. This framework, theorized in terms of Noddings’ (1992, 2003) care theory and van Manen’s (1991) pedagogical thoughtfulness and tact, envisions the supervisor-PST relationship as analogous to that of teacher-student.

Our data come from a larger self-study aimed at aligning supervisor practices with Cuenca’s (2010) framework and conducted at a small, Hispanic-serving college in the United States. We recorded conversations between two veteran supervisors and their critical friends, as well as supervisor conferences with PSTs. With these data, we present a comparative case study of how two supervisors enacted pedagogical tact in their teacher education practices, connecting supervisors’ intent and motivation to their pedagogical actions.

Using deductive and inductive coding, we find meaningful differences in the enactment and goals of supervisors’ tactful interactions with PSTs and link these differences to specific elements of their instructional context. We also find evidence of a spectrum of tactful action, with prioritization of PSTs’ comfort and emotional wellbeing at one end and prioritization of supervisor’s pedagogical vision at the other. These findings support a conception of supervisors as uniquely positioned teacher pedagogues rather than simple monitors of programmatic compliance, who have the potential to model and promote many high-leverage practices and characteristics of quality teaching (ISATT, 2025 CfP).