**The Role of E-Transformational Leadership in Intergenerational Cooperation for School Culture Intergenerational Cooperation for School Culture**

**The Role of E-Transformational Leadership in** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.73494

Umut Akcil, Zehra Altinay, Fahriye Altinay, Gokmen Dagli and Mehmet Altinay Gokmen Dagli and Mehmet Altinay Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Umut Akcil, Zehra Altinay, Fahriye Altinay,

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73494

#### **Abstract**

[57] Lackéus M. Value creation as educational practice. Towards a new educational philosophy grounded in entrepreneurship? [thesis]. Gothenburg: Chalmers university of

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for Critical Social Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 2017. p. 110-142

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56 Open and Equal Access for Learning in School Management

2004;**26**(2):247-273

[Accessed Jun 27, 2017]

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In transforming society and the new education system, there is significant need to know more about new generation expectations and the characteristics in order to form future actions. This study aims to reveal the role of e-transformational leadership in intergenerational cooperation for the better school practice and culture. The literature pays attention on transformation in education however literature needs to put forward to expanding practical knowledge on entrepreneurship, cooperation and transformational leadership by concentrating on intergenerational learning and exchange of knowledge in school culture. The study has qualitative nature that self-reports of headmaster and teachers in school context provided qualitative data in order to discover emic perspective on e-transformational leadership and intergenerational cooperation. Thematic analysis was employed to reveal the perceptions and experiences of headmasters and teachers in respect to research focus. The findings showed that the situation of transformational leadership of headmasters, intergenerational cooperation on school culture and efficient use of information technology are key terms to be considered for the development of school culture.

**Keywords:** entrepreneurship, information technology, intergeneration, school culture, transformation

#### **1. Introduction**

The role of the new generation is emphasized within innovation that forms the basis for expanding new products and services as well as producing new, different and visionary ideas. Information technologies and leadership does not only play a linking role between generations but it also has an important place in static changes in workplaces. No matter if its

Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons

workplace or educational institutions, it would be beneficial to take steps forward in solving the possible problems on social reflections with a different view on the restructuring of fields starting with educational institutions to management and education by starting to shed a light on the effects of the Internet generation on life and work conditions which will also contribute to considering the expectations of the new generations in being innovative [1]. Prew provides insights on innovation and transformation in education process [2].

settings and active participation with management for employee satisfaction, expects a job with a guaranteed future, humanistic working conditions and a job image that does not create future anxiety, this research examines how collaboration based activities through information technology and transformative leadership foster school culture within generations. Work places working for the benefit of the society, educational institutions and working with a leadership approach that facilitates idea production and sharing despite status are among the expectancies

The Role of E-Transformational Leadership in Intergenerational Cooperation for School Culture

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73494

59

Providing free time and initiative for the employees, freedom of expression, freedom to question the available system, change of mind-set in business management, and institutionalization are also the expectations of the new generation from professional, educational and working settings. They also emphasize the importance of sensitivity to environment, sensitivity to social issues, fair income division and transparency for productivity and increasing job loyalty. Although there are different leadership styles such as distributive leadership, entrepreneurial leadership in the schools, the practices of these leadership are limited to focus on intergenerational collaboration in the school culture [7, 8]. The study of Naicker and Mestry, points out reflections of teachers on distributive leadership in primary schools [7]. This research study gives insights on distributive leadership is restricted due to authority and hierarchy. As this research study discusses the themes of leadership styles, school climate, communication and barriers to teacher leadership, autocratic leadership style, participative leadership style, staff relationships, teacher morale and motivation, transparency are fostered in primary schools. Further to this, the study of Akmaliah et al. gives insights on entrepreneurial leadership in schools [8]. This sheds a light that there is a relation between entrepreneurial leadership practices with school innovations regarding to teachers' perspectives.

Transformative leadership plays an important role in the establishment of intergenerational collaboration and formation of school culture [9, 10]. The qualities to be possessed by innovative individuals in supporting development are as follows: creativity, intellectual skills, knowledge of informatics, entrepreneurship, having knowledge in specific areas, focused on future, communication skills, potential for entrepreneurship and being lifelong learners.

Transformative leader is the main character who is honest, decisive and respectful to people. Also, these leaders are skillful in knowing themselves as well as others. They move, not based on others' suggestions but rather, on their own intuition [12]. Transformative leaders motivate the employees by exploring their skills and abilities and increasing their self-confidence, hence, aiming to get the maximum result possible [13, 14]. The idea of transformative leader motivating the employees to be aware of pragmatic outcomes beyond the loyalty and expecta-

Transformative leaders are people who have reached a level of satisfaction in their personal and professional lives. They do not need to be accepted, recognized or approved. They are selfsufficient people. Therefore, they are not afraid of failure. They blame themselves and not the

Transformative leadership is re-determining people's missions and visions, refreshing responsibilities and re-structuring the system to reach the objectives [16, 17]. It is a relationship

Strategic steps should be taken by having an interest in learning new things [11].

tion of the employees is at the heart of the model [15].

other in case of any failure [12].

of this generation.

Previous research shows that activating the features of the new generation through transformational leadership style while re-considering the administrative structure of educational institutions would increase the productivity for quality [3]. In this regard, in the new age, the importance of information, globalization, new production structures, new policy understanding are forcing businesses to manage conflicts and take total quality as the foundation. Hence, new generation and cooperation with the new generation represents a significant workforce in order to raise awareness and form a foundation [4]. Recent research sheds a light to understand the merits of collaboration between generations for enhancing professional knowledge. The new generation that believes it is important to be dynamic, focused on self-development, sensitive to environment, open to new things for success possesses personal qualities such as problem-solving, risk-taking, faith in sustainability, good communicator, innovative and enthusiastic for feedback and this covers new graduates of universities [5, 6]. This generation that lives a natural consequence of the digital age may seem as something new but they expect to be understood by other generations.

In case of being understood by other generations, this generation has the potential of being very productive. The new generation follows technology closely, is family-focused, oriented towards success, focused more on the job rather than working hours, and is a generation that expects a job with a guaranteed future. This generation, which possesses a leadership perception that supports idea production and sharing, is forcing change in management structures with their independent and noncompliant nature. It is an audience that contributes greatly to following and betterment of global perspective with their enthusiasm, faith in teamwork and willingness to be the center of attention. Thus, they function as a bridge in establishing change and betterment in the structure of institutions. With a constructive benefit from the aforementioned qualities, especially in educational institutions, productivity, formation of knowledge will show the realistic operations of quality and competition. This generation foresees the changes in the mind-set of especially business organizations and emphasizes standardization to meet the quality criteria. Hence, it is possible to move towards change in professional life, education and communication by conducting institutionalization and standardization.

In the conducted research, continuous education and development rely on being open to innovations with a basis of trust. This generation professionally benefits from those who mentor them for guidance purposes that collaboration plays a great role. In this respect, there is a need for management models and educational systems through their expectancies from their workplaces or educational settings as follows: being satisfied with the setting, having active participation at the same time with encouraging organized learning, creating free time for their areas of interest and research for new ideas. Therefore, they expect working conditions that support and encourage idea production and creativity as well as benefitting from technology at utmost level for better effectiveness. As this generation, that perceives collaboration-based settings and active participation with management for employee satisfaction, expects a job with a guaranteed future, humanistic working conditions and a job image that does not create future anxiety, this research examines how collaboration based activities through information technology and transformative leadership foster school culture within generations. Work places working for the benefit of the society, educational institutions and working with a leadership approach that facilitates idea production and sharing despite status are among the expectancies of this generation.

workplace or educational institutions, it would be beneficial to take steps forward in solving the possible problems on social reflections with a different view on the restructuring of fields starting with educational institutions to management and education by starting to shed a light on the effects of the Internet generation on life and work conditions which will also contribute to considering the expectations of the new generations in being innovative [1]. Prew

Previous research shows that activating the features of the new generation through transformational leadership style while re-considering the administrative structure of educational institutions would increase the productivity for quality [3]. In this regard, in the new age, the importance of information, globalization, new production structures, new policy understanding are forcing businesses to manage conflicts and take total quality as the foundation. Hence, new generation and cooperation with the new generation represents a significant workforce in order to raise awareness and form a foundation [4]. Recent research sheds a light to understand the merits of collaboration between generations for enhancing professional knowledge. The new generation that believes it is important to be dynamic, focused on self-development, sensitive to environment, open to new things for success possesses personal qualities such as problem-solving, risk-taking, faith in sustainability, good communicator, innovative and enthusiastic for feedback and this covers new graduates of universities [5, 6]. This generation that lives a natural consequence of the digital age may seem as something new but they expect

In case of being understood by other generations, this generation has the potential of being very productive. The new generation follows technology closely, is family-focused, oriented towards success, focused more on the job rather than working hours, and is a generation that expects a job with a guaranteed future. This generation, which possesses a leadership perception that supports idea production and sharing, is forcing change in management structures with their independent and noncompliant nature. It is an audience that contributes greatly to following and betterment of global perspective with their enthusiasm, faith in teamwork and willingness to be the center of attention. Thus, they function as a bridge in establishing change and betterment in the structure of institutions. With a constructive benefit from the aforementioned qualities, especially in educational institutions, productivity, formation of knowledge will show the realistic operations of quality and competition. This generation foresees the changes in the mind-set of especially business organizations and emphasizes standardization to meet the quality criteria. Hence, it is possible to move towards change in professional life, education and communication by conducting institutionalization and standardization.

In the conducted research, continuous education and development rely on being open to innovations with a basis of trust. This generation professionally benefits from those who mentor them for guidance purposes that collaboration plays a great role. In this respect, there is a need for management models and educational systems through their expectancies from their workplaces or educational settings as follows: being satisfied with the setting, having active participation at the same time with encouraging organized learning, creating free time for their areas of interest and research for new ideas. Therefore, they expect working conditions that support and encourage idea production and creativity as well as benefitting from technology at utmost level for better effectiveness. As this generation, that perceives collaboration-based

provides insights on innovation and transformation in education process [2].

to be understood by other generations.

58 Open and Equal Access for Learning in School Management

Providing free time and initiative for the employees, freedom of expression, freedom to question the available system, change of mind-set in business management, and institutionalization are also the expectations of the new generation from professional, educational and working settings. They also emphasize the importance of sensitivity to environment, sensitivity to social issues, fair income division and transparency for productivity and increasing job loyalty. Although there are different leadership styles such as distributive leadership, entrepreneurial leadership in the schools, the practices of these leadership are limited to focus on intergenerational collaboration in the school culture [7, 8]. The study of Naicker and Mestry, points out reflections of teachers on distributive leadership in primary schools [7]. This research study gives insights on distributive leadership is restricted due to authority and hierarchy. As this research study discusses the themes of leadership styles, school climate, communication and barriers to teacher leadership, autocratic leadership style, participative leadership style, staff relationships, teacher morale and motivation, transparency are fostered in primary schools. Further to this, the study of Akmaliah et al. gives insights on entrepreneurial leadership in schools [8]. This sheds a light that there is a relation between entrepreneurial leadership practices with school innovations regarding to teachers' perspectives.

Transformative leadership plays an important role in the establishment of intergenerational collaboration and formation of school culture [9, 10]. The qualities to be possessed by innovative individuals in supporting development are as follows: creativity, intellectual skills, knowledge of informatics, entrepreneurship, having knowledge in specific areas, focused on future, communication skills, potential for entrepreneurship and being lifelong learners. Strategic steps should be taken by having an interest in learning new things [11].

Transformative leader is the main character who is honest, decisive and respectful to people. Also, these leaders are skillful in knowing themselves as well as others. They move, not based on others' suggestions but rather, on their own intuition [12]. Transformative leaders motivate the employees by exploring their skills and abilities and increasing their self-confidence, hence, aiming to get the maximum result possible [13, 14]. The idea of transformative leader motivating the employees to be aware of pragmatic outcomes beyond the loyalty and expectation of the employees is at the heart of the model [15].

Transformative leaders are people who have reached a level of satisfaction in their personal and professional lives. They do not need to be accepted, recognized or approved. They are selfsufficient people. Therefore, they are not afraid of failure. They blame themselves and not the other in case of any failure [12].

Transformative leadership is re-determining people's missions and visions, refreshing responsibilities and re-structuring the system to reach the objectives [16, 17]. It is a relationship that is based on mutual encouragement and those who support the leader are raised to leadership position, and in which leaders are turned into moral tools [18]. Real transformative leaders are expected to facilitate in the development of ethical ideas and implementations. These implementations should be set clearly and are continuously emphasized as well as helping to establish an organizational culture that covers all the ethical standards acknowledged by all members. Leaders are interested only in good things that will be done within their groups and cause changes in the thoughts and emotions of those that belong to them about themselves. It is concluded that leaders become real transformative leaders when they help to notice what is right, good and important; when they meet the needs of those following them; when they improve the ethical maturity of those who belong to them and when they reach the point where they can give up on their own wishes for the sake of others in their group [18].

practices in school culture. In addition, it gives an insight on collaboration between genera-

The Role of E-Transformational Leadership in Intergenerational Cooperation for School Culture

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73494

61

In addition, this paper contributes the strategic planning for the future considerations in school culture and school development. The new generation is the source for expanded workforce and effectiveness for more flexible decisions, producing new and different ideas and

There are few studies on e-transformational leadership in the literature. New generation leadership aiming to strengthen learning can be improved with technological development. Therefore, e-transformational leadership in this study is technology based. For the future school managers, assessing the impact of e-transformational leadership for inter-generational cooperations will be fruitful. The current fast pace of transformation, it becomes impossible for the leadership with outdated behavior to adapt to the change. It is believed that e-trans-

For this reason, this research aims to point out the significance of transformational leadership in inter-generational cooperation. In this regard, the following questions have been raised:

• What is the contribution of transformational leadership on the formation of school culture?

The conducted research benefitted from the interview technique as one of the techniques for qualitative research. It is possible to classify the interview technique into three categories as: structured, semi-structured or unstructured interviews. In semi-structured interviews, questions and pre-set and data is tried to be collected via these pre-set questions [25]. This technique is neither as strict as structured interviews nor as flexible as unstructured interviews; it is situated between two poles. The semi-structured interview is preferred as it provides a

Purposeful sampling was followed in this research and snowball sampling was used to determine the sample of the research [26]. Majority of the data could be collected from school directors and teachers in this sample so it is believed that the chosen sample fits the aim of the research [27]. 10 school directors and 50 teachers, a total of 60 participants, joined this research from the schools in rural areas participating in Cyprus. The statuses of the participants are

• What is the significance of intergenerational cooperation in professional development?

tions in the transformation of education.

**2. Methodology**

**2.1. Research design**

**2.2. Research group**

presented in **Table 1**.

degree of flexibility for the researcher.

using them as betterment policies in educational institutions.

formational leaders are more capable to adapt to such change.

• What are the effects of technology on transformational leadership?

• What is the contribution of technology on intergenerational cooperation?

It is needed to highlight the reflections of the new generation on the management, communication and educational fields in order to evaluate the place and importance of the new generation in the best way. Transformative leaders are needed in order to increase the collaboration potential of the new generation. The awareness level of the new generation is important in establishing the mutual spirit and structure; resolving interpersonal conflicts in organizations, and reinforcing intergenerational communication [19]. Additionally, with the current generation establishing the foundation for future generation via integration of the digital world, it will shed a light for growing human power for future. Thus, it is inevitable to re-improve the pedagogy that will be presented to this new generation who is pragmatic and product-oriented and adapting the teaching-learning understanding to the new human profile of the digital age [20]. Transformative leadership understanding would reinforce establishment of school culture; creating intercultural interaction and collaboration; betterment of management processes; implementing active participation based decision making processes as well as development of climate and culture in institutions and organizations [21]. Hence, the productivity will lead to gaining of quality.

The time has come to manage processes and relationship with the influence of 21st century skills and digital age. Since teachers and administrators use technology intensively as education is digitalized, it is not possible for administrators to remain remote from these developments or maintain traditional education management styles. Administrators and teachers should quickly integrate technology into their management processes as 21st century communication tools rapidly develop and distribute information. The way to do this is to keep up with the digital age [22].

In addition, Involving employees in implementing sustainable work policies; establishing mutual interaction; being technology-oriented; social responsibility understanding; collaboration; openness and quality are listed as the fundamental criteria [23, 24]. In today's world, starting work with more knowledge has brought the need to use information at the right place, and gave rise to the issue of filtering information and how it is shaped for learning.

Networking has occupied an important place at this point. This research paper has a significant value to give framework on how information technology affects leadership and its practices in school culture. In addition, it gives an insight on collaboration between generations in the transformation of education.

In addition, this paper contributes the strategic planning for the future considerations in school culture and school development. The new generation is the source for expanded workforce and effectiveness for more flexible decisions, producing new and different ideas and using them as betterment policies in educational institutions.

There are few studies on e-transformational leadership in the literature. New generation leadership aiming to strengthen learning can be improved with technological development. Therefore, e-transformational leadership in this study is technology based. For the future school managers, assessing the impact of e-transformational leadership for inter-generational cooperations will be fruitful. The current fast pace of transformation, it becomes impossible for the leadership with outdated behavior to adapt to the change. It is believed that e-transformational leaders are more capable to adapt to such change.

For this reason, this research aims to point out the significance of transformational leadership in inter-generational cooperation. In this regard, the following questions have been raised:

