LANGUAGE AND EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP: A THEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v13i7.6909Nøgleord:
educational leadership, leadership communication, motivating language, organizational trust, teacher self-efficacy, thematic literature review, school leadership discourseResumé
This literature review examines how language functions as a mechanism of educational leadership practice across K-12 and higher education contexts. Although leadership communication is widely recognized as important, the specific linguistic mechanisms through which leader language produces measurable institutional outcomes remain understudied. Using a Population-Concept-Context (PCC) eligibility framework and a purposive sampling strategy, together with Braun and Clarke's six-phase reflexive thematic analysis, this review synthesizes fourteen peer-reviewed empirical studies published in English since 2020. The analysis identifies eight interrelated themes: motivational language and teacher self-efficacy; leadership communication and institutional trust; narrative and symbolism in leadership sensemaking; dialogue-based school leadership; emergency and crisis communication; gender, race, and equity in leadership discourse; inclusive and culturally responsive leadership discourse; and empathic communication and teacher burnout. Across these themes, findings consistently indicate that leader language actively shapes, rather than merely reflects, institutional trust, teacher self-efficacy, professional growth, and organizational climate. Communication mechanisms such as motivating language, inquiry-based dialogue, and narrative framing were found to influence whether teachers interpret leadership actions as trustworthy and inclusive or controlling and exclusionary. The review also identifies consistent methodological limitations across the literature, including reliance on self-reported data, limited longitudinal designs, and restricted cultural and geographic generalizability. The findings suggest that language should be treated as a teachable, measurable leadership competency and incorporated explicitly into leadership preparation and professional development programs. This review contributes to the growing recognition that communication is not incidental to educational leadership but constitutes it, and highlights the need for further cross-cultural, longitudinal research to establish the durability and international transferability of these findings.Referencer
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