School leadership for improvement through resource allocation and infrastructure development in rural schools

Abstract

Effective school improvement in resource-constrained settings depends on leadership that navigates persistent structural limitations, yet empirical evidence from rural Ethiopia remains scarce. This study contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) by examining how leadership in resource-constrained rural schools can promote equitable and inclusive quality education. This qualitative multiple-case study examines how school administrators perceive, interpret, and respond to challenges in infrastructure development and resource allocation, and how these conditions shape school improvement practices. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with ten principals, eight vice-principals, twelve teachers, and ten Parent-Teacher-Student Association (PTSA) members, supported by document analysis and non-participant observation. Thematic analysis identified three interrelated patterns: reactive adaptation to chronic resource constraints, decoupling of formal improvement plans from everyday practice, and reliance on community-mediated strategies. Administrators employed policy-compliant and relational leadership practices to sustain school functionality, though systemic constraints hindered sustainable improvement. The study advances school effectiveness research by indicating how structural limitations shape leadership agency, emphasizing the need for context-responsive development models. It introduces ‘survival-oriented leadership’ as a framework for leadership under chronic infrastructural scarcity-a distinct mode characterized by limited agency, normalized scarcity, strategic compliance, and emotional labor as core competencies rather than occasional coping contributing to sustainable educational development and SDG 4 implementation in resource-constrained rural settings.