Educational leadership : reducing offending amongst incarcerated juveniles in Antigua and Barbuda

Abstract

This paper draws on interviews and focus groups conducted with fourteen juvenile students and three principals at a residential correctional institution in Antigua and Barbuda. The study demonstrates the extent to which inadequate educational leadership practices impact young male offenders’ educational performance and in turn increase their likelihood of reoffending. Rooted in the conceptual frameworks of reducing the risk of offending through transformational, servitude and spiritual leadership, we determine the most prominent educational leadership factors that influence reoffending and how leadership perceptions of young male offenders impact their educational performance. The findings indicate that without a deeper awareness of the experiences of young persons in correctional institutions, the system does more harm than good. The paper argues that an educational combo Servant Leadership style (cSLS) increases the likelihood that young offenders will acknowledge their unacceptable behaviour and therefore desist from engagement in crime.