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There is a wide and weathered narrative about rural life, one that paints its characters in thick, earthy strokes: resilient, self-reliant and stoic. What is often curiously missing in these pastoral frames is the power of human-to-human bonds. This gap in the literature prompted me and my colleagues to examine the intricate, often overlooked, social dynamics of educational leadership in rural contexts (BanoÄŸlu et al., 2025).

We were particularly interested in the unique setting of Istanbul – a metropolitan city in Türkiye that straddles both urban and rural realities, and is famously situated at the ‘crossroads of the Western and Eastern worlds’. Recognising the distinct value of this Turkish context, we initiated a new research project to explore the experiences of school principals working in rural areas.

Principal networks in rural communities

Much is written about the challenges rural school principals face, such as professional isolation, limited resources and high community expectations (see Preston et al., 2013). Less attention, however, is given to how friendships between principals serve as emotional and intellectual lifelines in their leadership journey (Ashton & Duncan, 2013). These interpersonal bonds are often the quiet engines behind effective school management – unseen, yet vital. At this very point, social network perspective pivots us critically away from these mythic portrayals to ground school leadership in more relational soil.

In pursuit of the missing link: Friendship

‘Our findings suggest that in the landscape of rural school leadership, friendship is not merely a comfort but a form of connective tissue that supports professional growth and problem-solving across both instructional and administrative domains.’

In our research, we set out to explore the experiences of principals working in a sparsely populated rural district on the outskirts of Istanbul. This area includes 21 schools and has only 47 residents per square kilometre. Using a cutting-edge inferential social networks analysis (SNA) approach, namely exponential random graph models (ERGMs), we addressed a simple yet compelling question: What if rural school principals weave through the instructional and administrative challenges of their unique contexts by drawing on the strength of their friendship ties? Our findings suggest that in the landscape of rural school leadership, friendship is not merely a comfort but a form of connective tissue that supports professional growth and problem-solving across both instructional and administrative domains. This insight led us to examine the diverse ways in which these friendship ties interact with broader professional networks across the district.

Diverse nature of instructional and administrative advice networks

Although our main finding relates to friendship ties, the study’s central concern goes beyond the friendship in itself to understand how it functions as a bridge between two domains of professional relations: instructional and administrative advice-seeking relations (ASRs). Rather than romanticising friendship as a cure-all, the researchers examine its role in facilitating transitions between these ASRs. The study reveals that instructional ASRs are relatively dense, decentralised and hierarchical. In contrast, administrative ones tend to be sparse and non-reciprocal.

Critically, mutual friendships increase the likelihood of principals seeking instructional advice. When rare reciprocal administrative ties do occur, they may encourage further instructional engagement. The reverse, however, is not significantly observed. These nuanced findings highlight the complex ways in which social and professional ties intersect, shaping the everyday realities of district-wide principal collaboration.

Actionable strategies to embrace professional ties and affective bonds

Our research demonstrates how principals in rural educational settings strategically navigate their professional networks to access and share both instructional and administrative expertise. In light of these findings, we urge educational policymakers to consider the following recommendations:

• Efforts to address collaboration gaps in rural school districts should go beyond formal training and intentionally incorporate the informal aspects of professional life.
• Policymakers should create opportunities for trust-building among school leaders, facilitate peer mentorship, and invest in both digital and in-person platforms that support meaningful and ongoing connections.
• School systems should identify principals who possess hybrid expertise and occupy central positions within their networks, and nurture these individuals as mentors and catalysts for future leadership initiatives focused on collaboration and peer learning.

These strategies provide inclusive and cost-effective approaches to fostering collegiality that are scalable, sustainable and grounded in authentic human relationships.

If we are truly committed to improving education, we must reconsider our understanding of school leadership – not only in rural settings but across all educational contexts. Leaders should be recognised as relational actors who provide connection and who can offer timely support. And that, perhaps, is a new kind of that deserves to be written into the core of leadership discourse.

References

Ashton, B., & Duncan, H. E. (2013). A beginning rural principal’s toolkit: A guide for success. The Rural Educator, 34(1).

Banoğlu, K., Gümüş, S., Karataş, I. H., & Lu, J. (2025). Transitivity between school principals’ instructional and administrative advice-seeking relations in a rural district: Friendship matters. Journal of Professional Capital & Community. Advance online publication.

Preston, J. P., Jakubiec, B. A., & Kooymans, R. (2013). Common challenges faced by rural principals: A review of the literature. The Rural Educator, 35(1).