Multifaceted leadership of a school principal: a case study¹ (Atena Editora) (original) (raw)
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This paper analyzes the Spanish school principal figures and their future patterns of leadership and development, according to educational policies in Europe. The first part presents a comprehensive overview of the situation of school principals in Spain, according to the Spanish policy; in the second part, its real practice in a secondary school is evidenced based on the results of a conducted research. The tensions and dilemmas currently faced by school principals in Spain will be analyzed: pedagogical leadership versus management-oriented principals. The interviews carried out reveal the meaning that the different agents give to “leadership”. A climate of trust and collaboration has been established between the management team, middle leaders and teaching staff, necessary conditions for the development of a shared school project and ensure its sustainability for achieve school improvement.
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ABSTRACT Worldwide, leadership stories are narratives of principals facing very different problems. The purpose of this study was to identify the current problems faced by Portuguese school principals, through these actors’ voice. Nineteen public school Portuguese principals participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed, coded, and categorised using Nvivo11 Pro. The analysis revealed that Portuguese principals have the same problems as their colleagues worldwide, but there are problems specifically related to the Portuguese educational system: problems from the process of school clustering and the leader-centred system of school management of this country. A framework to analyse the emerged problems and practical recommendations are proposed for school leaders, researchers, and policymakers to improve educational leadership.
Cogent Education, 2022
The organisation of K-18 schools and the management function are similar in Portugal and Spain, although, in recent years, Portugal has surpassed Spain’s educational results. Based on the last international reports, this article compares the educational systems of both countries considering some variables related to the management model: (i) the general organisation of education in these stages, (ii) the characteristics of the teaching profession, including the process of recruitment and selection of teachers and principals, and (iii) the level of school autonomy and the type of management and leadership. Findings corroborated the existence of structural proximity in the governance of schools within the framework of a management model that is both centralized and participatory. However, there are differences in the permanency of educational laws, the duration of compulsory education, the grouping of schools, and the requirements to be a teacher. We conclude that the policies undertaken by Portugal to improve education (such as the extension of compulsory schooling, legislative stability, or the rethinking of the internal organization of schools) are succeeding and can serve as an example for Spain. Both countries could help principals become leaders for learning and improve their autonomy to favour changes in education.
High school principals as leaders: styles and sources of power
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the characteristics of leadership (style adopted, sources of power exercised and factors affecting leadership) of high school principals in Greece. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 235 school principals were surveyed using questionnaires. These questionnaires assessed how often they adopted specific practices while managing their school, in relevance to their educational, managerial and administrative duties. Thus, the researchers were able to assess the leadership style of the principals (transactional or transformational) and the sources of power exercised (reward, punishment, expertise, example and information). Findings – The majority of school principals in Greece prefer the transformational leadership style instead of the transactional one and they frequently exercise the power of information. There is a strong positive link between the transformational leadership style and the tendency to exercise the power of information. Furthermore, it is shown that the leadership skills grow with the educational/ managerial work experience of a school principal. Research limitations/implications – The researchers explored the notion of leadership within the context of a centralized educational system, where most critical decisions are taken by central educational administration (e.g. the Greek Ministry of Education). The findings reveal that being a transformational leader in this educational context is not due to the personal characteristics of the school manager (e.g. age, sex, studies). This fact provides insight on issues related to the recruitment/ selection and training/development of school managers. Originality/value – Taking into consideration the fact that there is currently a strong debate in Greece on whether school staff should be evaluated or not (and under what kind of criteria), these findings could be very useful to central education authorities as well as the whole educational community. Furthermore, they contribute toward a better understanding on school principals; what their personal characteristics are (education, work experience), what their leadership style is, how they manage their schools and what obstacles they face. Therefore, it is hoped that in the future, better processes could be followed on recruiting, evaluating and promoting managerial staff within school units.
2018
Experience has shown that the attitude of the person assuming the management functions in the school is a key and decisive element in the quality of the change processes in the school. Of these ideas is born, the concept of (DL). METHOD. The research design as a qualitative study by a case study. The main objective is to understand the four dimensions of DL and the actions of the Principal through representative cases of two public schools. The techniques used to collect information were documentary analysis, questionnaires, in-depth structured interviews, and observation. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. The results found are very broad and correspond to the two schools. This research presents the results of the LD, which refers to the responses given by two Principals, of the four dimensions (DL Practices, Shared Decisions, Mission, Vision and Professional Development). The conclusions are extensive and will be explained in the development of communication. Key-words: Dimensions of distrib...
The Need for Leader Creation Amongst Romanian School Principals – Educational Policy Analysis
International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation, 2020
Many theories of leadership and organisational climate gave been formulated over the years. This paper focuses both on transformational and transactional management and on supportive organisational climates. The theory of transformational educational management was developed as a response to the need for reform in educational systems in the 1970s and 1980s. The central convincing argument for educational staff was the assumption that a transformational leader motivates both teachers and students through increasing their consciousness regarding operational objectives and inspiring them to forego personal interest in favour of the organisational 'greater good' (Marks and Printy , 2003, p. 375). This strand of theory attributes certain leadership factors to the transformational leader like idealising influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualising consideration amongst others. The transformational leader came about as a response to the need for...
In search of transformational leadership: A (Meta) analysis focused on the Portuguese reality
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2011
School management in Portugal has been a singular case in the European context for over 30 years. Recent legislation brought about great changes in the collegial nature of educational management in Portugal. These changes brought Portuguese school management closer to other European countries' models, especially because the collegial and electoral nature of management was lost. In order to understand this context, we shall present a brief history of the Portuguese school management in the last 35 years and the changes it has suffered in attempts from several governments to move toward international policies and trends in educational management 2 .
MAPPING AND ANALYZING THE PERFORMANCE OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN FOUR BRAZILIAN MUNICIPALITIES (Atena Editora), 2024
In the light of the literature on school leadership, this research provides a mapping and analysis of the performance of principals in four municipalities located in the state of São Paulo: Jundiaí, Cordeirópolis, Francisco Morato and Batatais. This work aims to contribute to the qualification of professionals in charge of school management. To this end, it carried out a survey of the trajectory and perspectives of the principals of these four municipalities in relation to the position they occupy through the application of a questionnaire with open and closed questions. Five findings were identified from the data collected: i) a high level of interest in remaining in the position; ii) a predominance of administrative activities and dealing with parents and students in their day-to-day work; iii) overlap between the positions of principal and deputy principal; iv) pedagogical management as the main responsibility of the pedagogical coordinator; and v) a view of the role of the headteacher as fundamental to the smooth running of the school. This article presents the systematization of the responses, as well as a descriptive analysis and recommendations based on the findings to support the work of Municipal Education Departments in the professional development of school management.