engleski

Inside the School: A Comparative Review of Empirical and Policy Studies on the Role of School Leaders in Developing Schools and Teachers

While policy-making seems to occupy most of the public attention, its implementation challenges are even more significant for the improvement of schools and national education systems. Those challenges cannot be analysed, or even identified, without studying the actual leadership and its variables, including the leaders’ development of the school culture and climate, as well as their relationship to the school environment and its most significant public. In addition, school leaders need to perform their everyday tasks, prescribed by laws and regulations, as well as make sure that the innovative practices and activities are being introduced into the functioning of a school. Teachers and other school staff need to feel empowered and should be provided with opportunities for development and engagement in leadership. All these activities should also lead toward school improvement at the systemic level. Such a complex web of relationships depends on the characteristics and capabilities of leaders and their environments. In this chapter, the author explores the available empirical and policy studies, related to the described challenges of policy implementation at the school level, with a special emphasis on small European countries and their school leadership patterns. Some preliminary conclusions have been formulated, along with the implications for education policy in small European countries.

school leaders, educational leadership, education policy, small European countries

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