The Pedagogical Role of the Primary-School Headteacher: Insights From Greece
Nikolaos Alexopoulos , Thomas Babalis , Konstantina Tsoli , Stavroula Delioridou
The pedagogical and didactic guidance of teachers has been linked, in the relevant literature, to the school management’s adoption of the model .
- Pub. date: August 15, 2023
- Pages: 535-549
- 367 Downloads
- 806 Views
- 0 Citations
The pedagogical and didactic guidance of teachers has been linked, in the relevant literature, to the school management’s adoption of the model of pedagogical leadership as well as to the assurance of a series of factors that influence it. This study aims at investigating the pedagogical role of the principal in Greek primary schools. Data were collected through an anonymous questionnaire completed by 133 Greek primary school head teachers. Results show that head teachers consider that their pedagogical role has mainly to do with the pedagogical climate, psychosocial and pedagogical guidance of the school unit. Additionally, the research results show that head teachers carry out their pedagogical role cooperating and communicating mainly with the members of the educational community of the school. Another noteworthy finding of the present study is that the factors that support head teachers in their pedagogical leadership role, are hard to exist in hierarchical educational realities such as Greece. The originality of the paper draws attention to the school's socio-economic environment, which significantly influences school leadership. Conclusions on the implications of the study are made and directions for future research are suggested.
Keywords: Headteacher, pedagogical leadership, school principal, school climate, school life.
References
Alexopoulos, N. (2012). The management of administrative information in the peripheral bodies of the ministry of education [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. [In Greek]
Alexopoulos, N. (2019). Resolving school staffing problems in Greece: A strategic management approach. Frontiers in Education, 4, Article 130.https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00130
Alexopoulos, N., & Babalis, T. (2021). School and leadership: Theoretical dimensions and practices. Diadrassi. [In Greek]
Alonso-Yanez, G., Preciado-Babb, A. P., Brown, B., & Friesen, S. (2021). Emergence in school systems: Lessons from complexity and pedagogical leadership. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy/Revue Canadienne en Administration et Politique de l’ Éducation, 196, 65-82. https://doi.org/10.7202/1078518ar
Alvunger, D., Soini, T., Philippou, S., & Priestley, M. (2021). Conclusions: Patterns and trends in curriculum making in Europe. In D. Alvunger, T. Soini, S, Philippou, & M. Priestley, M. (Eds.), Curriculum making in Europe: Policy and practice within and across diverse contexts (pp. 273-294). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83867-735-020211013
Arar, K., Saiti, A., Anysiadou, M., & Arar, E. A.-Z. (2022). Understanding school leaders and educators’ attitudes towards youth migrants: An experimental analysis. Equity in Education & Society, 1(2), 237-260. https://doi.org/10.1177/27526461221102458
Atkinson, K., & Biegun, L. (2017). An uncertain tale: Alternative conceptualizations of pedagogical leadership. Journal of Childhood Studies, 42(4), 61-68. https://doi.org/10.18357/jcs.v42i4.18104
Babad, E. (2016). Pygmalion and the classroom after 50 years. In S. Trusz & P. Babel (Eds.), Intrapersonal and interpersonal expectancies (pp. 125–133). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315652535-17
Babalis, T., Tsoli, K., Koutouvela, C., Stavrou, N., & Alexopoulos, N. (2012). Quality and effectiveness in Greek primary school. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 69, 1462-1468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.12.086
Barda, D., & Koutouzis, M. (2021). Trade union discourse and its contribution to democratic dialogue: The ILO's discourse on evaluation. Dialogues! Theory and Practice in the Sciences of Education and Training, 7, 134–155. https://doi.org/10.12681/dial.23098 [in Greek]
Bonetti, S., & Sakr, M. (2022). Advancing pedagogical leadership at national level: Looking for a policy window. In M. Sakr & J. O’Sullivan (Eds.), Pedagogical leadership in early childhood education: Conversations from across the world (pp. 181-193). Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Bullough, R. V. (2011). Hope, happiness, teaching, and learning. In C. Day & J.K. Lee (Eds.), New understandings of teacher’s work. Professional learning and development in schools and higher education (pp. 15–30). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0545-6_2
Clifford, M., Menon, R., Gangi, T., Condon, C., & Hornung, K. (2012). Measuring school climate for gauging principal performance: A review of the validity and reliability of publicly accessible measures. A quality school leadership issue brief. American Institutes for Research. https://bit.ly/46YEgLw
Danzig, A., Osanloo, A., Blankson, G., & Kiltz, G. (2005, April 11-15). Learner centered leadership for language diverse schools in high needs urban setting: Findings from a university and multi-district partnership [Paper presentation]. The annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada. http://www.asu.edu/educ/lcl/aera2005/lclfind1.pdf
Dimopoulos, K., Dalkavouki, K., & Koulaidis, V. (2015). Job realities of primary school principals in Greece: Similarities and variations in a highly centralized system. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 18(2), 197 224. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2014.954627
Echazarra, A., & Radinger, T. (2019). Learning in rural schools: Insights from PISA, TALIS and the literature (OECD Education Working Paper No. 196). OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/8b1a5cb9-en
Edwards-Groves, C., Grootenboer, P., Hardy, I., & Rönnerman, K. (2019). Driving change from ‘the middle’: Middle leading for site based educational development. School Leadership & Management, 39(3-4), 315-333. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2018.1525700
Finley, M. J. (2014). An exploration of the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of principals’ instructional leadership and transformational leadership behaviors [Doctoral dissertation, Georgia Southern University]. Georgia Southern University Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1091/
Fonsén, E., & Soukainen, U. (2020). Sustainable pedagogical leadership in Finnish early childhood education (ECE): An evaluation by ECE professionals. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48, 213–222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-019-00984-y
Fonsén, E., & Ukkonen-Mikkola, T. (2019). Early childhood education teachers’ professional development towards pedagogical leadership. Educational Research, 61(2), 181-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2019.1600377
Forssten-Seiser, A. (2020). Exploring enhanced pedagogical leadership: An action research study involving Swedish principals. Educational Action Research, 28(5), 791-806. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2019.1656661
Freeman, J., Yell, M. L., Shriner, J. G., & Katsiyannis, A. (2019). Federal policy on improving outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disorders: Past, present, and future. Behavioral Disorders, 44(2), 97-106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0198742918814423
García-Martínez, I., & Tadeu, P. (2018). The influence of pedagogical leadership on the construction of professional identity: A systematic review. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 9(3), 145-162. https://bit.ly/3q1RYNd
Gento, S., Huber, G. L., González, R., Palomares, A., & Orden, V. J. (2015). Promoting the quality of educational institutions by enhancing educational leadership. US-China Education Review B, 5(4), 215–232. https://doi.org/10.17265/2161-6248/2015.04B.001
Greaves, E., Hussain, I., Rabe, B., & Rasul, I. (2019). Parental responses to information about school quality: Evidence from linked survey and administrative data (ISER Working Paper No. 2019-03). University of Essex, Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER). https://bit.ly/3PXxJLi
Greek Primary Teachers' Federation. (2022). The fight for the defense of the public school, against the evaluation - tool, the commercialization, categorization and differentiation of schools - students - teachers, goes on. https://bit.ly/3Rye4ip [In Greek]
Griffiths, A. J., Alsip, J., Hart, S. R., Round, R. L., & Brady, J. (2021). Together we can do so much: A systematic review and conceptual framework of collaboration in schools. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 36(1), 59-85. https://doi.org/10.1177/0829573520915368
Hashim, A. K., Torres, C., & Kumar, J. M. (2023). Is more autonomy better? How school actors perceive school autonomy and effectiveness in context. Journal of Educational Change, 24, 183-212. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-021-09439-x
Heikka, J. (2013). Enacting distributed pedagogical leadership in Finland: Perceptions of early childhood education stakeholders. In E. Hujala, M. Waniganayake, & J. Rodd (Eds.) Researching leadership in early childhood education (pp. 255-273). Tampere University Press.
Heikka, J., Pitkäniemi, H., Kettukangas, T., & Hyttinen, T. (2021). Distributed pedagogical leadership and teacher leadership in early childhood education contexts. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 24(3), 333-348. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2019.1623923
Heikka, J., & Waniganayake, M. (2011). Pedagogical leadership from a distributed perspective within the context of early childhood education. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 14(4), 499-512. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2011.577909
Jošic, S., Pavešic, B. J., Gutvajn, N., & Rožman, M. (2022). Scaffolding the learning in rural and urban schools: Similarities and differences. In B. Japelj Pavešić, P. Koršňáková, & S. Meinck (Eds.), Dinaric perspectives on TIMSS 2019 (Vol. 13, pp. 213-239). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85802-5_10
Kim, L. E., Leary, R., & Asbury, K. (2021). Teachers’ narratives during COVID-19 partial school reopenings: An exploratory study. Educational Research, 63(2), 244-260. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2021.1918014
Koutsampelas, C., Dimopoulos, K., & Katsiri, T. (2021). Parental satisfaction in a centralized school system: Evidence from Greece and policy implications. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 20(2), 293-311. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2019.1668425
Leach, J., & Moon, B. (2008). The power of pedagogy. Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446212158
Leithwood, K., Day, C., Sammons, P., Harris, A., & Hopkins, D. (2006). Successful school leadership: What it is and how it influences pupil learning. DfES. https://bit.ly/2NDaF22
Leo, U. (2015). Professional norms guiding school principals’ pedagogical leadership. International Journal of Educational Management, 29(4), 461-476. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-08-2014-0121
Llorent-Bedmar, V., Navarro-Granados, M., & Cobano-Delgado Palma, V. C. (2021). Pedagogical leadership exercised by the principals of disadvantaged schools in Spain. School Leadership & Management, 41(3), 239-259. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2021.1872526
Luehmann, A. L. (2007). Identity development as a lens to science teacher preparation. Science Education, 91(5), 822-839. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20209
Male, T., & Palaiologou, I. (2015). Pedagogical leadership in the 21st century: Evidence from the field. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 43(2), 214-231. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143213494889
Marcoulides, K. M., & Raykov, T. (2019). Evaluation of variance inflation factors in regression models using latent variable modeling methods. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 79(5), 874-882. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164418817803
Martinez, I., & Tadeu, P. (2018). The impact of pedagogical leadership on pedagogical coordination in secondary schools. Research in Social Sciences and Technology, 3(3), 1-15. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/187531/
Moshel, S., & Berkovich, I. (2023). Supervisors as definers of a new middle-level managers’ leadership model: Typology of four middle-level leadership prototypes in early childhood education. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 22(2), 330-346. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2021.1950774
Mousena, E., & Raptis, N. (2020). Beyond teaching: School climate and communication in the educational context. In S. Waller, L. Waller, V. Mpofu, & M Kurebwa (Eds.), Education at the Intersection of Globalization and Technology. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93575
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2014). Education at a Glance 2014: OECD indicators. OECD Publishing. https://bit.ly/3ANrr7y
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2016). Education at a Glance 2016: OECD indicators. OECD Publishing. https://bit.ly/3Ba6gOv
O’Sullivan, J., & Sakr, M. (2022). Introduction. In Μ. Sakr & J. O’Sullivan (Eds), Pedagogical leadership in early childhood education: Conversations from across the world (pp. 1-9). Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Pappas, M. A., Papoutsi, C., & Drigas, A. S. (2018). Policies, practices, and attitudes toward inclusive education: The case of Greece. Social Sciences, 7(6), Article 90. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7060090
Peng, D., & Chudy, S. (2021). Practitioners’ perceptions of pedagogical leadership in primary schools in the Czech Republic. International Journal of Leadership in Education. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2021.1933197
Pigozne, T., Surikova, S., Gonzalez, M. J. F., Medveckis, A., & Pigoznis, A. (2019). Pedagogical leadership aspects of Latvian vocational education institutions’ leaders. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, 3, 335-359. https://doi.org/10.17770/sie2019vol3.3996
Rajaram, K. (2021). Evidence-based teaching for the 21st century classroom and beyond: Innovation-driven learning strategies. Springer.
Rapp, S. (2010). Headteacher as a pedagogical leader: A comparative study of headteachers in Sweden and England. British Journal of Educational Studies, 58(3), 331-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071001003752229
Raptis, N., Andreadakis, N., & Karampelas, K. (2020). Transition to a learning organization within a highly centralized context: Approaches in the case of Greek teachers’ perceptions. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 19(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.1.1
Rinehart, Ε. K. (2017). Judging what they do: Formal, informal, and self appraisal of New Zealand (rural) primary school principals [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Waikato]. The University of Waikato Research Commons. https://hdl.handle.net/10289/11543
Robinson, V. (2011). Student-centered leadership. Jossey-Bass.
Rodrigues, H. P. C., & de Lima, J. Á. (2021). Instructional leadership and student achievement: School leaders’ perspectives. International Journal of Leadership in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2020.1869312
Saiti, A. (2015). Conflicts in schools, conflict management styles and the role of the school leader: A study of Greek primary school educators. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 43(4), 582-609. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143214523007
Saiti, A. (2017). Social capital dimensions: Social justice, morality and its common good. In R. Papa, & A. Saiti (Eds.) Building for a sustainable future in our schools: Brick by brick (pp. 3–13). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12403-2_1
Saiti, Α., & Saitis, C. (2022). Organisation and administration of education. Kata Gramma. [In Greek]
Saitis, C., & Alexopoulos, N. (2022). Management and interpersonal relationships in preschool and school education. Kata Gramma. [In Greek]
Sakr, M., & O’Sullivan J. (Eds.) (2022). Pedagogical leadership in early childhood education: Conversations from across the world. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Schafft, K. A., & Biddle, C. (2013). Place and purpose in public education: School district mission statements and educational (dis)embeddedness. American Journal of Education, 120(1), 55-76. https://doi.org/10.1086/673173
Schneider, A., & Yitzhak-Monsonego, E. (2020). Elements in school principalship: The changing role of pedagogy and the growing recognition of emotional literacy. International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, 11(4.2), 37–56. https://doi.org/10.18357/ijcyfs114.2202019987
Sheridan, S. M., Amanda, L., Witte, A. L., Holmes, S. R., Coutts, M. J., Dent, A. L., Kunz, G. M, & Wu, C. (2017). A randomized trial examining the effects of Conjoint behavioral consultation in rural schools: Student outcomes and the mediating role of the teacher–parent relationship. Journal of School Psychology, 61, 33-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JSP.2016.12.002
Sindhvad, S., Mikayilova, U., & Kazimzade, E. (2022). Factors influencing instructional leadership capacity in Baku, Azerbaijan. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 50(1), 81-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143220938364
Stavrianoudaki, A., & Iordanides, G. (2018). School autonomy and effectiveness in Greek primary education. International Studies in Educational Administration, 46(2), 92-109.
Styf, M. (2012). Educational management for an educational activity: About the municipal pre-school management and leadership structure in Sweden. https://bit.ly/3RGaJ0U
Urbanová, E. (2021). Leader and innovator in the context of educational reforms. International Journal of Social Sciences, X(2), 69-79. https://doi.org/10.52950/SS.2021.10.2.005
van Maarseveen, R. (2021). The urban–rural education gap: Do cities indeed make us smarter? Journal of Economic Geography, 21(5), 683-714. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeg/lbaa033
Varga, R., Vican, D., & Peko, A. (2020). Being an influential pedagogical leader: Headteachers’ view on necessary competences. Journal of Contemporary Educational Studies, 71(137), 174–194. https://bit.ly/3Dq2QYo
Webb, R. (2005). Leading teaching and learning in the primary school: From ‘educative leadership’ to ‘pedagogical leadership’. Educational management administration & leadership, 33(1), 69-91. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143205048175
Wilson Morgan, L. N. (2015). The influence of school leadership practices on classroom management, school environment, and academic underperformance [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University] Walden University Scholar Works. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/452/
Xanthacou, Y., Babalis, T., & Stavrou, N. A. (2013). The role of parental involvement in classroom life in Greek primary and secondary education. Psychology, 4(02), 118-123. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2013.42017
Young, M. D., Winn, K. M., & Reedy, M. A. (2017). The every student succeeds act: Strengthening the focus on educational leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 53(5), 705-726. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X17735871
Zarkada, Ε. (2022). Pedagogical leadership and efficiency at the administration of primary school units [Unpubished master’s thesis]. University of Piraeus. [In Greek]