Aspiring to break away from the same old Spanish educational leadership model

Date05 February 2018
Pages69-87
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-09-2016-0102
Published date05 February 2018
AuthorMaría A. Martínez Ruiz,María J. Hernández-Amorós
Subject MatterEducation,Administration & policy in education,School administration/policy,Educational administration,Leadership in education
Aspiring to break away from the
same old Spanish educational
leadership model
María A. Martínez Ruiz and María J. Hernández-Amorós
Department of General and Specific Didactics, Universidad de Alicante,
San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to seek insights into the demands and challenges faced by school
principals in Spain, especially in their dealings with local education authorities.
Design/methodology/approach In all, 100 principals from public infant, primary and secondary schools
in Alicante (Spain) participated in the study, which was carried out from a qualitative research perspective
using deductive content analysis.
Findings Most participants noted the need to improve channels of communication with, and support from,
the local education authority. They also stressed the desirability of increasing their autonomy, reducing
bureaucratic tasks and improving working conditions, which is in line with the international framework.
Their narratives make it clear that they remain tied to a management leadership model but actually aspire to
an instructive leadership.
Research limitations/implications An absence of triangulation and the use of a single data collection
technique are the limitations of this paper.
Practical implications These participants are practising professionals who are proposing ways to
improve aspects of their working lives based on actual experience. Acknowledging their voices could inspire
the design of policies aimed at improving the principals role in Spain.
Originality/value Knowledge is contributed to the area of study into proposals for improving the role of
the principal, but with new and contextualised insights.
Keywords Improvement proposals, Principals demands, Principals role, Principalsleadership,
Principalship challenges, School principalship
Paper type Research paper
The constant tug of warbetween the positive impact of principalship and
aversion to the role of principal
Numerous studies to date have highlighted the important relationship between leadership
practices, teaching qualityand student outcomes (Gu and Johansson, 2013; Sukruet al., 2016).
Shelton (2013),for example, found that 60 per cent of studentssuccess was attributable to the
work and effectiveness of the teaching staff and principal together, with a quarter of all
improvements being attributable to the performance of the principal. This confirmed the
claims of someexperts who have stressed thatthe relationship between principalsleadership
and academic achievement is indirect and results from the direct relationship established
between that leadership and the quality of the academic staffs teaching (May and
Supovitz, 2011; Penlington et al., 2008). It is for this reason that the principals leadership
can be considered the second most relevant internal school factor in terms of learning
achievement, after the effect of the teachers leadership (Day et al., 2016; May and
Supovitz, 2011; Robinson et al., 2009).
Recognising that school leaders indirectly improve teaching and learning processes and
have a direct, powerful influence on teachersmotivation, commitment and working
conditions (Day et al., 2011; Robinson et al., 2009) puts professional learning communities in
the spotlight (Mullen and Schunk, 2010). These spaces for reflection and collegial work,
which the principal has the capacity to encourage and develop, have the ability to change
schools and even education systems (Harris and Jones, 2010; Vanblaere and Devos, 2016).
Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 56 No. 1, 2018
pp. 69-87
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/JEA-09-2016-0102
Received 19 September 2016
Revised 4 July 2017
Accepted 16 July 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-8234.htm
69
Old Spanish
educational
leadership
model
As long as they focus on reflection and research into teaching. Indeed, the findings underline
that the principalsleadership has a positive impact not only on the studentsacademic
results and the teaching staffs professional development, but also on the organisations
themselves, especially when this leadership is shared (Bush and Glover, 2014; Jones and
Harris, 2014).
The literature on the subject provides a lengthy list of leadership model classifications,
the study of which enables us to see that the focus of attention moves over time from a
formal, individual model to a distributed, shared model (which combines formal and
informal sources of leadership). The classification study by Bush and Glover (2014),
for example, allows us to identify the individual or shared character of the most noteworthy
models in the literature. These authors place managerial, instructional, transformational and
moral leadership on the individual side of the scales, weighed against distributed leadership,
leadership for learning, teacher leadership and systemic leadership on the more social side.
Managerial leadership is focussed around the influence exerted from the formal position
occupied by the principal together with the implementation of formal policies and
procedures. The work is based on ensuring the institutions day-to-day functioning and
organisation. This manifests itself in an obvious concern for budgets and the design of
strategic plans and their subsequent prioritisation and implementation, which precludes
any visionary perspective of leadership (Goddard, 2003). Despite the fact that the exercise of
influence on an individual basis originates with the principal and does so within a
hierarchical and bureaucratic structure, it illustrates a function that is necessary in order for
schools to work properly, as long as it complements and does not replace value-based
leadership models (Bush and Glover, 2014).
Instructional leadership came about in the 1970s as a result of the effective schools
movement. Since then its meaning has evolved. Although originally the main focus was on
improving thequality of teaching and learning concentrating not so muchon the process as
on the results and less on learning than on teaching, an area strongly influenced by the
principal as a source of power, authority and expertise todays versions reflect concern for
learning and aim to overcome previous limitations. It should be noted that the most recent
version isknown as leadership for learning(Bush and Glover, 2014; Hallingerand Heck, 2010).
Transformational leadership is based on the idea of winning over the members of the
organisation to the principals values as a way of reaching objectives. Unlike instructional
leadership, it has an effect on the actual process whereby results are achieved (Leithwood
and Sun, 2009; Sun and Leithwood, 2015). The danger is that this type of genuine leadership
can become blurred because values may be imposed unilaterally by government planners or
originate from the principals themselves, and this makes it more of a political than a
transformational process (Bush and Glover, 2014).
Finally, moral leadership centres on the integrity that guides the principals actions.
Influence stems from what the principal believes to be good or bad, which may make it
comparable to a kind of spiritual power basedon reflexive practices (Bush and Glover, 2014).
The complexity of new social contexts calls for models closer to those found on the
second side of the scales, i.e. those far removed from unilateralism, hierarchies and
individualities. Indeed, although more research is needed on the subject, some studies
(Hallinger and Heck, 2010; Leithwood et al., 2006) have found that leadership by many
becomes a magnet for good results. For this reason, we again refer to the contributions made
by Bush and Glover (2014) regarding four models based on this perspective.
Distributed leadership involves sharing out leadership among the members of the
organisation, regardless of the formal position they occupy (Harris, 2013; Liljengerg, 2015).
This can be truly effective when its development is driven by the formal leadership.
Meanwhile leadership for learning, which is inspired by this model, is geared towards being
a guide for practice in schools. This model does not revolve around the principals leadership
70
JEA
56,1

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