International Co‐operation in the Preparation of School Directors in Spain
| Pages | 05-17 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09578239410063076 |
| Date | 01 September 1994 |
| Published date | 01 September 1994 |
| Author | Glenn L. Immegart,Roberto Pascual |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Preparation of
School Directors
in Spain
5
International Co-operation in
the Preparation of School
Directors in Spain
Glenn L. Immegart
University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
Roberto Pascual
Universidad de Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
Professors of educational administration are accustomed to working with
school heads, principals, or directors, usually, in fact, a great deal of the time or
always in the same country or culture and using the same language. The
authors of this article, from differing cultures and with different languages and
language skills, worked with others in developing and refining an in-service
training programme for school directors or principals in Spain.
There are no formal requirements and there is no specific preparation beyond
teacher training necessary for Spanish school directors. Fur ther, they have only
minimal self-help and few training or developmental opportunities for the
position. Nonetheless, there have been many changes in this position of school
headship since the post-Franco era government made a number of
modifications in education, its governance, and education law. Regardless of
where one stands on preparation for, and professionalization of, the school
director in Spain, many directors, and especially very many newly-elected
directors, appear to need help. New directors are thrust into a position that calls
for different skills from those of teaching, skills for which they have little
training or personal development and skills which they all too often have
neither an interest nor a desire to develop.
Background on the Position
The Spanish school director now works in the context of a regional ministry
within a national system of education and under a local school committee as well
as a regional subsystem of school inspectors. In this context, the Spanish school
head is more isolated from colleagues than principals elsewhere because the
school is the basic educational unit and because school directors in Spain are not
linked structurally or functionally to one another within the educational system
in any formal way. Further, there often are limited or few reasons or
opportunities for interaction or work with colleagues directing other schools. If
all of this were not enough, the Spanish school director is elected by a school
committee consisting in part of the director’s teacher peers and, of course, is
elected from the very ranks of those teachers. After temporary (usually from one
Journal of Educational
Administration, Vol. 32 No. 3, 1994,
pp. 5-17. © MCBUniversity Press,
0957-8234
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