Latvia: School Principals and Leadership Research in Latvia

Abstract

This article is aimed at researchers in international education and leadership in education as well as others interested in comparative education policies and the situation in Latvia as a postcommunist country. The first years after gaining independence characterized by crucial changes in all spheres in education and life in general cannot boast with important research results as it was necessary to cope with the complexity of the situation and the endless challenges education was facing. First of all, it was necessary to evaluate experiences in the previous authoritarian education management. Secondly, rich expertise of democratic education in Western countries, including various forms of leadership, was needed to adapt for the current situation. The existence of the great variety of challenges was the reason why the research in education management is fragmentary and does not embrace all aspects. The first step in the selection of research problems was various issues in education management such as the meaning of leadership in contrast to administration and business management, the new role and training of school principals. It was connected with the appearance of other new phenomena in school leadership, namely, the development of teams and teamwork, a democratic school culture, and the role of principals in this process. The article provides research devoted to analysis of separate aspects of leadership in doctoral research in Latvia in the context of the shift of paradigm in education from 2000 to 2010.