School leadership in Europe

Abstract

The literature on school leadership has been dominated by academics from the USA, the UK and Australia. More recently, there has been an increase in publications from Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and other English-speaking countries. However, articles from other countries are less frequent, although there has been a significant increase in submissions to EMAL from Asia in recent years. Language issues inevitably contribute to the limited contributions from authors whose first language is not English. It is gratifying, therefore, to be able to compile this special themed issue of EMAL, focusing on school leadership in Europe. The nine articles, from seven countries, make a significant contribution to our understanding of leadership across this continent. The first article, by Tonje Constance Oterkill and Sigrun Ertesvag, discusses transformational and transactional leadership in Norwegian schools. These models are often linked (see Miller and Miller, 2001) and the authors utilise well-established instruments to develop a measure of these twin models, drawing on data from more than 1000 teachers in 45 schools involved in a school development initiative related to student behaviour. The authors conclude that measuring aspects of these models may be important in identifying a school’s capacity to implement a school-based intervention. The next two articles examine aspects of the principal’s role in Greek schools. In the first such article, Vasiliki Brinia considers the role of the principal’s emotional intelligence in leadership. The author surveyed a random sample of teachers and principals, from primary schools in Athens, and received 301 teacher replies and 36 from principals. The author notes differences in responses from principals and teachers, because of the former’s high self-esteem, and the latter’s scepticism, leading to the tentative conclusion that emotional intelligence may be evident in these principals. The second article on Greece, by Akrivoula Geraki, compares the roles and skills of secondary school principals, through a survey of 124 such principals, with an impressive 97% response rate. The author notes the challenges of balancing competing leadership roles, including managerial and instructional leadership, and argues that principals should adopt people-oriented transformational roles rather than the task-oriented roles typical of contemporary Greek leaders. School leadership in Cypriot intercultural schools is the subject of the next article, by Christina Hajisoteriou. She interviewed heads of 20 primary schools with high concentrations of immigrant children. Drawing on Zemblyas and Iasonos (2010), she distinguishes between conservative multiculturalism, linked to transactional leadership, and pluralist multiculturalism, which suggests a transformational approach. She found examples of both approaches within her sample and concludes that developing communities of practice will enable schools to share good practice. The next two articles provide rare insights into school leadership in Iceland. The first of these, by Steinunn Larusdottir, discusses the relationship between leadership and market values in this small state. The author traces educational reform since 1995, a process that led to a market orientation, linked to increased financial responsibility, expanded accountability and firmer supervision. Educational Management Administration & Leadership 2014, Vol. 42(4S) 3–4 a The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permission: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1741143214525724 emal.sagepub.com