School leadership practices, challenges and opportunities in Spain from key agents’ perspective

Abstract

Research on school improvement and effectiveness has marked the development of educational reforms to decentralise educational systems, professionalise the management function, increase training programmes for leaders, and develop skills profiles and standards across the globe. This preliminary study explores the practices, challenges and opportunities for school governance and educational leadership in Spain. A qualitative exploratory approach was utilised involving 17 semi-structured interviews with national and internationally recognised key education agents from different sectors. The results show a common view regarding the lack of real school autonomy and the persistence of an excessively bureaucratic leadership model. Participants fully agree on the need to promote pedagogical and distributed leadership and, consequently, the personal, social and professional competences required to exercise it. The opportunities envisioned by key education agents to achieve it refer to flexibility, accountability and the provision of more material and human resources for an effective leadership. Additionally, challenges and opportunities for using frameworks or standards systems that define effective school leaders’ functions and skills are identified. Schools must become learning organisations by creating spaces for reflection and continuous improvement, and by involving different agents of the educational community to enhance school governance.