School leadership has been identified as a key function to assuring quality in education. Principals’ leadership can have a direct effect on students’ learning by improving teaching, or an indirect effect by creating conditions that foster learning. This exploratory study aims to understand how school principals exercise their leadership and its relation with the learning climate of their schools. We analyzed two dimensions: principals’ agendas and school climate perception, using the questionnaire provided by the TALIS examination, in a sample of 82 principals from secondary schools in the City of Buenos Aires. Administrative and leadership tasks and meetings occupy first place in the agenda of the principals from our sample. However, principals devote almost half of their time to interactions with non-teacher members of the school community. This suggests the preponderance of an “ interactive leadership”, which appears as a response towards “turbulent school climates”. Nevertheless, it is precisely the instructional role of principals that can effectively improve learning conditions by operating on the academic dimension of school climate. This requires training policies and professional development opportunities that improve the instructional role of school leaders so that they can develop a more proactive leadership.
Transformar la escuela en una Comunidad Profesional de Aprendizaje (CPA) es una de las estrategias de mejora más reciente y exitosa de estos últimos años. Su propia naturaleza invita a revisar y a transformar la concepción tradicional de la escuela, procurando potenciar los espacios de aprendizaje de toda la comunidad escolar a través de la colaboración y el apoyo mutuo, con el objetivo de mejorar los procesos de aprendizaje de los alumnos. Las CPA son en definitiva una herramienta de reforma que se nutre de factores como el liderazgo pedagógico y distribuido, la cultura de trabajo colaborativa, el desarrollo profesional basado en las necesidades de aprendizaje del alumnado, la indagación y la reflexión sobre la práctica y el trabajo sistemático con evidencia, entre otros. En este artículo se procura desentrañar la complejidad de este concepto a través de una revisión histórica que permita recuperar los antecedentes teóricos del término. A su vez, se describen sus principales características, funcionamiento y las condiciones necesarias para impulsar y sostener esta estrategia de mejora. Por último, se destaca la importancia del liderazgo frente al desarrollo de las CPA y el impacto que las mismas generan sobre las prácticas educativas.
School leadership is strategic for educational policy. Specialized research has produced, over the last decade, strong evidence regarding the centrality of school leadership in improving teaching and achieving good learning outcomes, and is defined as the “second most important school related factor”. However, in Latin America in general and Argentina in particular, this contrasts with the lack of systematic research on the subject and even more with either the absence or isolated policy initiatives aimed at improving school leadership. This article gathers central data from a study which focused on producing and analyzing relevant information on school leadership in Argentina, and is based primarily on three dimensions: (a) legislation that defines the functions and responsibilities of school leaders, (b) employment and recruitment conditions to which they are subject, and (c) provision of training programs for school leaders. Even with the limitations of the case, due to the fact that the study is entirely based on the public sector, which represents 70% of the educational offer, this article offers essential information to understand the current situation of school leaders in the country and is a contribution to further regional compared analysis and the production of policies aimed at developing, strengthening and professionalizing school leadership as a factor for school improvement.
El presente trabajo resalta la función que los orientadores de los centros educativos pueden cumplir frente al desarrollo y consecución de programas de mejora en las escuelas. Se describe el papel del orientador escolar a partir del análisis de las tareas, tanto de las que puede asumir en los procesos de cambio como de las que, por su formación y trayectoria, articula durante los mismos. Se explicita, asimismo, el trabajo que este profesional aborda juntamente con el equipo directivo, con los profesores y con el alumnado del centro, destacando las potencialidades y características que lo convierten en un líder educativo comprometido con la mejora continua de la escuela.
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