This article discusses the type of organization and leadership that underlies a competency-based management rule established in Mexico (2008) applicable to principals in public upper high schools. This rule, identified as the 449 Agreement, describes competencies and communicates expected behavior. Implementation, however, is mediated by the principals’ interpretation, as found in the semi-structured interviews conducted with a group of selected acting principals. The analysis of this management rule is based on a theory of decision-making and a theory of organizations where different assumptions on peoples’ behavior are made. We provide evidence to support the contention that each school principal acts according to its context, and that compliance with the Agreement is not facilitated by its rules design. We conclude that the rules design of the competency-based management model in question is dominated by a perspective of personal heroic leadership that assumes an omniscient and omnipresent manager and that also promotes a centralized management model for all schools. In future research, inquiry could focus on the question of whether transformational leadership based on motivation and instructional leadership based on guidance and coaching for teachers could also be nurtured by rules compatible with the pervasive normative leadership type.
A lo largo del último quinquenio se ha incrementado mucho la preocupación por la violencia y por la inseguridad que rodea a niñas, a niños y a jóvenes de la Ciudad de México. Los casos de menores víctimas de adicciones, o de protagonistas de episodios violentos, reciben una amplia cobertura de medios, que, con frecuencia, proyectan imágenes distorsionadas que poco contribuyen a la comprensión, y menos a la erradicación de estos problemas.
Violencia, maltrato y adicción son fenómenos de naturaleza distinta, aunque guardan una estrecha relación. En este trabajo se discuten los conceptos, para, desde ahí, establecer su conexión. Se argumenta que un ambiente escolar estimulante, cálido y seguro, es la base para impulsar la mejora académica, pero también para prevenir la violencia y para combatir las adicciones.
Después de revisar la experiencia de otros países en cuanto al combate del maltrato, de la violencia escolar y de la adicción, se presentan las acciones que actualmente se despliegan en la Ciudad de México, para concluir que aún estamos lejos de disponer de un mecanismo estable y poderoso que organice y que potencie la contribución interinstitucional y no gubernamental, imprescindible para proteger a la niñez y a la juventud.
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