Successful School Leadership in Rural Contexts: The Case of Cyprus

Abstract

The purpose of this article is twofold as it aims to compliment the effort of identifying the personal qualities and professional competencies generic to effective school leaders and to contribute to the comparison of effective leadership in diverse cultural contexts. Five examples of successful school principals in rural primary schools in Cyprus are described as part of the International Successful School Principals Project (ISSPP). Purposive sampling was used in a multi-perspective research methodology employing a semi-structured interview protocol. The findings of the case studies formed the basis of a framework of successful leadership according to which people-centered leadership, clearly communicated values and visions, a strong emphasis on the promotion of learning, the use of networked leadership as well as the creative management of competing values are all vital constituents of a successful leadership. The implications are significant both for practitioners and for policymakers since the framework demonstrates that successful leadership is effectuated through the realization of multiple intertwined leadership domains especially with regards to the specific context of rural primary schools in Cyprus.

The Impact of Leadership on the Communication Satisfaction of Primary School Teachers in Serbia

“…Many references point out the importance of leadership in schools (Aubrey, Godfrey, & Harris, 2013;Barnett & McCormick, 2012;Hallinger & Heck, 2010;Pashiardis, Savvides, Lytra, & Angelidou, 2011). Day, Harris, Hadfield, Tolley, and Beresford (2000) concluded that diverse countries from different school contexts have revealed the powerful impact of leadership processes on school effectiveness and improvement.…”

Successful secondary principalship in Cyprus

“…Principally, the quality of leadership is mainly measured through evidence on school improvement over time while emphasis should be placed, according to Pashiardis (1998), on a multiperspective examination of principal leadership, using the following three dimensions: "the career dimension" (on becoming a teacher and an education leader and the apprenticeship model of advancement to educational leadership positions as well), "the professional dimension" (leadership philosophy and foundations of educational leaders) and "the personal dimension" (concern for students, being a risk taker). Moreover, in the context of Cyprus, some studies conducted by Pashiardis (1995Pashiardis ( , 1998 and by Pashiardis et al (2011) have shown that successful school leaders have great love and ambition for their profession, keep to traditions and national heritage, often take risks by opposing the will of the ministry and are good administrators and good managers of time. At an international level, more research has been conducted on the key qualities, skills and behaviours central to successful principalship (Day and Leithwood, 2007;Jacobson et al, 2005).…”

The Career Paths of Primary School Principals in Cyprus And Malta: A Comparative Study

“…Recent studies in Cyprus (Pashiardis et al, 2011;Brauckmann & Pashiardis, 2012) also show that principals pay particular attention to building a strong relationship between the school and the parents, local communities and other organizations that actively take part in school events. Since Cyprus and Malta are small islands, sustaining a good relationship with the community and other organizations is essential.…”

“…Various studies have been done in the Cypriot context in order to understand the characteristics of effective school principals (Pashiardis, 1995;Pashiardis, 1998), professional development of school leaders (Thody et al, 2007;Michaelidou & Pashiardis, 2009) and successful school leadership (Pashiardis & Orphanou, 1999;Pashiardis, 2000;Pashiardis, 2001;Pashiardis et al, 2011). As a part of the collective study of Gronn and Ribbins (2003), Pashiardis and Ribbins (2003) interviewed eight school principals to explore their career path.…”