To tenure or not to tenure? Some implications for school leaders’ proactive behavior from a comparative perspective

Abstract

Purpose Tenure is frequently conceived as a two-edged sword: on the one hand, it provides professional security enabling individuals to initiate hazardous endeavors characterized by uncertainty, risk and potential negative results. On the other hand, professional security may negatively affect motivation, promote indifference and undermine genuine initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to assess the implications tenure has on school leaders’ proactive behavior, evident in their tendency to innovate and initiate creative and authentic endeavors. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaires were administered to 30 non-tenured Greek school principals and 42 tenured Israeli school leaders. School leaders were questioned about their tendency to innovate and act creatively and authentically. Findings Comparisons of groups’ mean scores show that Greek school leaders obtained higher scores when creativity, authenticity and innovativeness are compared between the two groups. These findings are further supported in a discriminant analysis indicating that the two groups’ orientations toward the discriminant function comprising variables, which characterize proactive behavior, are opposite. Originality/value The findings of the authors obtained in this study show that job security, which follows tenure, does not guarantee proactive behavior. Implications are further discussed.

Investigating the triangle: The school principal’s role, term of office, and school improvement in Greece

“…Tenure discourse underlined the need to increase school principals’ autonomy and ensure continuity and stability in school administration (Jacobs, 2016; Kahlenberg, 2016; Semendinger, 2000). Others considered that non-tenure enhances effectiveness, as it is a tool for accountability and promoting more proactive behaviour (Blaschke, 1974; Nir and Ifanti, 2016; Schleicher, 2012; Semendinger, 2000). It was also pointed out that non-tenure might be a better fit for the changing needs of both the school and the school principals themselves (Fidler and Atton, 2004 in Earley and Weindling, 2007).…”

“…Indeed, few studies have examined the impact of school principals’ position status on their effectiveness and behaviour (e.g. Nir and Ifanti, 2016; Semendinger, 2000). Regarding school principals in Greece, several studies (Argyriou et al, 2015; Bakalbasi and Dimitriou, 2016; Dimopoulos et al, 2015; Kaparou and Bush, 2016; Kelesidis, 2018; Tektonopoulou, 2019) have mainly referred to their role and/or the selection system, concluding that the Greek educational system, mainly because of its centralised character, provides school principals with neither the opportunities and means nor the motivation to take on a leading role.…”

Η Εν Δράσει Θητεία Του Διευθυντή Σχολείου Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης Στην Ελλάδα

“…Στραβάκου & Κουγιουρούκου, 2008). Από διαφορετική σκοπιά, τέλος, η συγκριτική έρευνα των Nir & Ifanti (2016) εξετάζει τη σχέση μεταξύ θητείας-μονιμότητας και ενεργητικής συμπεριφοράς σε διευθυντές σχολείων πρωτοβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης της Ελλάδας και του Ισραήλ.…”