Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2016.1213650
School management innovation and principal support systems: toward the agenda for Croatian school reform
Nikša Alfirević
orcid.org/0000-0002-2130-982X
Jurica Pavičić
Renata Relja
Abstract
In this paper, we discuss if the current educational management
practices in Croatian schools are in line with the constructivist
prescriptions and what is their relationship with the available principal
support tools. Our research is based on previous empirical results,
related to the perceived needs of school principals for training and
support. Namely, in 2011, the surveyed school principals required
additional competencies to be developed in the fields of school
marketing and management. At that time, the primary school
principals are being surveyed, related to their managerial practices
and the obtained results are interpreted in the context of the already
announced, comprehensive school reform in Croatia, designed
according to the constructivist educational theories. The empirical
results demonstrate that the managerial practices of Croatian
primary schools are not compatible with the constructivist theory of
education. One group of principals (27.6%) have adequate delegation
skills and focus on the specific fields of project management and
school marketing, while the majority demonstrate one (or several)
forms of ineffective practices. There is limited empirical evidence of
the statistically significant differences in the usage of principal support
tools/approaches, although the specific usage patterns have been
identified.
Keywords
School management; innovation; principal support; school reform; Croatia
Hrčak ID:
171794
URI
Publication date:
22.12.2016.
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