Principal´s Work: The Conditions, Obstacles and Opportunities for Learning in the Daily Activities
2016 (English)In: Uddevalla Symposium 2016: Geography, Open Innovation,Diversity and Entrepreneurship. Revised papers presented at the 19th Uddevalla Symposium, 30 June- 2 July, 2016, London, UK / [ed] Iréne Bernhard, Trollhättan: University West , 2016, p. 435-450Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
School is often described as a complex organization with multiple challenges and expectations, where many studies have focused on teachers´ and students´ the situations. In these studies the principal's role are often described as changing from an educational leader to being and becoming organizational manager. But what the principal's daily work consists of and what competences leadership requires, are not as clearly studied area. Especially not in relation to how the introduction of ICT in education challenges established routines. The aim of this study is to reveal how ICT influence principal´s everyday workload. Data consists of includes audio-recorded interviews with ten secondary school principals. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed based on principals' views on the leadership, peer-support, ongoing change, scope of action and management of their unexpected. The results show that principals has a complex role, both presuppose and develop other skills than teachers often need. The conditions for learning, individually of collectively, in these studied organizations can be said to be good, and even though ICT is a mean for information, communication and administrative tasks, it is seldom seen as a way for reflection or learning. Despite that, they express that ICT has a potential for reducing some administrative tasks and make discussions, decisions, goals and ongoing dilemmas transparent and inclusive over time and place. The results indicate what characterizes principal´s professional knowledge to a great extent is multifaceted but consist of physical meetings with different purposes. As ICT is introduced this challenges the historical established routines that frames the work, but simultaneously it opens up for new possibilities, which in all will change the role for principal's work.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Trollhättan: University West , 2016. p. 435-450
Series
Reports University West, ISSN 2002-6188, E-ISSN 2002-6196 ; 2016:5
Keywords [en]
Principal; knowledge, decision-making; individual reflecting and collective reflection, ICT
National Category
Learning Work Sciences
Research subject
Work Integrated Learning; SOCIAL SCIENCE, Pedagogics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hv:diva-10523ISBN: 978-91-87531-39-2 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hv-10523DiVA, id: diva2:1063510
Conference
Uddevalla Symposium 2016: Geography, Open Innovation,Diversity and Entrepreneurship. The 19th Uddevalla Symposium, 30 June- 2 July, 2016, London, UK
2017-01-102017-01-102019-12-04Bibliographically approved