LEADERSHIP IN CROATIAN SCHOOLS:THE ACTUAL SITUATION AND CHALLENGES

摘要

This paper is directed towards the research of the leadership in Croatian schools. The changes are hapening at a great speed in all the fields of Croatian reality, as well as in schools. New tasks are set before schools, demanding that they train pupils for living in the contemporary society, as well as for realization of different demands of the Croatian economy. The changes in schools today are directed towards the changes of the organizational development of the school, as well as towards the changes of the pedagogical leadership. Are the head teachers of today ready to meet those demands and do they have the adequate competencies for the efficient leadership of the school development? While doing this research we have been searching for the answers to the previous questions. In this paper it is being researched how teachers and school pedagogues perceive the quality of school leadership, and the hypothesis about the connection between the leadership variables and the following variables is being questioned: the effectiveness of the school, school atmosphere and job satisfaction. The empirical research has been conducted on the specimen of 265 subjects: 85 expert assistants – school pedagogues and 180 teachers from 48 primary schools in the area of eastern Croatia. A four-scale instrument has been used in the research: the scale for evaluation of leadership efficiency, IPOE scale – Perceived Leadership Effectiveness index and the items for evaluation of the satisfaction with relationships and jobs at school. The research results indicate the inter-connection among the researched variables. The subjects are not satisfied with the quality of the school atmosphere and the organizational effectiveness of the schools, but they express satisfaction with their jobs. The needs of the head teachers for the education and improving in the field of leadership have been established, which has not been systematically organized nowadays. Regarding the acquired results, the existing system of training and further education of head teachers is analyzed, and the solutions for the new educational models in the field of educational and pedagogical leadership in the Republic of Croatia are suggested.