A case study of teachers' and principals' perceptions of school leadership

Leadership is recognised as a significant characteristic influencing school effectiveness. The recent devolution of decision-making responsibility from centralised authorities to local school-based management has resulted in changes in leadership provision in schools. Consequently, school restructuring has created new expectations of those who are in leadership positions to rethink the leadership paradigm, to develop effective and purposeful leadership, and to promote learning communities based on collaborative and collegial models. As New Zealand has experienced fourteen years of SBM, useful insights could be gained regarding the way that teachers and principals perceive school leadership. The purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers and principals, in one school district in New Zealand, perceived school leadership (deputy principal, assistant principal, senior teacher/management unit holder) in terms of leadership style and leadership management strategies. As well, the study considered the characteristics of leadership that teachers and principals considered as important and being given emphasis in their school. An examination was also made of how teachers perceived their engagement in school decision-making and whether their perceptions are influenced by other factors. A case study method was selected involving a survey of teachers and a survey of principals, semi-structured follow up interviews of teachers, semi-structured interviews of senior teachers and a document analysis relating to school management strategies. Results of the study show that the majority of teachers perceive their school leadership to exhibit characteristics of transformational leadership, and that school decision-making is characterised by collaborative and cooperative processes.