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Styles of Educational Leadership and Building Blocks for a Successful Leadership Model in Primary Schools
Janko Plešnik* Stržovo 80, 2392 Mežica, Slovenija janko.plesnik@gmail.com
Boris Bukovec
Fakulteta za organizacijske študije v Novem mestu, Ulica talcev 3, 8000 Novo mesto,
Slovenija boris.bukovec@fos-unm. si
Abstract:
Purpose and Originality: The purpose of this research is to show what type of leadership styles and models are used by the educational managers in Slovenian public primary schools. We wish for the managers to recognise their leadership style, upgrade it and if necessary, change it. Our purpose is to recognise the building blocks for a successful leadership model. The original scientific contribution of our research is in the formation of a successful leadership model in schools with its building blocks. The theoretical contribution is in the study, explanation and upgrade of theoretical findings in the scientific fields that we used as background. When examining the professional and scientific literature and cases, we found out that such model, as it was in our research is not to be found in Slovenia.
Method: On the basis of an extensive systematic overview and literature analysis in our examination field, we have chosen an online questionnaire with the help of which we questioned all employees in primary schools about the leadership. We received full answers from 89 educational managers and 243 teachers. We analysed the results given with the intent to choose leadership styles. We used many research methods and statistic tests.
Results: The results of our research have shown that in teachers as well as educational managers, transformational leadership is ranked highest, especially the "motivation with excitement" approach. The lowest average is with passive leadership. The teachers believe that the transactional and passive leadership styles are more used by the managers than they believe for themselves. We examined whether there are any statistically distinct differences regarding the use of a chosen leadership model. This statement was partially confirmed. On the theoretical basis and quantitative research we have formed a model for a successful leadership in primary schools, in which we included eleven building blocks.
Society: Our research included schools across the country and, therefore, it is safe to state that our findings are true for all public primary schools in Slovenia. With the choice of the right leadership style we can expect important changes for the better. This research has influence on the society and environment we live in. With the help of good leadership we increase satisfaction, improve relationship towards co-workers, children, students, and impact wider public. For that reason we have more satisfied individuals in our society. If the previously mentioned model is tested in other segments of the public sector as well, and proven successful, our research will impact a wide number of employees in a large public sector in Slovenia.
Limitations / further research: The research is based on public schools only; the (MLQ) questionnaire is of foreign origin. The possibilities for further research are: research that would include the entire school system in Slovenia and its comparison to similar schools abroad.
Keywords: leadership, primary school, educational manager, leadership styles, leadership building blocks.
* Korespondenčni avtor / Correspondence author
Prejeto: 15. november 2019; revidirano 19. november 2019; sprejeto: 5. december 2019. / Received: 15th November 2019; revised: 19th November 2019; accepted: 5th December 2019.
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1 Introduction
A modern market is composed of many companies; public, private, and a combination of the two. Every day new ones arise and many of them end. There are many factors which contribute to this, both inside and outside the company. One of them is most certainly leadership. Researchers put a lot of emphasis on leadership. It has gained recognition in every form of organised society, and it is as old as mankind (Kovač, Mayer, & Jesenko, 2004, p. 9). There have always been people who knew more, dared more and therefore others followed. Some dared to lead - consciously or subconsciously. Leadership is what made them different from others and they were more competitive (Hočevar, Jaklič, & Zagoršek, 2003, p, 125). Nobody is born a leader, a leader is developed. We cannot "manage" people, we have to lead them (Drucker, 2001, p. 31).
Due to numerous researches and authors in this field, there is also a huge amount of theory and definitions of leadership. Most definitions are similar. Their key role is to direct employees onto the right path, encourage and motivate them and help them in their efforts. Most of the definitions of leadership are similar. Their key task is to direct employees into the right direction impress and motivate them and help them in their efforts. The main verb in all authors is: to want (Dimovski & Penger, 2008, p. 114). People like to be guided well, they like good, strong and confident managers. With such managers they can accomplish much more since they know that they have a captain (Templar, 2009, str. 224). The world is changing rapidly and so is the business world. Hence, we need new leaders, managers with new knowledge that will be capable and ready to enrich human potential by communication, encouraging and team work.
In our study we have researched leadership in primary schools. The educational manager is leading two very different groups: students and employees. Therefore he/she must use different approach. Modern educational managers have to be capable to create an open organisational culture, based on knowledge and creative environment (Bennis & Goldsmith in Dimovski & Penger, 2008, p. 119). Educational managers differ from managers in other organisations in their focus and responsibility towards learning (Koren, 2007, p. 13). In professional public there is a dilemma about dividing educational management into management and pedagogical leadership in which management represents leadership, finances, rules, and employment and is done by managers because it has to be done. On the other hand, educational leadership represents something educational managers wish to be doing, but cannot find enough time: co-operating with teachers, didactics, hospitations, working with students, etc. Managing educational sources will become more and more important and these are not predictions, it is already happening (Koren, 2007, p. 13). Employees have become an important competitive factor. With their knowledge and experience they belong to the so-called "intangible assets", which according to evaluation and research is up to 85% of a company's value (Turnšek Mikačic & Ovsenik, 2015, p. 46). Employees have become an important competitive factor. With their knowledge and
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experience they belong to the so-called "intangible assets", which according to evaluation and research is up to 85% of a company's value (Turnšek Mikačic & Ovsenik, 2015, p. 46). According to Senge (in Musek Lešnik, 2003, p. 39) the crisis of modern education is: that the educational systems are based on an outdated model from the times of an early industrial revolution and are not capable to deal with higher demands of the modern world. Ferjan (1996, p. 91) compares school to industry. However, industry has quietly been developing throughout the last couple of years and school has not. Management in companies had to adapt to the competition quickly in order not to go bankrupt.
During the last couple of years there has been dissatisfaction with the public school system from employees as well as society. Some authors have found out that low efficiency, especially in a complex and unstable environment is typical for the public sector. Normally the public sector acts as a generator of the crisis in society and triggers a lower legitimacy of the social state (Ovsenik & Ambrož, 1999, p. 99). A good and successful leadership can help improve the situation in our school system.
Educational managers can be individuals with fulfilled conditions to work in a primary school. This includes teachers from different profiles and education counsellors. Since educational programmes they attend have limited resources and a lack of discussion about leadership, we have researched styles of successful leadership, its characteristics and building blocks.
The purpose of our research was to help educational managers in public schools recognize the leadership styles and inform them about their use in different situations. Furthermore, we wanted the managers to become familiar with the successful leadership building blocks in order to make their management easier. The importance of this research is in the fact that, the more successful the managers will be in leadership, the more satisfied employees they will have.
2 Theoretical framework
Clemmer (2008, str. 21) states that leadership is a verb, not a noun. It means taking actions and not a position. Leadership is not connected to our role, but the things we do. What does it mean to lead? It means being in front and showing others the direction. It means managing the current of events. Rao (2016, str. 174 - 179) emphasizes that leaders must constantly explore and learn. Authors are very different in their descriptions of leadership styles. Robbine (2001, p 320) describes the autocratic, democratic, and hands-off leadership styles. Blanchard, Zigarmi & Zigarmi, (1995, p. 33) define the following basic leadership styles: directive, instructional, supporting and delegating style. Max Weber divided leadership styles into patriarchal, charismatic, autocratic, and bureaucratic leadership style (in Kovač, Mayer & Jesenko, 2004, p. 23). According to Lattmannu (Kovač, Mayer & Jesenko, 2004, p. 24) there are the following leadership styles: despotic, paternalistic, pedagogical, participative, partner,
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and self-management. Even the leadership theories are different (situational, interactional, theory of exchange - transactional theory, transformational leadership). The newest category is auto poetic leadership (Bukovec, 2017). Styles and theories differ, but in one case the authors agree: there is no ideal leadership style. It all depends from situation to situation.
The number of educational establishments is constantly growing. Also Ovsenik, Bukovec & Ovsenik (2015, p. 21) quote the Occupational Outlook Handbook (2012), which predicts their rapid growth in the 21st century.
Kovač, Mayer in Jesenko (2004, p. 53 - 57) determine the qualities, successful leaders should possess. We can call them leadership building block. A study about the qualities of successful leaders has been conducted. We conducted a research from which we learned how teachers of one school see leadership building blocks and what qualities should an educational manager as the leader of a school have. The same research was made at the professional gathering of educational managers in primary schools of the Koroška region. Hence, we were able to compare three different bases of building blocks (individual building blocks are listed in the chapter: Results).
According to the study, the highest ranked qualities are: motivation of co-workers, honesty, and organisational ability. Without a doubt these are key qualities of good leaders. In the second highest-ranked group are: willingness to listen to your co-workers, responsibility, determination and energy. In the third group are: knowledge, self-criticism, ability to moderate, power of expression, and creativity. In the last, fourth group are: capability and sense of humour.
If we compare the results of the survey conducted by Kovač, Mayer and Jesenko (see Figure 1) and the answers given by teachers and educational managers, we can find out that the highest ranked qualities from the survey (motivation of co-workers, honesty, and organisational ability) were also expressed by the teachers - in all three, and by educational managers - in two out of three.
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Figure 1. Qualities of a successful leader (taken from Kovac, Mayer, Jesenko, 2004, p. 187) On the basis of our findings and literature examination, we formed a hypothesis by which we will answer our research question.
H 1: There are no statistically significant differences regarding the chosen leadership style among educational managers and teachers in primary schools.
Educational managers are those who make changes: they get to know the need for change, they convince with trust and adequacy, they sense problems by listening, they are focused on changes by motivation, they act in co-operation with others, they co-operate in other fields (Markic, 2009 p. 9). Educational manager should be close to the teaching and learning process; he/she should include teachers in quality development; strengthen the development of formative grades; co-operate in teachers' development and create an internal organisation to encourage learning (Leo, 2015. P. 461-476). A transformational leader acts on the basis of: charisma, inspiration, intellectual stimulation, consideration towards individuals (Mozina, Bernik, Svetic, & Merkac, 2000, p. 28). Transformational leadership is the key in the concept of ideal school leadership (Berkovich, 2016, p. 609 - 622). Wei, Lee, & Kwan (2016, p. 822 -842) state that leaders should get information on how to adjust their leadership lead within the organisation.
3 Method
For the need of our exploration we formed an online questionnaire. The chosen questionnaire is internationally recognized and measures the description of leadership style. Our targeting population were all the educational managers and educational staff in primary education in Slovenia. We received our data from the online survey portal 1KA. We have formed two questionnaires, one for the teachers and one for the educational managers. The only difference between the two questionnaires is that in the latter, the educational managers evaluate their own leadership and in the former the teachers evaluate the leadership of their superior, i.e. their educational manager. The first part of the survey is the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ form 5x). It measures nine leadership styles: transformational style
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(idealised influence on a quality; idealised influence - behaviour; motivation with excitement; intellectual stimulation; individual approach); transactional style (leadership with reward; active leadership with exceptions) and passive style (passive leadership with exceptions; hands-off leadership - Laisset-faire), as well as three results of the influence of leadership styles (additional effort; efficient facilitator; satisfaction with leadership) according to the model of full range leadership. The author is Bass (Senica, 2009). The participants evaluate the leadership behaviour with the help of a five-level scale (0 - not true at all; 4 - often true, if not always).
In the last part of the survey are demographic data. Here are four closed type questions: gender, age, length of service, and education. To express value we used descriptive and numerical variables.
Our target population were educational managers and employees in primary schools in Slovenia. Our data pattern included 330 people, from which 88 were educational managers and 242 teachers. We used quantitative and qualitative methods of research, namely: descriptive method, compilation method, comparative method and statistical method. We evaluated the reliability of the questionnaire with Cronbach's alpha which measures consistency. Reliability is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Reliability of Questionnaire
Variable	Cronbach' Alpha	N	Reability
Managing set Statements	0.903	45	Excellent
Commitment	0.823	12	Good
We used many different ways to choose the building blocks for a successful leadership. At first we used the results of a study conducted by Kovač, Mayer and Jesenko (2004, p. 185189). In the study 212 experts from 12 larger Slovenian companies were chosen as the most promising for a reference group. The purpose was to determine and evaluate the qualities people most commonly attribute to successful leaders, and we may call them building blocks of leadership. The second group were teachers from one Slovenian school who pointed out what, in their opinion, the most important leadership building blocks are. In the third group were educational managers from primary schools in the Koroška region, who also noted their most important building blocks.
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4 Results and discussion
We sent the questionnaires to educational managers in primary school to fill out and hand out to their employees. After examination we found out that 692 teachers opened the survey, but fully we received 243 fully and correctly filled out (35.12%). Also 346 educational managers opened the survey, but we received 89 fully and correctly filled out (25.72%).
Most of the respondents were between the age of 41 and 60 (69.5%), followed by those between 21 and 40 (23.3%). The majority had a length of service from 21 to 30 years (30.4%), closely followed by those from 31 years and more (30.1%). According to education, most of the respondents had a university degree (67.1%), followed by the ones with a short-cycle college (17.8%).
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Table 2. Average values of statements about leadership styles
	Average	N	Std. deviations	Median
Teachers TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE				
Idealized Influence (Attributed)	2.69	224	0.868	3
Idealized Influence (Behavior)	2.82	228	0.680	3
Inspirational Motivation	2.90	225	0.763	3
Intellectual Stimulation	2.73	228	0.802	3
Individualized Consideration	2.63	227	0.888	3
TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE				
Contingent Reward	2.89	229	0.798	3
Management-by-Exception (Active)	1.94	226	0.537	2
PASSIV LEADERSHIP STYLE				
Management-by-Exception (Passive)	1.63	227	0.776	2
Total
Laissez-faire Leadership RESULTS OF LEADERSHIP Extra Effort Effectiveness
1.11
2.60 2.75
229
234 233
Educational Managers
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE
Idealized Influence (Attributed)
Idealized Influence (Behavior)
Inspirational Motivation
Intellectual Stimulation
Individualized Consideration
TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE
Contingent Reward
Management-by-Exception (Active)
PASSIV LEADERSHIP STYLE
Management-by-Exception (Passive)
Laissez-faire Leadership
RESULTS OF LEADERSHIP
Extra Effort
Effectiveness
3.00 1.68
1.23 0.50
2.87 3.05
86
84
85
86
87
88
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE
0.939
0.941 0.870
0.530 0.539
0.643 0.484
0.499 0.463
TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE
Contingent Reward	2.92	315	0.735
Management-by-Exception (Active)	1.87	310	0.550 PASSIV LEADERSHIP STYLE
Management-by-Exception (Passive)	1.52	312	0.762
Laissez-faire Leadership	0.94	315	0.883 RESULTS OF LEADERSHIP
Extra Effort	2.67	321	0.852
Effectiveness	2.84	321	0.791
2.87	86	0.539	3
3.10	87	0.477	3
3.07	86	0.534	3
3.17	88	0.373	3
3.01	86	0.468	3
Idealized Influence (Attributed)	2.74	310	0.794	3
Idealized Influence (Behavior)	2.90	315	0.642	3
Inspirational Motivation	2.95	311	0.710	3
Intellectual Stimulation	2.85	316	0.735	3
Individualized Consideration	2.73	313	0.812	3
1
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With teachers and in the form of transformational leadership style, the highest average is in "motivating with the help of excitement (M = 2.90: SD = 0.763). In transactional leadership style the highest average is conditioned award (M = 1.63: SD = 0.776). In passive leadership style the highest average is in passive leadership with exceptions (M = 1.63: SD = 0,776). In the efficient facilitator style the highest average is in efficient facilitator (M = 2.75 : SD = 0,870). In all the styles, passive leadership showed the lowest average. With educational managers and transformational style the highest average has the form of intellectual stimulation (M = 3.17: SD = 0.373). In transactional style the highest is the form with conditioned award, in which M = 3.00 and SD = 0,530. In passive style the highest is the form of passive leadership with exceptions, with an average of M=3.05:SD=0.463). In all styles when examining educational managers, the highest average was in the form of intellectual stimulation (M=3.17).
Let us examine the sum of dimension values: in transformational leadership style the highest average is in motivating with excitement (M = 2.95 : SD = 0.710); in transactional style the highest value is in leadership with conditioned award (M = 2.92 : SD = 0.735); in passive leadership the highest is in leadership with exception, with the average value of (M = 1.52 and SD = 0.762); in results of leadership, the highest average is in efficient facilitator (M = 2.84 : SD = 0.791).
As seen from Table 1 and Figure 2, where we show the combined dimensions of leadership styles, educational managers had higher average in transformational leadership style (M = 3.05) and in results of leadership (M = 2.96) in comparison to teachers. Teachers had higher average transactional (M = 2.42) and passive leadership style (M = 1.37). Teachers believe that transactional and passive leadership styles are more common with educational managers as do the managers for themselves.
Teacliers	T-eacte rs	Teachers	Tea-cliers
TRANS FO R MATIO NAL	TRANSACTIONAL	PASSIV LEADERSHIP	RESULTS OF
LEADERSHIP STYLE	LEADERSHIP STYLE	STYLE	LEADERSHIP
Figure 2. Combined dimensions of leadership styles
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Table 3. Comparison of leadership building blocks
Research Kovač, Mayer and Jesenko
Techers at conference
Educational Managers in the Koroška region._
Our research
Theory
Determination Self-criticism
Responsibility
Listener
Motivation Worldliness
Organized Creativity Integrity
Energy
Humour
Humanity Logic Consistency Adaptability
Empathy
Organized
Building on
interaction
Long-term
Education
Handling changes well.
Tolerance
Care for others
Determination Sensitivity
Professional Mediator competence
Adaptation to the environment
Curiosity
Caring for the commitment
Sociability Creativity Intelligence
Accessibility Determination Emotional
stability
Humour
Man of honour
Integrity
Organized Consistency Creativity
Flexibility Integrity
Care for others
Expressive power Prudence Curiosity Competence_Integrity_Humour
Pitcher 1993; Markič 2009; George
2006; Musek 2006.
Leo 2015; Elmore 2006; Stoll, Fink &
Earl 2003; Drucker 2004; Giesecke &
McNeil 2005; Žurga 2004; Kovačič &
Bosilj - Vukšic 2005; Gabrijelčič
1995.
Cimerman et al. 2003; Rozman & Stare 2008; Kets de Vries & Florent -Treacy 2000; Clemmer 2008; Drucker 2001; Busek 2006; Kovačič & Bosilj-Vukšic 2005; Turnšek Mikačic &Ovsenik 2015; Calabrese 2002; Lou, Song, Gebert, Zhang & Feng 2016: Moos, Mahony & Reeves 2007. Bennis & Goldsmith 2008; Ryff 1989; Treven 2001; Musek Lešnik 2003; Davies 2002;
Možina et al 2002; Dimovski & Penger 2008; Tracy 2000.
Gyensare, Anku-Tsede, Sanda & Okpoti 2016; Shirrell 2016; Limsila & Ogunlana 2008; Joo, Yoon & Jeung 2012; Luo, Song, Gebert, Zhang & Feng 2016; Chan & Mak 2014. Kovač, Mayer & Jesenko 2004; Keung & Rock&son-Szapkiw 2013; Jacobson 2011
Pardey 2008; Adizes 1996; Kovač, Mayer & Jesenko 2004; Groves 2006; Kern, Ferjan, Rajkovič & Paape 2010
Tracy 2000; George 2006; Covey 2000; Patch&g 2011; Kovač, Mayer & Jesenko 2004; Goffe & Jones 1999; Cimerman et al. 2003 Handford & Leithwood 2013; Crum, Sherman & Myran 2010. Dimovski & Penger 2008; Honkaniemi, Lehtonen & Hasu 2015; Giesecke & McNeil 2005; Kovač, Mayer & Jesenko 2004. Blanchard & Bowles 2002; Jerman 1994; Ovsenik & Ambrož 2000; Hočevar, Jaklič & Zagoršek 2003; Zupan 2001: Kralj 2003; Cimerman et al. 2003; Plump et al. 2016; Viitala, Tanskanen & Santti 2015; Robertson, Birch, & Cooper 2012; Mihalič 2008.
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In Table 3 is a comparison of leadership building blocks. In the first column are building blocks described by Kovač, Mayer and Jesenko (2004) based on their research. In the second column are building blocks pointed out by teachers. The third column describes building blocks suggested by educational managers of Koroška's primary schools. In the fourth column are building blocks, based on the examined literature (written in the fifth column) in our research.
With educational managers in transformational leadership style, the highest average in is the category of intellectual stimulation, followed by idealised behaviour (influence). The lowest average is in idealised influence (assigned qualities). On top in transactional leadership is leadership style with conditioned reward, followed by active leadership with exceptions. In passive leadership style, highest is passive leadership with exceptions and lowest is hands-off leadership style. In results of leadership, the highest average is in efficient facilitator.
Combined values of dimensions, educational managers and teachers together, show the following results: in transactional leadership style the highest average is in motivating with the help of excitement; in transactional style, leadership with conditioned award; in passive style, leadership with exceptions and in results of leadership - efficient facilitator.
Educational managers had higher average (as teachers) in transformational style and in results of leadership. Teachers on the other hand had higher average in transactional and passive leadership styles. The teachers therefore believe that transactional and passive leadership styles are more common than the managers do for themselves.
In our hypothesis we claimed that there are no statistically significant differences among educational managers and teachers in primary schools regarding a chosen leadership style. Statistically significant differences (Table 1 and Figure 2) in which educational managers have higher rank average occurred in the following statements: idealised behaviour, intellectual stimulation, individual approach towards employees, additional effort, efficient facilitator, transformational leadership style and results of leadership. Teachers have statistically higher rank average in the following leadership types: passive leadership with exceptions, hands-off leadership, and passive leadership style. Hypothesis for this statement was denied.
On the basis of the chosen leadership building blocks (Figure 1) which we obtained from the study by Kovač, Mayer and Jesenko (2004) and Table 3, where we showed building blocks for a successful leadership, pointed out by teachers in one Slovenian school and educational managers of Koroška, we made our own choice of building blocks. These were showed in a model of successful leadership, where we also added the main styles of leadership (Figure 3).
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Figure 3. Building blocks for a successful leadership model of employees in primary schools
The choice for a leadership style depends on a situation. This can be done by those, who truly master the art of leadership. Although all educational managers, after completion of the educational manager's course, should possess such skills, the question remains whether this is sufficient to manage a school. Educational managers come solely from teachers and educational counsellors and on Universities where they get their education they do not get sufficient knowledge about leadership. Therefore, our research could help to increase the number of classes and time spent for such education, especially at the educational manager's courses. It would be interesting to expand our study to educational managers and school directors in the entire Slovenian educational system. The second possibility is to make a comparison with other schools from our neighbouring countries. From the above mentioned additional research we could get information about different knowledge from which educational managers in Slovenia would benefit.
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Educational managers nowadays are supposed to be curious, which means constant education and adaptation to the environment and mastering changes. What is more, leaders will have to know how to take risks and will have to survive in turbulent environment, full of fast changes. Their main motivation should not only be money but their mission. Leading with heart, building relationships will be their mission, because human resources are becoming a more and more important competitive advantage of companies. Educational managers will have to develop the skills of their employees, they will have to know how to create good climate and manage stress for themselves and the employees. They will have to be able to keep good employees in schools.
5 Conclusion
With our research we wished to examine the possible connection in the chosen leadership style among educational managers and teachers in Slovenian primary schools. Additionally, we have researched the qualities or building blocks of a successful leadership model. We have conducted a quantitative online research with the help of a questionnaire, which was sent to all primary schools in Slovenia. With the help of analyses and statistical methods we discovered, that there is no difference among educational managers and teachers when it comes to choosing a leadership model. We have also formed a model of successful leadership with leadership building blocks and main styles of leadership.
Our original contribution to science is in the form of a model for successful leadership. Leadership depends on a situation and a good leader must recognise and choose the right leadership style in a given situation. Since there is no universal, general model, educational managers must constantly educate themselves in the field of leadership and management. Only in this way they will be able to successfully manage their school. Considering the fact that the public sector in Slovenia is very large (more than 160.000 employees), our research can strongly influence good leadership and consequently bring satisfaction to many employees and their families.
In our research we used a questionnaire of foreign origin (MLQ) which presented an issue, since it could portray different results in different cultural and social environment. Also, the response (especially from teachers) was lower than expected. The last, not so important, issue was that we used the questionnaire only in public schools (more than 450) in Slovenia and not also in private schools (6). To continue our research we would suggest a similar research with the use of the same measuring instruments abroad, especially in our neighbouring countries. In these countries there is similar climate and customs. To obtain results for all levels of education in Slovenia, one would have to conduct a research in which would include the entire public educational system. Our final proposal is to make analysis what educational managers need and in which field of leadership they wish to educate.
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Izzivi prihodnosti / Challenges of the Future,
November 2019, leto / year 4, številka / number 4, str. / pp. 193-208.
Članek / Article
***
Janko Plešnik completed a master's degree in Knowledge Management at the International School for Social and Business Studies. Since 2011 he has been employed as an educational manager at Mežica primary school. At
the Faculty of Organisation Studies in Novo mesto he continues his doctoral study in Quality Manegement.
***
Boris Bukovec (1961) finished his diploma thesis at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Ljubljana and his master's and doctoral studies at the Faculty of Organizational sciences in Kranj in the field of Quality Management. After twenty years of service in the automotive industry he became a professor at the Faculty of Organisation Studies in Novo mesto. He is a tenured professor of Management and focuses his research in studying modern paradigms, approaches, models and tools of mastering organisational changes, quality and efficiency. He is also a consultant in the field of management systems implementation.
Povzetek:
Stili in gradniki uspešnega modela vodenja v osnovnih šolah
Raziskovalno vprašanje (RV): Kateri so najbolj pogosti stili vodenja ravnateljev osnovnih šol v Sloveniji? Kateri so gradniki modela uspešnega vodenja?
Namen: Namen raziskave je prikazati, kakšne stile in modele vodenja uporabljajo ravnatelji javnih osnovnih šol v Sloveniji. Želimo, da ravnatelji prepoznajo svoj stil vodenja, ga nadgradijo in po potrebi tudi menjajo - odvisno od situacije. Naš namen je tudi prepoznati gradnike modela uspešnega vodenja.
Metoda: Na osnovi temeljitega sistematičnega pregleda in analize literature, ki se nanaša na naše preučevano področje, smo izbrali spletni anketni vprašalnik. Z njim smo spraševali vse zaposlene o stilih vodenja osnovnih šol. Prejeli smo popolne odgovore 89 ravnateljev in 243 učiteljev. Dobljene rezultate smo analizirali z namenom izbora stilov vodenja. Uporabili smo več raziskovalnih metod in statistične teste.
Rezultati: Rezultati naše izvedene raziskave so pokazali, da je tako pri učiteljih kakor pri ravnateljih najvišje ocenjeno transformacijsko vodenje, in sicer podsklop motiviranje s pomočjo navduševanja; najnižje povprečje ima pasivno vodenje. Učitelji menijo, da je transakcijski in pasivni stil vodenja bolj prisoten pri ravnateljih, kot to oni sami menijo zase. Preverjali smo, ali med ravnatelji in učitelji osnovnih šol obstajajo statistično pomembne razlike glede uporabe izbranega modela vodenja. To trditev smo delno potrdili. Na osnovi teoretične podlage in kvantitativnega raziskovanja smo oblikovali model uspešnega vodenja osnovnih šol, kateremu smo pripisali enajst gradnikov.
Organizacija: Naša raziskava je zajela šole po celi državi, in zato lahko upravičeno trdimo, da naše ugotovitve veljajo za vse javne osnovne šole Slovenije. Z izbiro pravilnega stila vodenja lahko pričakujemo pomembne spremembe na bolje v organizaciji.
Družba: Raziskava ima vpliv tudi na družbo in okolje. Z dobrim vodenjem se krepi tudi zadovoljstvo, odnos do sodelavcev in otrok, učencev, dijakov in študentov in s tem tudi vpliv na širšo družbeno okolje. To pomeni tudi bolj zadovoljne pripadnike v družbi Če se omenjen model preskusi tudi v drugih segmentih javnega sektorja in če bo uspešen, bo imela naša raziskava vpliv na veliko število zaposlenih ljudi v Sloveniji, saj je javni sektor številčen.
Originalnost: Izvirni znanstveni prispevek naše raziskave se izraža v oblikovanju modela uspešnega vodenja v šolstvu z gradniki vodenja. Teoretični prispevek se kaže s preučevanjem, razlago in nadgradnjo teoretičnih dognanj na znanstvenih področjih, ki so podlaga našemu raziskovalnemu delu. Ko smo preučevali strokovno in znanstveno literaturo, pregledovali primere, smo ugotovili, da takega modela, kot smo ga izvedli mi, v Sloveniji ni.
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November 2019, leto / year 4, številka / number 4, str. / pp. 193-208.
Članek / Article
Omejitve/nadaljnje raziskovanje: Raziskava temelji samo na javnih šolah; uporabljen je bil vprašalnik tujega izvora (MLQ). Možnosti nadaljnjega raziskovanja so: raziskava po celotni vertikali šolstva v Sloveniji; primerjava s podobnimi šolami v tujini.
Ključne besede: vodenje, osnovna šola, ravnatelj, stili vodenja, gradniki vodenja.
Copyright(c) Janko PLEŠNIK, Boris BUKOVEC
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