A Report on the HEAD-Ache in Norway

Abstract

The article examines different understandings of school leadership in Norway by reporting the findings of a HEAD Project (2004-8). The article discusses how school leadership training in Norway has responded to the government's educational policy aims and strategies in the context of globalization. Using the concept of "education value chain," the study reveals that while the government favors professional leadership policy formulated within the New Public Management framework, the policy is not implemented in practice. Instead, the training perpetuates a tradition of focusing on teachers more than on school leaders. The reasons for this Norwegian particularity are found in the country's culture, curriculum tradition, and its present affluent national economy.