Educational leadership roles for the development of learning organizations: Seeking scope in the Greek context

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, in this rapidly changing environment, organizational learning constitutes a critical component toward school effectiveness. In a transitional period, the Greek nation is going through, as a consequence of a multifaceted and multi-layered crisis, the future of Greece’s well-being depends on improving educational performance to boost productivity and improve social outcomes. Greek schools operate mostly in a traditional way which inhibits change, development and progress. In addition, the Greek educational system is one of the most centralized educational systems in Europe with central government exercising close control on the inputs into the system. However, educational improvement depends heavily on school principals’ actions to play a facilitating role and empower teachers and schools to learn continuously and improve their quality. Since 2011, the Greek Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs (MofERRA) enacted several reforms which focus on an incipient culture of accountability, more autonomy and innovation, as well as, use of data to support improvement. School principals should build on this progress already made towards greater school and teacher autonomy and improvement; adopt an integrated leadership role; develop an internal educational policy in their schools which would allow them to activate specific mechanisms of continuous professional development; and thereby transform Greek schools into SLOs.

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Asimina Papazoglou

Asimina Papazoglou works as an early childhood teacher in a public kindergarten in Athens (Greece) from 2009. She graduated from International School of Naples in Italy and the University of Athens, Department of Early Childhood Education. She continued her studies in Hellenic Open University in Patra (Greece) where she was awarded a M.Ed. (Master’s in Education). She is now a PhD student, in Hellenic Open University, studying and conducting research on educational leadership, schools as learning organizations and school outcomes.

Manolis Koutouzis

Manolis Koutouzis serves as an Associate Professor (Educational Management) at the Hellenic Open University. He is also External Research Associate at the Centre of Educational Policy Development (KANEP) which operates under the Greek General Confederation of Labour. Manolis graduated from the University of Athens, Department of Primary Education. He continued his studies at the UK where he was awarded an MA (Organization, Planning and Management Education) and Ph.D. from the University of Reading.  He has also been a Fulbright scholar in 2006 when he attended the Postgraduate Course “Study of the United States Institute” at the University of Illinois, Chicago, USA.He has been scientific coordinator for many research projects concerning educational management, teachers professional development and educational policy related to vulnerable groups, while he has also been “country expert” in international programs of the OECD. Finally, he has taught in Postgraduate courses at the Universities of Athens, Thessaly and Western Macedonia as well as at the Open University of Cyprus.