Key factor that influences teacher learning: Leadership

In the principal’s office of School 4, there is a map of the world above the entrance. It is twisted and placed upside down. The principal points to it: “It is the world upside down. And this is because I see the world upside down”. This daring action to change the perspectives in the established system is a driving factor of leadership in the four Hungarian schools, and quite often this has been also projected to the rest of the teacher community.

As noted previously, leadership stands for a very important factor in schools that were visited during the research, yet the leadership style and characteristics varied to a great extent. In many cases, the interviewees noted that leadership was important, as it was evident here:

“Of course, we need our principal. She is a great leader, and without a good leader it would be a chaos. But also it is within you, that you have a duty, you have a thing to do” (Teacher 9, School 3).

The notion of duty and distributed leadership could be briefly noticed here, as in other interviews. When the teacher mentions “it is within you” she specifically means that the leader is not the only person in charge of the successful running of the school. In some cases, this was very distinctively pointed out:

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“There is a wider circle of leadership, this is all the heads of the subject groups, and they meet every second week to discuss questions. And if there is something that can be taken further, these heads can discuss it, so we only need to present it to the leadership” (Teacher 4, School 2).

Distributed leadership provides a wider and more diverse set of tasks for teachers, which positively benefits productive and creative learning of teachers. By taking leadership roles, teachers get exposed to obligations and problems that are not narrowly connected to classroom management and pedagogical approaches. The knowledge they gain here might not always benefit their classroom performance, but if looked from the transformative learning perspective, teachers with leadership tasks can arguably get better chances to engage with diversified professional learning.

While all school indicated to a successful leadership, the principals of the four institutions all had slightly different approaches to how they manage, lead and organise their work and this was reflected in the running of the school and the overall atmosphere. Particularly in the case of bigger schools, there was a greater sense of structure and organisation, even when it was rather invisible. In smaller schools, such as School 3, there was a greater sense of familial ties and friendship bonds that seemed stronger than the organisational aspects which were still present.

Another common trait was the sense of pride that was implicitly or explicitly stated in almost every interview. The pride that is associated with the school in some ways comes from the feeling of ownership and success, which is very carefully and consciously developed by the leadership. The interviewees did stress this in the following quotes:

“All the decisions and all involvement are made together. Or at least nearly everyone needs to agree. For example, if someone new joins, they will visit the lessons and do the 60-hour training. There will be someone there to help them. And as we now embark on the secondary school project, we decided together who wants to work on this, or any other project. It is absolutely up to them, and they join very freely. And everyone is involved, so sometimes there is a question: who makes the school running?” (Principal, School 3).

“The thing is that everyone owns the school by being involved, and if you think it is yours – you will do everything to make it work” (Teacher 9, School 3).

“They [the government] tried to do it in Hungary [enforce a curricular reform to teachers], but because it was forced the teachers stood against it. If the teachers work together with us [school leadership], and when we even have the agreement from the parents, then the change is not forced. And this is when it succeeds” (Principal, School 4).

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An anecdotal illustration of building a community in which everyone feels to have a contribution, thus creating a sense of ownership and purpose was described through this graphic excerpt: “There is a Hungarian novel, I don’t know if you know it. It is called The Paul Street Boys, and there is this group of boys. And one of them is very weak, he has a very low status among the boys. And I cannot translate it, but there was a teacher like this in the school and she was very focused on a minor thing that no one thought it was important. So, the task of the leadership was to find a way, and a value in this teacher’s interests. And to make others realise and see the value in it too. It was a small thing but it makes large difference at the end”

(Principal, School 2).

Interviews also indicated that the leadership in these four schools was perfectly clear with strategic direction of the school, and in all cases that heavily implied placing the child into the centre of the practice. Moreover, that also enabled the schools to have a strong idea of all others aspects, including the kind of teachers they need or the type and amount of funding they should apply for. This is pointed out in one teacher interview, but had also appeared in other interviews:

“The leadership is very conscious and very strategic about how to find grant proposals that the school can apply for. And they already have certain people in the staff who can do these things, who can participate, so they think of each colleague and how they can be good or useful. It’s like human resources. They monitor grant proposals, to find those that are suitable for the school and for the financial situation, to get more resources for the school. They motivate the teachers and their staff to take part in further training, and they also propose further training that teachers can take part of. It is thinking ahead, and also strategic thinking. And the feedback is important to them” (Teacher 5, School 2).

The level of dedication was also presented as an important element when the interviewees described school leadership, and some of the principals valued the same characteristics in their teachers. In particular, the principal of School 4 noted that even at the recruitment stage, he focuses on the character of the person rather than the formal qualifications and knowledge. He tries to understand how the newcomer will fit in the school and he points out that he prefers

“teachers with lots of energy”, those that are capable to invest themselves and are open to new experiences. In the Hungarian context, principals that act as dedicated leaders acted as positive role models for the teacher community, usually inspiring continuous learning and curiosity among the teachers.

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The leaders of all four schools were also very conscious of the importance of a comprehensive and continuous approach towards how the school is managed and organised. Therefore, who is going to be the successor was an important and difficult question, as pointed out in one of the interviews:

“The thing is how to find a best successor. One is very good in managing things and the other is very good in quantitative stuff and assessment. But when my predecessor selected me she saw humanistic characteristics in me. And while the system is working well, this is still not rooted within the system. I know the feeling of the community, some kind of spirit, and I'm trying to develop it and maintain it. I would like it to be sustainable. I do emphasize the human connection. Like a community that takes care for each other. It is very difficult to be a leader, and be part of the system for 30 years, and then you have to leave and you have to find that person that you think will take care best” (Principal, School 2).

For both the principals and teachers, the success of the school together with the satisfaction of the teachers was a direct consequence of the leadership style. And interviews to a great extent recognized that the role is not an easy one, as this teacher adds: “I am sure it is up to a good leader, one that does not get tired and that wants to keep it alive. Coordination is really difficult, because it’s not easy to see the results immediately.” (Teacher 3, School 1).