Research has found that the school principal plays an active part in introducing changes to the school, but in most cases, principals are not the initiators of the change but are rather agents that push forward in the desire to make things better for their schools. The principal is the factor that influences teachers to adopt the change and implement it. Huberman and Miles (1984) have found that teachers usually agree to take part in the process because they do not feel free to refuse a request made by the principals or the inspectors who are interested in making the change. Most studies agree, however, that forced changes are likely to fail.
Teachers’ agreement to take part in the process might be a result of the pressure from above, but the process itself cannot derive from this pressure. The principals have a lot of influence on the way a process will work (Kula & Globman, 1994;
Sharan, 1990). A principal who will devote the necessary resources to explaining things and supporting the staff in gaining the necessary skills will usually succeed in implementing a change in his or her school (Huberman and Miles, 1984).
The principal has to be an organisational leader (Fullan, 1982; Sarason, 1982).
However, the principal has to be a dominant figure in the process and explain the direction and support the staff. The principal should exercise various forms of intervention, which might be needed to make the change (Kula and Globamn, 1994).
The teachers are the ones who will actually make things work, but the need to change is in many cases the principal’s, as he or she is responsible for the success or failure of the school. The principal is therefore, a kind of navigator who leads the ship in its desired course. There are many cases in which principals halt changes in a latent manner, when they avoid giving the staff the necessary support, which they might need so badly in order to make the change. The initiators of the change might be external factors such as universities, industries and sometimes even the army.
This initiative cannot be implemented without the co-operation of “internal change agents”, meaning, principals and workers of all levels of the educational system (Kula & Globman, 1994; Sharan, 1990).
The agent is the key to a successful process of change. Change is not a one-time activity. It is a long, hard and painful process, which requires energy, time and budgets. Researchers seem to be in agreement regarding the time it takes to implement a change successfully and meaningfully. For a change to be implemented
in full a period of three years is needed (Fullan, 1982; Huberman & Miles, 1984 Sarason, 1982). It takes time to adapt contexts to new ways of teaching, for instance. The methods have to be adapted to the classes; the materials have to be adapted to the methods. Only after the teachers are familiar with the change and feel comfortable with the new ways, can they start adapting them to their classes.
The learning process has to be efficient and effective, and not just lectures that will increase the teachers' general knowledge (Joyce, Hersh and McKibbin, 1983; Joyce and Showers, 1988; Sharan and Hertz-Lazarovich, 1982). The process should start with theoretical learning and teachers should be given demonstrations of the new methods or procedures (Kula & Globman, 1994). Teachers then have to experience the new methods among themselves (Kula, 1991; Sharan, 1990). Feedback from the above experiences has to be analysed, and only then will the teachers be ready to make the big step towards implementation (Sharan, 1990; Sharan & Hertz Lazarovich, 1982). Before and while taking the plunge, teachers have to be closely and methodically guided, and reflect on the process (Fullan, 1982).
School principals make pedagogical and administrative decisions on a daily basis.
Some principals will make the decisions on their own, and others involve the teachers and work in a group. One assumption regarding the reason why a principal should be interested in a group process is that some decisions must be agreed upon by all workers in order to be effective (Mayer, 1963).
Friedman (1987) identifies four decision-making styles: an authoritative style, the consulting style, the group discussion style and the empowerment style. No style is good for all situations. An efficient leader, says Friedman, will be able to work in a variety of styles according to need. A principal should be a democratic leader who encourages the staff to be involved in the decision making process, who believes in change and development of new ideas. Some principals will initiate the reform and will be responsible for the whole process, while others might come up with the initiative, but will allow others to lead the process. In both cases, however, the principal has to be the leader of the reform and involved in all stages of the process.
When introducing changes, the principal has to find ways to involve the teachers in decisions that have to do with school policies. It is very important to include the parents and other members of the community in the process. By definition, the school principal is the leader of both administrative and pedagogical functions.
Guiding teachers: observing lessons and discussing the teachers’ work with them is of the utmost importance. The Ministry of Education states that a principal must observe teachers’ lessons, and give them advice and guidance. The teachers gain from this approach as well by getting continuous feedback, learning new methods, being appreciated and drawing conclusions for the future. It must be taken into consideration, though, that although pedagogically experienced, the principal cannot be an expert on all subjects and all teaching strategies. Therefore, in practice, most teachers do not regard the principal as their pedagogical leader, and rely more on their own judgement, trying to find the best ways to work with their students (Avida, 1984; Bergson and Melamed, 1965; Levy, 1985).
Staff development: One of the duties of the principal is to encourage teachers to develop and achieve a good professional level of teaching, to make sure that teachers keep learning and become updated in the changes in education in general and in their subject in particular.
The prevailing situation in Israel is that teachers are overloaded. This according to Woodcock (1993) affects their ability to deal with change and new initiatives. The teachers are quite isolated in their work. In order to administer successful changes, the teachers must have a chance to have professional dialogues, and work in co-operation. Teamwork is an essential aspect of teachers’ work, and necessary if the school is to go through massive change. Researchers do agree that teamwork improves the teachers’ relationships, which lead to greater satisfaction with their work (Sharan and Shachar, 1990). Teamwork means negotiations between teachers and other teachers, and between teachers and management. All these are necessary for the improvement of the system for the benefit of the clients - the students.
Parental and community involvement in school decisions and processes is another aspect of improvement and successful introduction of changes. A good community-school relationship is the responsibility of management, whose leader is the principal. The parental involvement idea is based on the fact that students’
motivation stems from the child’s everyday life out of school, of which the parents are a highly significant factor (Friedman, 1989).
Ties with the parents enable the principal to be more aware of the changes within the community, and of the changing public demands.
This, in turn, will help the principal to adapt to the social changes and decide on new ways, and with the cooperation of parents lead to more successful schoolwork. The principal must lead community involvement, so that all forces will be channelled in the same direction.
Having discussed the school principal as a manager and a a leader, the following section will discuss women as school principals.
The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but
The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be not weak; be not weak; be not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be
proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.
proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.
proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.
proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.