Perspectives of leadership in the "concrete action system" of public schools in Porto district

Authors

  • Vera Diogo Escola Superior de Educação do Politécnico do Porto; inED – Centro de Investigação e Inovação em Educação
  • Fernando Diogo Escola Superior de Educação do Politécnico do Porto; InED - Centro de Investigação e Inovação em Educação
  • Inês Teixeira Escola Superior de Educação do Politécnico do Porto; InED - Centro de Investigação e Inovação em Educação

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34630/sensose.v7i2.3554

Keywords:

Power relations, «Concrete system of action», Leadership, Principal’s profile

Abstract

In 2018, the management model defined by the Decreto-Lei n.º 75/2008 has completed a decade of application. This model has reinforced the participation of the families and the community in the strategic decision organs, biding autonomy to responsabilisation, accountability and external evaluation of the effectiveness of school management. Simultaneously, cutting a long tradition of collegial leadership by election, introducing the function of the principal (“director”) recruited by contest (a shift from the previous practice of election of a collective body of direction), which is given the role of main responsible for the school or school group.

This article is based on a research focused on the experiences of the principals, reflecting about the 10 years of the current management model. The methodology was qualitative, with semi structured interviews to 30 principals. Here, we analyze the leadership perspectives of these principals, seeking to understand with which forms of management they identify and how they move within the «concrete school system of action», developing power relations at various scales, within and outside the education system.

Published

2020-07:-22

How to Cite

Diogo, V., Diogo, F., & Teixeira, I. . (2020). Perspectives of leadership in the "concrete action system" of public schools in Porto district. Sensos-e, 7(2), 40–49. https://doi.org/10.34630/sensose.v7i2.3554