Loading...
3 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
- Portuguese principals’ professional development needs and preferred learning methodsPublication . Cunha, Rosário Serrão; Tintoré, Mireia; Cabral, Ilídia; Alves, José MatiasDue to the crucial role principals have on school outcomes, investing in their training is a cost-effective approach for schools’ improvement. Research shows that principals attribute pertinence to their ongoing professional development. However, little research has been conducted on principals’ training needs from their viewpoint, particularly in Portugal. Through individual interviews (n = 19) and a questionnaire (n = 117) to principals, we collected data that enable us to understand principals’ perceptions on their training needs, focusing on learning areas, skills to be developed and learning methods. Results show considerable variability, reinforcing the relevance of tailored and contextualised approaches to professional development. Globally, principals request management skills and training opportunities that enable them to develop leadership skills (e.g., personal, interpersonal/socioemotional). Moreover, principals need training on instructional and distributed leadership practices. Collaborative and reflective methods are the ones principals prefer. Practical implications for the design of systematic professional development practices, in a lifelong perspective, are also discussed.
- Culturas escolares, lideranças e resultados: apresentação de resultados de um estudo de caso duploPublication . Amorim, Sílvia; Cabral, Ilídia; Alves, José MatiasMuitos investigadores, em alguns casos organizados em projetos internacionais, têm mostrado evidências empíricas consideráveis no sentido que a qualidade da liderança e a cultura escolar podem ser fatores importantes para explicar a variação dos resultados dos alunos entre escolas. O estudo apresentado caracteriza o papel das lideranças e da cultura escolar de duas escolas com resultados académicos diferentes, mas com contextos e populações estudantis semelhantes. Aplicaram-se questionários a professores e realizaram-se entrevistas semiestruturadas aos diretores e aos coordenadores de departamento de cada escola. Da análise e interpretação dos dados recolhidos foi possível verificar que as duas escolas apresentam diferenças na forma como as lideranças (de topo e intermédias) são exercidas e na sua cultura escolar. A escola que apresenta melhores resultados académicos, ao contrário da outra escola, destaca-se pelo seu estilo organizativo que lhe confere uma identidade própria e pelas lideranças reconhecidas e mobilizadoras com missões e propósitos partilhados. Os dados recolhidos confirmam que a existência de diálogo, debate pedagógico e cooperação entre professores, bem como, sentido de pertença, transformação e proximidade entre os docentes são aspetos essenciais para o sucesso escolar dos alunos.
- Da liderança do diretor aos resultados escolares dos alunosPublication . Pina, Raul Manuel Tavares de; Cabral, Ilídia; Alves, José MatiasThis study aims to explore, in a sample of Portuguese schools, if there is an impact of school leadership, particularly of the principal, on students` outcomes. The study adopts mixed-methods, combining the analysis of national examination, questionnaire surveys (from LOLSO, Leithwood, Mulford & Silins, 2004), structured open-ended interviews (Principals) and focus groups (Students, Teachers and Head of Department). Data were analyzed using the software NVivo9 and SPSS21. By means of content analysis, we make inferences from data to the context, providing knowledge and new insights on the object of the study. A preliminary analysis of data identifies some contradictions between what principals claim to do and the perceptions of heads of department and students in categories like Building a shared vision through the school project and communicating that vision; High performance expectations to students and teachers and Providing individual support (mainly in schools over 1000 students). In the interviews and in the questionnaires principals, head of departments, teachers and students say that the students` outcomes promote changes in school organization and in the leadership practices of the principal.