School leadership
2.1. Leadership standards and roles
2.2. Selection and working conditions
2.3. Leadership preparation and training
3. Teachers, parents and students
3.1. School management committees and boards
4.1. Autonomy of school leaders
4.2. Assessment and accountability of school leaders
4.3. Teacher assessment by school leaders
1. Terminology
The General Law of Education defines the ‘principal’ or ‘head’ as the person in charge of administering an institution and the pedagogical head of the school (Article 77). Similarly, Article 81 defines an acting principal, chosen by the school or the managing board for a period of 12 months at most when the principal of a public institution is not successfully appointed.
Article 85 of the law also defines a deputy principal as the one helping the school principal to organize their educational work in schools with more than 20 classes. Public institutions with more than 600 students may have a deputy head, while institutions with more than 900 students may have 2 deputy heads.
2. School principals
2.1. Leadership standards and roles
Competency standards and leadership frameworks and guidelines
The roles and duties of school principals are found in the General Law of Education. There are no separate guidelines or standards for school principals. At the individual school level, the duties and tasks of deputy heads are determined in the school statute.
Roles
Setting expectations/objectives: Article 82 of the General Law on Education identifies the role of a principal with respect to setting expectations and objectives for the school. The principal shall be responsible for planning, organizing, and administering the institution’s work. Moreover, the principal shall prepare and implement the school’s annual work plan.
Developing teaching and learning: Article 82 of the General Law on Education also states that the principal must organize the effective delivery of the curriculum and ensure that all students receive equal opportunities in line with their capabilities. School principals are generally responsible for exercising professional and pedagogical supervision at the school. They are additionally expected to adopt a plan to improve the quality of educational work in their schools.
Promoting collaboration: Article 82 of the General Law on Education also states that principals must cooperate with parents and other stakeholders.
Supporting staff development: The principal is responsible for the selection of teachers, professional associates and other staff; professional training and development of teachers; proposing teacher promotions; managing the teachers’ panel and in-service training and deciding on the rights and obligations of all employees.
Acting in accordance with the ethical principles of the profession: The General Law on Education identifies the key practices of school principals that relate to integrity, respect, trust, fairness, transparency and honesty.
Others: The principal must advocate for the institution and represent it as well as be liable for the legality of the institution's work. They are additionally responsible for ensuring equality among students in exercising their right to education, in accordance with their abilities.
Teaching is not necessarily part of the responsibilities of school principals.
2.2. Selection and working conditions
Degree requirements and prior teaching experience
The General Law of Education defines the degree requirements for principals. Article 78 of the law states that a principal must satisfy the conditions for an educator or a professional assistant such as a pedagogue or special education teacher at the preschool level. For the school level, a principal must fulfil conditions to be a teacher or a professional associate of the school.
At the primary level, they must have at least the VII1 level of the national qualifications framework and meet the conditions prescribed for a classroom teacher, teacher of a compulsory school subject or professional associate (i.e. school counsellor, psychologist, or special education teacher) in accordance with the Law on Primary Education. At the secondary level, candidates must meet the conditions prescribed for teachers or professional associates and teachers of professional associates need to have graduated from the appropriate faculty at the post-secondary education level. As per Section V of the 2002 Law on Gymnasium, teachers of professional associates need to have graduated from the appropriate faculty at the post-secondary education level.
Article 78 of the General Law on Education specifies that a principal must have five years of professional working experience as a teacher or educator. Candidates for both education levels must additionally pass the relevant professional examinations. Article 85 defines the criteria for becoming an Assistant Principal which is the same as for becoming the principal.
Deputy heads must meet the conditions prescribed for school heads.
Appointment decision
Article 80 of the General Law on Education stipulates the guidelines for the appointment of the school principal who is selected by the school management board at the school level based on an open call. The decision will be taken after obtaining the opinion of the Panel of Teachers at the municipality and the opinion of the parent council. In secondary and vocational institutions as well as in student dormitories, the opinion of the student is also taken into account. The article states that the principal shall be selected on the basis of public competition and on the basis of a development programme for the public institution submitted by the candidate. The development programme is prepared on the basis of evaluation and self-evaluation reports of the public institution’s work. The Minister shall approve the selection of the principal.
If the school head’s duty ceases, and a new head is not appointed through the open call the minister appoints an acting head for a maximum period of 6 months. Deputy heads are appointed and dismissed by the head.
Employment equity measures
The 2021-25 National Strategy for Gender Equality aims to address the gender stereotypes in education, acknowledging the under-representation of female school principal.
Working conditions
Public school heads and deputy heads are appointed for a period of 4 years. The same person cannot be appointed as head or deputy head of a public institution for more than two times in a row. If they are not re-appointed after the expiry of their second term of office, they are assigned to a position corresponding to their level of education. If there is no such position, they may exercise their rights as an employee for whose work the need has ceased in accordance with the law.
According to the 2019 Branch Collective Agreements document, school heads are part of trade unions and form collective agreements that outline their duties, salary structure and also the contractual agreements with the state.
School head duties may cease by expiry of their term of office, personal request, dismissal, or if meeting the conditions for termination of employment specified by law. Besides the circumstances defined in the Labor Law, school heads may be dismissed if they are not implementing the school development program; not taking measures against employees who fail to carry out their duties; not performing their work tasks or duties; misusing their position; selecting staff contrary to the law; lack of transparency in the school’s work; not executing a decision of the inspection body; and allowing political organizing and religious activities at the public school; among others.
School heads in primary and secondary schools are provided with a basic salary that is supplemented by multiple allowances. Annual gross statutory salaries of school heads in public schools for 2021/2022 as per Eurydice data, start from 11,835 Euros and go up to 15,117 Euros in the lowest salary range. Apart from the lowest salary range, there are two other ranges, most prevalent range and highest salary range. While average annual gross actual salaries range from 14,063 euros to 15,013 Euros.
Allowances can be related to working conditions, for example, if schools are in disadvantaged/high-cost areas or if schools have students with Special Educational Needs. Allowances are similarly available for performing extra tasks or duties such as overtime allowance; student counselling; and extra-curricular activities. Performance, training, and qualifications are also rewarded with an allowance, for example, on successful competition of continuous professional development activities. Other allowances pertaining to family status or residence status may be provided.
2.3. Leadership preparation and training
Pre-service training
Article. 79 of the General Law of Education specifies that a person chosen to be a principal has to complete special training for institution principals before starting their duties. The training is provided by the Bureau for Educational Services, a public body. The training is organized as per the Regulations on Standards competence of the director of education and upbringing institutions.
Induction and in-service training
School heads are required to complete an adequate type of training and professional development organized by the Bureau for Education Services and Centre for Vocational Education. The Bureau for Educational Services and Centre for Vocational Education is also responsible for providing in-service training for principals as per Article 41 of the General Law of Education while Article 136 mentions a budget allocation for training of principals.
3. Teachers, parents and students
3.1. School management committees and boards
As per the General Law on Education, school boards, i.e. governing boards, of institutions are composed of: three representatives of the Ministry, three representatives of the municipality for institutions that are founded by municipalities, one representative of employees and one representative of parents. School boards, i.e. governing boards, of combined secondary schools and educational centres are composed of: two representatives of employees, four representatives of the Ministry, or four representatives of the municipality for institutions that are founded by municipalities, and one representative of social partners.
A school board or governing board of an institution carries out a multitude of crucial functions, including the adoption of a development program. It also plays a pivotal role in endorsing the institution's annual work plan and reviewing its implementation report. Furthermore, the board evaluates the outcomes of extracurricular activities and makes determinations regarding the establishment of a school sports society or sports club. In addition, it approves the institution's statute, internal organizational regulations, job classifications, and other general acts. Financial matters are also under its purview as it adopts the institution's annual financial plan and public procurement plan. Property management is another responsibility, involving decisions on leasing school assets in compliance with legal requirements. Additionally, the board adopts the institution's periodic and annual financial statements and has the authority to propose changes in the institution's name and location. In its capacity as a second-instance body, the board addresses pupil or service user rights in accordance with the law and institution's statute. Lastly, it undertakes various other tasks as mandated by both the law and the institution's statute.
3.2. Middle leaders
As per the General Law of Education, terms such as founder of a school institution, pedagogue, professional associate, and special education needs teachers are mentioned in the document.
3.3. Parents
Article 94 of the General Law on Education states that the Parents Council shall be composed of parent representatives of children from various grades to be selected during parents’ meetings according to a procedure defined by the statute of the institution.
Article 95 of the same law outlines the key responsibilities of the Parents Council within the educational institution. Its primary duty involves selecting representatives for either the School or the Managing Board, ensuring effective parental representation. Furthermore, the Council plays a vital role in the appointment of a Principal, offering valuable input and assessments. It also contributes to the institution's strategic planning by providing insights into the annual work plan. Additionally, the Parents Council conducts thorough reviews of institutional performance reports and addresses concerns raised by parents and students concerning educational matters. In addition to these fundamental functions, the Council is authorized to undertake other responsibilities as dictated by both the law and the institution's Statute. The specific operational procedures of the Parents Council can be found in the institution's Statute, providing further clarity on its functioning.
3.4. Students
Article 96 of the General Law on Education highlights the role of the representatives of the student community. The representatives will be entitled to participate in the work of professional bodies of the school.
The student parliament is composed of representatives of students of all classes in the school. The manner of work of the student parliament is determined by the school statute.
4. Governance
4.1. Autonomy of school leaders
The General Law on Education highlights the authority that principals have over a variety of decisions in schools. Article 101 of the law states that the principal shall pass the decision on a teacher’s employment after the teacher has gone through public competition.
Article 39 points out that the pedagogical standards shall be prepared by the Bureau for Educational Services competence.
The annual school financial plan is prepared by the school board.
4.2. Assessment and accountability of school leaders
Article 83 of the General Law on Education stipulates the conditions for the release of a principal from their duties. However, the assessment process of school leaders is not specified in the education law.
Evaluation of the overall quality of educational work in an institution is undertaken by internal bodies within schools and externally by the educational supervisors of the Bureau for Educational Services. The assessment is undertaken once in four years and recommendations are provided to institutions on improving their quality in key areas. The work and engagement of educational supervisors are laid down by the Rulebook on the content, form and manner of quality assessment of educational work at institutions. A new Rulebook is being drafted.
The methodology for external evaluation of educational work defines key areas that are analysed by the supervisory service. This includes an area on school governance and management, which assesses the pedagogical and instructive work of heads and associates, as well as the work of the school governing board. School heads must additionally submit a report on their work to the school board at least once a year or more often if necessary.
4.3. Teacher assessment by school leaders
As per Article 82 of the General Law on Education, the principal is responsible for managing the work of teachers, performing professional supervision, and stimulating professional development. However, teacher assessment is not specifically mentioned.
