Purpose: In Italy, only recently education policy makers have introduced a requirement for schools to implement the processes of self-evaluation, strategic planning and results’ reporting. In this article, we aim to explore how the new leadership approach of school principals in the context of the introduction of the new accountability system is affecting the practices of teachers. Research Method: Using quantitative data from an empirical study focused on the primary and secondary schools involved in a ministerial pilot project “School Evaluation and Development,” (VALES), we employ multilevel structural equation modelling to test the relationships among principal leadership, school capacity building (represented by the variables such as teacher self-efficacy, instructional leadership of teachers, collaborative culture and supportive learning climate) and change in teachers’ professional practices as well as teaching methods. Findings: A positive indirect relationship between principal leadership and change in teachers’ practices and methods is shown. The indirect effects are mainly a result of increased teachers’ instructional leadership. Implications: The research suggests that principals have a central role in building organizational capacity for school improvement by using self-evaluation and improvement processes. Moreover, the sharing of leadership with teachers appears to be crucial in promoting change in teaching and teacher commitment to improving professional practices. Results of this study draw attention to the following aspects: the importance of promoting principals’ leadership for learning development, adoption of a balanced approach to principals’ performance evaluation, and fostering the distribution of leadership in schools.

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校长如何使用新的问责制促进教师实践的变革：来自意大利的证据

目的：在意大利，直到最近教育政策制定者才要求学校实施自我评估、战略规划和结果报告的过程。在本文中，我们旨在探讨在引入新问责制的背景下，校长的新领导方式如何影响教师的实践。研究方法：使用来自部级试点项目“学校评估与发展”（VALES）中小学的实证研究的定量数据，我们采用多层次结构方程模型来测试校长领导力与学校能力之间的关系建设（以教师自我效能感、教师教学领导力、合作文化和支持性学习氛围）以及教师专业实践和教学方法的变化。结果：显示了校长领导与教师实践和方法变化之间的积极间接关系。间接影响主要是教师教学领导能力增强的结果。启示：研究表明，校长在通过使用自我评估和改进过程建立学校改进的组织能力方面发挥着核心作用。此外，与教师分享领导力似乎对于促进教学变革和教师致力于改善专业实践至关重要。这项研究的结果引起了对以下方面的关注：促进校长领导力对学习发展的重要性，