ABSTRACT

Purpose

Building on arguments drawn from Upper Echelons Theory, this study provides insights into how certain demographic characteristics related to principals―gender, age, tenure, and formal education―may facilitate or hinder the adoption of three generic modes of strategic decision-making: autocratic, participative, and collaborative.

Design

Data were collected from a survey of Spanish secondary schools. The final sample consisted of 105 schools. The survey was administered to the principals at each school. A multinomial logistic regression was used to test the relationships between the study’s main variables of interest.

Findings

There is a positive relationship between principals aged 41–50, those with a tenure at the school equal to or less than 10 years and the likelihood of implementing a participative/collaborative mode of strategic decision-making. The lower the principal’s formal education, the lower the likelihood of adopting a collaborative mode. The effect of a principal’s gender is not statistically significant. The adoption of a participative/collaborative mode also depends on other school factors (such as, for example, a lower staff turnover or a higher teacher training).

Practical implications

The measures adopted by the Spanish educational authorities might make access to the position of principal easier for younger candidates and those with a shorter tenure at the school. They might also encourage those with Master’s degree and PhD studies. As there are no significant differences in the way male and female principals make strategic decisions, the educational authorities need “not act as if there really were.” Nevertheless, considering that women are still underrepresented in leadership positions in Spanish secondary schools, our findings could also be interpreted as a further call for the adoption of measures that promote greater parity.

Originality

To the best of our knowledge, there is still a lack of research exploring how certain demographic characteristics and other school factors may influence a principal’s adoption of different modes of strategic decision-making. This study may also clarify how school governance works. Over the past few years, scholars, experts, and policymakers from around the world have been calling for the need to adopt models that are more participative/collaborative regarding decision-making in schools. This study could, therefore, shed light on those factors that most contribute to achieving this aim in a country with high dropout and failure rates.

中文翻译：

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中学的战略决策：校长人口结构的影响

摘要

目的

基于上层梯队理论的论点，本研究提供了有关与校长相关的某些人口特征——性别、年龄、任期和正规教育——可能促进或阻碍采用三种通用战略决策模式的见解：专制、参与性和协作性。

设计

数据来自对西班牙中学的调查。最终样本包括 105 所学校。该调查针对每所学校的校长进行。多项逻辑回归用于测试研究的主要关注变量之间的关系。

发现

41-50 岁的校长、在校任期等于或小于 10 年的校长与实施参与/协作战略决策模式的可能性之间存在正相关关系。校长的正规教育程度越低，采用协作模式的可能性就越低。校长性别的影响在统计上不显着。采用参与/合作模式还取决于其他学校因素（例如，较低的员工流动率或较高的教师培训）。

实际影响

西班牙教育当局采取的措施可能使年轻候选人和在校任期较短的候选人更容易获得校长职位。他们也可能鼓励那些拥有硕士学位和博士学位的人。由于男女校长做出战略决策的方式没有显着差异，教育当局不需要“假装真的有”。尽管如此，考虑到女性在西班牙中学领导职位中的代表性仍然不足，我们的调查结果也可以解释为进一步呼吁采取促进更大平等的措施。

独创性

据我们所知，仍然缺乏研究探索某些人口特征和其他学校因素如何影响校长采用不同的战略决策模式。这项研究还可以阐明学校治理的运作方式。在过去的几年里，来自世界各地的学者、专家和政策制定者一直在呼吁需要采用更具参与性/协作性的学校决策模式。因此，这项研究可以阐明在一个辍学率和失败率高的国家中最有助于实现这一目标的因素。