Purpose

This study aims to present a review of topics, conceptual models and methodologies in research on Iranian school principals over the past four decades.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a descriptive quantitative form of a systematic review of research to analyze topics, conceptual models and methodologies employed in 565 studies published by Iranian scholars in the national and international databases.

Findings

The content analysis of the studies revealed the increasing interest of the Iranian scholars in the two topical foci, namely, the school leadership models and principal profile, with a focus on the direct-effects (Model B) and the antecedent-effects (Model A). The evidence also suggests the disinclination of the researchers to study leadership concerning student learning outcomes. The most frequently used school leadership model in the Iranian schools has been transformational leadership, while the distributive/collaborative and instructional leadership studies were few. The scholars have mostly relied on a survey-based quantitative research approach, using correlation analysis techniques.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that despite the increasing global acceptance of school leadership, its implementation in practice is inevitably shaped by the institutional policies and cultural values of different societies.

Social implications

The findings of this study strengthen the supposition that the differences in school leadership across societies are influenced by various cultural and contextual factors.

Originality/value

This paper is the first systematic review of the empirical studies that present insight into topics, conceptual models and methodologies in research on school principals in Iran.

中文翻译：

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伊朗学校校长研究中概念模型和方法的系统回顾

目的

本研究旨在回顾过去 40 年伊朗校长研究的主题、概念模型和方法。

设计/方法/方法

该研究采用描述性定量形式的研究系统回顾来分析伊朗学者在国家和国际数据库中发表的 565 项研究中采用的主题、概念模型和方法。

发现

The content analysis of the studies revealed the increasing interest of the Iranian scholars in the two topical foci, namely, the school leadership models and principal profile, with a focus on the direct-effects (Model B) and the antecedent-effects (Model A). The evidence also suggests the disinclination of the researchers to study leadership concerning student learning outcomes. The most frequently used school leadership model in the Iranian schools has been transformational leadership, while the distributive/collaborative and instructional leadership studies were few. The scholars have mostly relied on a survey-based quantitative research approach, using correlation analysis techniques.

Practical implications

研究结果表明，尽管全球越来越多地接受学校领导力，但其在实践中的实施不可避免地受到不同社会的制度政策和文化价值观的影响。

社会影响

这项研究的结果加强了这样一个假设，即不同社会的学校领导力的差异受到各种文化和背景因素的影响。

原创性/价值

本文是对实证研究的首次系统回顾，这些实证研究展示了伊朗校长研究中的主题、概念模型和方法论。