ABSTRACT

Despite the growth in research on the impact of school administration on educational improvement in the past 10 years, the characterization of the identity of school principals is a controversial, pending issue. In this study, we set out to undertake this characterization from a dialogic perspective by tracking four expert principals over the course of one academic year. Via a longitudinal design with multiple case studies, we analysed their repertoire of positions and their variations. The instruments included a reflective journal, interviews based on the self-confrontation method and a discussion group. Our results indicate not only that the principals share their positioning as promoters of learning and project managers when dealing with professional events but that dialogue among internal and external voices enables them to deal with the conflicts and tensions among positions constructively. We conclude that principals’ professional identity can be developed through conscious, strategic reflection on the positions they take within the context of their professional activity.

摘要

尽管在过去 10 年中关于学校管理对教育改进影响的研究有所增长，但校长身份的特征是一个有争议的悬而未决的问题。在这项研究中，我们开始通过在一个学年的过程中跟踪四位专家校长来从对话的角度进行这一表征。通过具有多个案例研究的纵向设计，我们分析了他们的职位及其变化。这些工具包括反思日志、基于自我对抗方法的访谈和讨论组。我们的研究结果表明，校长不仅在处理专业事件时分享他们作为学习促进者和项目经理的定位，而且内部和外部声音之间的对话使他们能够建设性地处理职位之间的冲突和紧张局势。我们得出结论，校长的专业身份可以通过对他们在其专业活动背景下所担任的职位进行有意识的、战略性的反思来发展。