The perception of educational leadership in primary school teachers. A survey through focus group

Abstract

The school model which has gradually developed in recent decades gives the teacher a central role as a factor of change that can influence the educational success of pupils and trigger improvement in schools. The skills needed to qualify a teacher as an expert/leader are manifold and are traced back to initial and in-service professional and human bildung processes, aimed at activating and supporting training processes able to prepare pupils to face the challenges required by the present society. An international and national debate has been taking place on the professional figure of the expert teacher, but an expert skills profile has not yet been fully outlined. To detect the perception of primary school teachers regarding the expected skills of the expert teacher as an indicator of educational leadership, focus groups were conducted with a sample of teachers from some Tuscan provinces. The analysis of the data revealed that the concept investigated is perceived as a professional dimension that acts above all in relationships with families and pupils rather than with colleagues. This allows us to glimpse the space for training and awareness-raising actions in order to implement a conscious educational leadership.