RT Journal Article
T1 The Perspectives of School Principals in Spain: Identifying Professional Competencies Beyond Their Scope.
A1 Gil-Espinosa, Francisco Javier
A1 López-Fernández, Iván
A1 Cadenas-Sánchez, Cristina
A1 Burgueño, Rafael
K1 Administración escolar
K1 Centros docentes - Gestión y organización
K1 Directores de centros docentes
AB School leadership plays a crucial role to quality education. Social changes have led to an increase in school principals’ competencies, responsibilities, and demands. There are significant gaps in the literature on school leadership and limitations in the study of principals’ responsibilities. This study aimed to analyse whether principals consider the competencies assigned to them by educational legislation to be within their scope. Participants were 394 principals from state-owned schools in Andalusia, southern Spain. Quantitative and qualitative data analyses were performed. We identified four competencies that the principals believed they were unable to effectively assume within the Andalusian educational context: (1) awarding contracts for construction, services, or supplies; (2) authorising expenditures, arranging payments, and preparing the school budget; (3) promoting the qualifications and training of teaching staff; and (4) supervising non-teaching staff in the school. This study emphasises the need of a comprehensive reevaluation of how competencies assigned to school principals are managed, highlighting the significance of incorporating principals’ perspectives. For future research, we recommend exploring alternative approaches in competency management to enhance their effectiveness and relevance in the educational context.
PB Taylor & Francis
YR 2024
FD 2024-04-25
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/40018
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/40018
LA eng
NO Gil-Espinosa, F. J., López-Fernández, I., Cadenas-Sanchez, C., & Burgueño, R. (2024). The perspectives of school principals in Spain: identifying professional competencies beyond their scope. School Leadership & Management, 44(4), 466–493. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2024.2345082
NO AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank the school principals and the Andalusian Association of Secondary School Principals (ADIAN) for their participation, especially Andrés Luis Martín Esteban for his collaboration.
NO https://openpolicyfinder.jisc.ac.uk/id/publication/6044
NO University of Málaga
NO Junta de Andalucía (Spain), Regional Ministry of Education and Sport
NO PIV-030/22, ’KEY Project: School Leadership as a Value for Quality Education’
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 20 ene 2026