Page 111 - Educational Leadership in a Changing World

Navigating between Principalship, Leadership and Management

nate from the past, they provide valuable insights for comprehending
modern concepts like management. If experience, choice, and judgment
are central to phronesis, then principals should not be appointed solely
based on meeting legal qualifications; they should also possess proven
experience in leading people and managing processes. This way, they are
better equipped to make informed judgments and choices compared to
those who may be well-educated but lack practical experience.
Bush (2007, p. 393) asserts that both management and leadership are
equally essential in schools and does not prioritize one over the other.
He references Leithwood et al. (1999), who observed that school lead-
ers engage in their daily responsibilities without distinctly separating
managing from leading. However, whether referred to as school lead-
ers, managers, or simply principals, there is an implicit value-laden un-
derstanding of their roles. Consequently, we will discuss leadership and
principalship in the following section.

... and School Leadership and Principalship
Wei (2025, p. 628) considers leadership and principalship to be synony-
mous. She states that ‘principalship reveals a process of influencing by
which school principals exert an intentional impact on others; they aim
to structure activities and relationships in educational contexts.’ Lead-
ership is also defined as the act of influencing others. The question of
whether school principalship can be used as a synonym for leadership
is not merely rhetorical; by using specific expressions and concepts, we
reshape and define the meanings and implications of our practices. By
examining the daily lives of principals, we encourage them to define
their identities as leaders. Nevertheless, the legal framework, cultural
context, and other factors significantly influence the roles and practices
of principals.
In the Slovenian context, principals are both leaders and managers,
primarily appointed to carry out management tasks in accordance with
legislation. The introduction of the concept of leadership appears to el-
evate principals’ roles to that of school leaders. However, various train-
ing programmes focus on educational management.
Educational management in Slovenia began to gain prominence in
the 1990s. In 1996, the National Schools for Leadership in Education
was established, offering a certified programme for school principals.
Over time, theoretical foundations for nationally constructed concepts
emerged, reflecting international trends in leadership. The programme

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