Page 116 - Educational Leadership in a Changing World

Martina Kovačič and Anita Trnavčević

ship. Distributed principalship would give rise to undistributed power
and authority, accountability and responsibility while enabling sharing,
distributing instructional and other types of leadership. If so, princi-
pals could get more adequate training, better navigate between differ-
ent roles, and be more aware of their power, authority, responsibility
and accountability position than they currently are.

Policy Implications for Slovenia
For Slovenia, these findings carry important implications. While the
formal responsibilities of school principals are clearly outlined in na-
tional legislation, the systemic embedding of interpersonal competen-
cies within leadership frameworks remains limited. The Slovenian ed-
ucational policy environment still largely emphasizes administrative
compliance and legal accountability, often at the expense of recognizing
and systematically developing soft skills as a core component of school
leadership.
To align with international trends and evidence-based policy recom-
mendations, Slovenia could benefit from integrating soft skills more
explicitly into the legal and professional profile of school leaders. The
incorporation of competencies in initial principal training, such as on-
going coaching and performance evaluation frameworks, is needed. A
shift in discourse is necessary, from a focus on managerialism to leader-
ship rooted in relational ethics, emotional intelligence, and democratic
engagement. Additionally, weshouldmovetowardsempowering princi-
pals, enabling them to effectively administer, manage, and lead schools
with the strategic goal of transformation. This shift of focus on prin-
cipalship goes beyond semantic change into meaningful praxis. To ef-
fectively carry out the role of principal in Slovenia, it is crucial to con-
sistently apply all statutory competencies outlined by zofvi. This in-
cludes systematically training principals in strategic, pedagogical, and
organizational leadership, as well as promoting an environment that
supports professional leadership within schools.

Research implications for Slovenia
Our discussion and conceptual model of principalship raise several
questions and opportunities for further research. Beyond testing the
model in various national contexts, it can also be compared interna-
tionally. The dominant discourse requires fresh perspectives aiming to
address the needs of non-English speaking countries, as well as their

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