“Contingency”, an overlooked factor by school leadership: evidence from primary urban schools in Chile

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to describe the levels and type of contingency faced by school principals in Chile and the way certain aspects of the Chilean school system result in a greater or lesser presence of these contingencies.Design/methodology/approachThe results reported here are based on the application of a structured questionnaire to 381 elementary school principals in Chile. A “Leadership Contingency Index” was created to analyze the extent and characteristics of this phenomenon, which was complemented with a multiple regression analysis to observe the variables that influence the levels of contingency.FindingsThis study has shown that the main contingencies faced by school leaders in Chile revolve around the relationship between actors: assist families, relationship with and among students and resolution of school staff problems. Also shows that the level of contingency faced by principals is strongly conditioned by the socio-educational context of the school and is not related to the individual characteristics of the leaders. This level of contingencies is significantly higher in the public system, although the most recurrent contingencies are the same in each type of school administration (public, private subsidized and privately funded schools).Originality/valueThis paper addresses an important but relatively unexplored dimension in specialized research on leadership: variable contingencies under which the leadership role is performed daily, including significant gaps between schools. Understanding and analyzing school leadership from the perspective of the complexity of tasks currently faced by principals, many of them highly unpredictable, ensures a realistic view of the possibilities and limitations of leadership in action and, consequently, provides better tools to strengthen the school leadership role and its contribution to improving student learning.

Liderazgo pedagógico y complejidad de la gestión escolar: un estudio de casos múltiples

“…El énfasis en el análisis de las prácticas amplía la dimensión contextual donde ocurre el liderazgo influenciado por las políticas, sus contingencias e incidencias del territorio (Black y Murtdha, 2007;Muñoz et al, 2022;Olmo-Extremera et al, 2022). Es crucial enfatizar sobre "las prácticas como actividades ejercidas de acuerdo con el contexto y que derivan en efectos exitosos" (Bolívar, 2019, p.185).…”

“…Los estudios sobre liderazgo educativo manifiestan que lo esperado de los líderes escolares es cada vez más complejo (Muñoz, et al, 2022;Ronnstrom y Skott, 2019). Las escuelas son instituciones únicas influenciadas por el contexto, en aspectos culturales, políticos y económicos (Hallinger, 2018;Moral, 2022).…”

“…Debido a esto, las escuelas presentan diferentes niveles de complejidad, donde los directores tienen que combatir para promover buenos resultados de aprendizaje (Gobbi et al, 2020). Sin embargo, la complejidad de la gestión de la escuela aún necesita mayor atención, ya que los estudios tienden a no considerar la complejidad organizativa de las escuelas (Day et al, 2016;Muñoz, et al, 2022).…”