Sources of principals’ leadership practices and areas training should emphasize: Case Finland.

Abstract

Quality educational leadership preparation has positive influences on practices of graduates. In the Finnish decentralized education system, little is yet known about the sources of principals' practices. This research explores the sources of principals' selfassessed leadership practices in Central Finland and identifies areas for more emphasis. Respondents were selected by purposive sampling. This multiple case study employed eight semi-structured individual interviews as means of data collection. Inductive content analysis was performed. From the findings, besides personal experiences, knowledge from course, and field work, leadership and networking are also major sources of principals' practices. Training positively enhances the practices of principals as they engage in more collaboration and trust. Notwithstanding, professional development is essential for principals to stay relevant to the contemporary world of today and to be confident to face future challenges. Methods of course delivery, management of human and financial resources, as well as creating and sustaining local and international

Religion and the Social Integration of East African Protestant Christian Immigrants in Finland

“…At the end of it all, it is not known how much religion impacts social integration, both on the negative and positive sides. It is however clear that the Finnish government will continue encouraging religious democracy and harboring of divergent views (Shantal et al, 2014). It's still a debate if the religious perceptions of immigrants facilitate the integration of the immigrants into the Finnish society.…”

“…Most Lutheran churches in Finland offer multi-sectorial services that most immigrants find suitable. Being a member of a given congregation provides opportunities for immigrants with leadership skills to lead and other are able to form group whereby their skills are fully utilized (Shantal & Halttunen, 2014;Leena & Pekka, 2014). In Helsinki, there are international Lutheran congregations where immigrants and most locals interact and this provides opportunities for service provision and the creation of positions that can offer prestige.…”

“…In Finland, immigrants are mainly informed of such opportunities through religious interactions. Such interactions have even helped immigrants to identify suitable areas of living in and the best schools to learn in (Shantal & Halttunen, 2014). Since religion acts as a web of connections in different sectors, it provides an interaction friendly environment for exchange of ideas and this helps in facilitating the process of social integration (Hirschman, 2004).…”

Online Matriculation Program (OMaPro): Improving the Readiness of Prospective School Principals

“…Training is found in almost all principal preparation programs as an activity to transfer leadership and managerial competencies [30,26,20]. The important part of training is the learning process, in which aspiring principals learn certain aspects of principalship.…”

Religious Beliefs and Experiences of Protestant Christian Immigrants in Finland: An Integrating or Alienating Experience?

“…The existing religious landscape in Finland is a determinant of religious practices of both immigrants and locals but it does not explain the increased degree of religiosity of Protestant Christian immigrants when they arrive in Finland (Shantal et al, 2014). Similarly, even with the irregular pattern of religiosity within the Finnish natives, there is still a considerably high level of religious practice noticed to be common among groups with similar demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status and other background variables (Legel & Tracy, 2006).…”