Ο ρόλος της σχολικής ηγεσίας στην ένταξη των νεοεισερχόμενων εκπαιδευτικών. Η βιώσιμη ηγεσία μπορεί να κάνει τη διαφορά;
The role of school leadership in the integration of new teachers. Can sustainable leadership make a difference?
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Keywords
Σχολική ηγεσία ; Νεοεισερχόμενοι εκπαιδευτικοί ; Ένταξη ; Βιώσιμη ηγεσίαAbstract
Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the factors that were associated with the integration of novice teachers in their new working environment and at the same instant to examine the role of sustainable leadership in the underlying process of their transition to their new working conditions.
Method: One hundred and fifty new teachers, 133 females (88.7%) and 17 males (11.3%) from the general population of Greece participated at the study. Data were collected through the method of availability/purposive sampling and through the method of snowball sampling. A self-reported questionnaire designed by the researcher was administered to the participants. The questionnaire initially consisted of 42 items that assessed various factors related to the better integration of novice teachers in their work such as difficulties, characteristics of school leader, characteristics of sustainable school leader and problem solving strategies.
Results: Exploratory factor analysis with the method of principal components analysis revealed 3 factors, namely, attitudes/characteristics of school leaders, difficulties of new incomes, and promotion of strategies. Moreover, significant positive correlations were reported between the attitudes/characteristics of the school leader and the restriction of the difficulties (p=.001), between the attitudes/characteristics of the school leader and the promotion of strategies (p=.003) and between the promotion of strategies and the effective coping of difficulties (p=.032).
Discussion: Our findings corroborate with previous studies that reported the occurrence of similar relationships. However, we have not been able to fully explain the role of sustainable leadership in the smoother integration of novice teachers in their new working environment since some of its characteristics were not considered as distinguishable leadership factors but were integrated within the common characteristics of school leadership. Further research into the cultural context of Greece is necessary in order to obtain a clear picture of sustainable leadership in educational settings.