The Influence of Primary School Principals´ Leadership Styles on Innovative Practices

Authors

  • Petra Heissenberger University College of Teacher Education in Lower Austria
  • Nancy Heilbronner

Keywords:

Leadership, Innovation, School Administration

Abstract

This qualitative research explored the relationship between school principals’ leadership styles and their innovative practices in schools. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ; Avolio & Bass, 1995), was administered to 38 school principals in Lower Austria, who, based on their responses, were then categorized as leaders with stronger or weaker transformational leadership styles.  Six of these principals were then interviewed: three with strong transformational leadership styles (Transformational – High) and three with weaker transformational leadership styles (Transformational – Low). Interview data were coded qualitatively, and patterns and themes emerged relating to how these two groups viewed innovation in their school. The two groups of leaders were similar in that they both viewed requirements for innovation similarly.  Both groups also believed that the results of innovation could lead to an improvement in collegial collaboration and relationship.  However, leaders with stronger transformational leadership styles viewed innovation more positively and placed more importance on innovation than participants with their weaker transformational counterparts. Implications for practice are discussed.

Author Biography

Petra Heissenberger, University College of Teacher Education in Lower Austria

Deputy head of the department of educational management and leadership at the University College of Teacher Education in Lower Austria.

Downloads

Published

2018-02-05

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 4 (2017): Perspectives on Mentoring Novice Teachers

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

    1. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

 

  1. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).