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Between legal requirements and local traditions in school improvement reform in Austria: School leaders as gap managers
Author(s) -
Knapp Mariella
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
european journal of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1465-3435
pISSN - 0141-8211
DOI - 10.1111/ejed.12390
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , work (physics) , pedagogy , adaptation (eye) , educational leadership , sociology , public relations , political science , psychology , mechanical engineering , paleontology , neuroscience , engineering , biology
Abstract The implementation of a new school type has changed the context of school leadership in Austrian lower secondary schools. An interview study with 25 secondary‐school leaders was undertaken. The goal of the study was to inquire how school leaders conceptualise their role in the local policy adaptation of a centrally driven reform. The results indicate that school leaders saw themselves as double agents in facing increasing demands from within and without schools for legitimating their work. Neo‐institutionalist theory is used for explaining the role of school leaders as gap managers. The concept of gap management is deployed for describing the role of school leaders as balancing multiple and contradictory interests at school and among local actors such as teachers, parents, students, and community partners.