Huber (2006) states that school management “has recently become one of the central concerns of educational policy makers” (37). This is mainly due to increased autonomy and direct responsibilities of schools as a consequence of changing educational policies, which do not only take place in Austria, but globally.  As a result, school quality and school development is more strongly dependent on the respective principal, and this in turn increases the necessity to evaluate core factors of successful school management. The OECD’s recommendations on education mention four areas to improve school leadership: redefining school leadership responsibilities, distributing school leadership, developing skills for effective school leadership and making school leadership an attractive profession (Istance: 2011). Even though changes in the responsibilities of school leaders have occurred in many countries in the last decades, school management cannot be compared across countries. This has been shown by the TALIS study (Teaching and Learning International Survey, OECD, 2008) which investigated various factors relevant for school leadership and revealed significant differences within the OECD countries. Therefore, it seems indicated to investigate Austrian school principals and factors related to school management in Austria in more detail in order to be able to compare the situation of Austrian school leadership to that of other countries.

The present research connects educational, psychological and leadership-related conception. The study concentrates on individual difference variables such as personality, gender, interests, motivation etc. which are relevant for leadership (cf. Stogdill, 1974, for a meta-analysis on relevant characteristics of leaders). Psychological leadership research has, e.g., shown that male and female leaders differ in their leadership styles (e.g., Eagly and Johnson 1990; van Engen & Willemsen, 2004; a recent overview of the topic is given in Carli & Eagly, 2011). Lee et al. (1993) found that the leadership of male and female principals is also perceived differently depending on the teacher’s sex, which shows especially insofar as female teachers feel more empowered and supported in schools with female principals, whereas male teachers feel less powerful if their superior is of the opposite sex.

The assessed individual differences variables will be investigated with relation to various elements of school management (e.g., leadership style of principal, management abilities, individual school characteristics etc.). As research has also identified factors which influence whether people apply for a principal or not (cf. Bezzina, 2010; Cooley and Shen, 2000) it seems especially interesting to investigate principals as well as a comparable sample of teachers who have not applied for a principal. By identifying differences between these groups, further insights into the motivations and aspirations of principals in Austria can be obtained. If relevant variables and competences are identified, future trainings could be designed more effectively, especially when taking individual educational needs of present or prospective principals into account.  Developing effective trainings could, in turn, not only increase individual principals’ skills, but could also help to make school management more attractive to prospective principals (i.e., teachers with high-potentials in variables relevant for school management), which is also one of the OECD’s aims.

Bezzina, M. (2010). It's a long way to the top: Getting past the barriers for aspiring principals. Paper submitted at The Sydney Symposium on The Future of Teacher Education and School Leader Education, Sydney, Australia. Carli, L. L., & Eagly, A. H. (2011). Gender and leadership. In D. Collinson, A. Bryman, K. Grint, B. Jackson, & M. Uhl Bien (Eds.), Sage handbook of leadership (pp. 269-285). London: Sage Publications. Cooley, V. E., & Shen, J. (2000). Factors Influencing Applying for Urban Principalship. Education and Urban Society, 32, 443-454. Darmody, M. & Smyth, E. (2011). Job Satisfaction and Occupational Stress among Primary School Teachers and School Principals in Ireland. Presentation at the ESRI / The Teaching Council, Dublin, Ireland. Eagly, A. H., & Johnson, B. T. (1990). Gender and Leadership Style: A Meta-Analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 108(2), 233-256. Istance, D. (2011). Education at OECD: recent themes and recommendations. European Journal of Education, 46, 87-100. Huber, S. G. (2006). School Leader Development: Current Trends from a Global Perspective. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Bildungswissenschaften [Swiss Journal of Educational Science]. Special Issue 2006, 37- 56. Lee, V. E., Smith, J. B. & Cioci, M. (1993). Teachers and Principals: Gender-Related Perceptions of Leadership and Power in Secondary Schools. Educational Analysis and Policy Analysis, 15, 2, 153-180. OECD (2009). Creating Effective Teaching and Learning Environments: First Results from TALIS. OECD publishing. Stogdill, R. M. (1974). Handbook of leadership. A survey of theory and research. New York: Free Press. van Engen, M. L., & Willemsen, T. M. (2004). Sex and leadership styles: A meta-analysis of research published in the 1990s. Psychological Reports, 94, 3-18. Wissinger, J. (2011). Schulleitung und Schulleitungshandeln. In E. Terhart, H. Bennewitz, & M. Rothland (Eds.), Handbuch der Forschung zum Lehrerberuf (pp. 98-115). Münster: Waxmann.