To what extent do principals of further education colleges display similar leadership traits?
Abstract
Principals of further education colleges continue to operate in a policy context
driven by reductions in funding, increasing diversity among the student
population and escalating centralised control. This has meant that principals
are required to rely more on their skills as decision makers and problem
solvers than they have every needed in the past. At the same time, external
inspection has continued to highlight the importance of leadership in enabling
students to achieve the best possible outcomes, yet as Fink (2010) argues the
role of the principal is becoming increasingly unattractive. In order to combat
a shortage of individuals pursuing principalship positions, organisations are
developing their own leadership development programmes; however, little is
known about the behaviours that these programmes should be developing.
This paper reports the findings of a series of leadership and psychological
assessments conducted with principals within the UK. It suggests that despite
the organisational and political challenges facing institutions principals
demonstrate a largely homogenous set of behaviours which could be used to
frame future leadership development programmes.
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