Leadership and Management Development in Education (Education ...

56LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT IN EDUCATIONqualities of the existing group of principals. Gronn and Ribbins (2003) refer to‘ascriptive’ systems, which tend to emphasise the personal characteristics ofindividuals and usually reproduce a leadership cohort (often predominantlymale) from a narrow social base. Cyprus, for example, has adopted an approachthat leads to the appointment of highly experienced, and usually male, principals(Gronn and Ribbins 2003; Pashiardis and Ribbins 2003).Bezzina (2002: 10), referring to Malta, notes that most of his interviewees‘were promoted to principalship on the basis of seniority’, and adds that ‘noneof the principals regarded themselves as working to a career plan designed to[lead] to a principalship position’ (ibid.). This may be regarded as the inevitableconsequence of top-down selection processes but it also reflects a reluctance togive up classroom teaching (ibid. p. 11). Bezzina (2002: 13–14) adds that politicaldiscrimination was previously an issue, as one of his respondents explains:The posts of deputy principals were very difficult to get because of the politicalatmosphere … It was practically impossible if you had any connectionwith the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) or if you were not particularly tiedwith the government party, then you wouldn’t have any chance … to getthe post … there were always a chosen few.This factor is also prevalent in Cyprus. ‘In order to be promoted, you have tobelong to the correct political party’ (Pashiardis 2003: 39). Similar considerationsapplied in Iceland until recently. ‘The appointment of school principalswas seen by many as having political considerations; i.e. the political majorityhired principals “from the right party”’ (Hansen 2003: 123).Several countries in Eastern Europe are in the process of modifying whatwere previously highly centralised systems. In Estonia, headship appointmentswere previously dependent on membership of the Communist Party, which wasalso involved in the appointment. In the twenty-first century, posts are advertisedand a committee recommends one of the short-listed candidates to theMunicipal Council (Isok and Lilleorg 2003: 81). Similarly, the process haschanged in Latvia since 1991. School directors are appointed by local educationofficials, following an open competition (Berzina 2003: 161). In Bulgaria, ‘qualifiedapplicants take part in a competition organised by a commissionappointed by the employer’ (Stanev and Mircheva 2003: 31).In some countries, but by no means all, some form of preparation is requiredbefore appointment as a principal.Leadership preparationThe notion of preparation suggests a preconceived orientation towards career