The effect of policies for filling school principal positions on school management in Brazil

Abstract

Leadership by a school principal is one of the key factors for ensuring an educational environment conducive to the teaching-learning process. Nevertheless, only a handful of studies have analyzed the determinants of principals’ performance. This study evaluated the potential effect of principal selection policies on teacher perceptions of principal leadership and school climate. The factors were created based on responses to the National Basic Education Assessment System (Sistema Nacional de Avaliação da Educação Básica - Saeb) contextual questionnaires applied in 2013 and 2015. The legislation for filling school principal positions in the 26 states and the Federal District was also analyzed. The results showed a statistically significant difference between the group of schools that carried out “civil service examination only” and “selection process and election” compared to the group that adopted the “appointment only” modality. However, the high variation observed in the climate and leadership coefficients between the federative entities reveals that the local context affects teacher perceptions of these variables. This demonstrates that in addition to the selection process, it is important to consider each locality’s characteristics to select professionals with competencies and skills appropriate to the position’s challenges, which may contribute to better educational outcomes for students.

Keywords:
educational policies; school management; filling school principal positions; leadership; school climate