New managerialism in educational administration in Greece: The education directors’ perceived roles

Abstract

This study sought to investigate Educational Directors’ views about their roles and responsibilities in the school practice in Greece and in relation to the New Public Management trends in education administration. Therefore, an exploratory case study was carried out, in which the Directors of Primary and Secondary Education in Greece participated by completing an anonymously-disseminated, exploratory questionnaire. Data analysis revealed that the Educational Directors seemed to support the deployment of specific New Public Management principles and methods, such as educational accountability, decentralisation, and the strengthening of school autonomy, as well as educational evaluation and assessment, linked with the schools’ educational improvement. In particular, they favoured modernising attempts to educational administration in terms of educational priorities, decision-making and goal-setting processes. Concomitantly, internal and external accountability along with internal school evaluation based on students’ learning outcomes were also suggested. As a result, a slight shift in leadership paradigm focusing on managerial skills and responsibilities as well as new leading roles seemed to emerge. All in all, Greek educational administration was influenced by New Public Management, driving in convergence with the global trends in educational management and governance alongside deviations from the international discourse that contribute to a deeper understanding by drawing theoretical conclusions upon these issues.