The changing role of the secondary school leadership in Malta

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate how leadership in State, Church and Independent Secondary Schools evolved during these two decades within the Maltese educational system, how the role and duties of the senior leaders changed during the past years, what have been the major achievements and what are the challenges being faced today by the Heads of Schools. Church and Independent schools always enjoyed a level of autonomy in the appointment and selection of heads of school. In the past, the head of state school was perceived more as a civil servant who had to abide by the regulations issued by central authorities. The state school system was always considered more bureaucratic. With decentralisation, the head in state schools started to assume greater responsibility first in financial matters and then in the way how to address the particular needs of the school, through the formulation of the school development plan and later to working in collaboration with other heads within the same college. These responsibilities started to figure gradually in the calls for application, after the enactment of the 1988 Education Act and subsequent legal notices and was nurtured by educational discourse which took place between academics, ministry officials and union representatives. This research was carried out through semi-structured interviews with secondary heads of school, coming from the three educational sectors in Malta. The heads see themselves mainly as educators leading and managing their staff, using different styles of leadership and mentoring and training their members of staff for the benefit of the learners. They would prefer that the changes in the education system be put in effect at a slower pace so to be able to assess their impact. Excessive paper work is not leaving the heads enough time to stop and reflect. They also see themselves as upholders of the ethos of the school and encourage all stakeholders to pass on values, which responsibility should not fall solely on the shoulders of the educators.