Abstract
Our research problem deals with what happens when national educational policies meet structures of implementation at the school district and school level. Our focus is on the position that is directly subordinate to a municipal committee or board and with responsibility for education. This position we refer to as superintendent. By focusing on this position and the prerequisites for the person holding that position it may also be possible to investigate some of the preconditions for learning. The chapter starts with a short description of the Nordic governance system, gives some results from earlier studies about the superintendent, and is followed by findings from our Nordic survey.
The findings address the power distribution between the state and the municipalities in national school governance across Nordic countries. The underlying argument posits that these system characteristics are crucial in determining the context for municipal superintendent leadership in practice. The conceptual model of the Nordic superintendent is discussed in the light of empirical data from all Nordic countries. Finally, the chapter discusses to what extent leadership for learning is a relevant perspective for analyzing Nordic superintendent leadership as it emerged from the data.
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Notes
- 1.
See for example the 2005 Norwegian curriculum reform, called ‘Knowledge Promotion’ and the proceeding white paper A Culture for Learning.
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Johansson, O., Moos, L., Nihlfors, E., Paulsen, J.M., Risku, M. (2011). Nordic Superintendents’ Leadership Roles: Cross-National Comparisons. In: Townsend, T., MacBeath, J. (eds) International Handbook of Leadership for Learning. Springer International Handbooks of Education, vol 25. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1350-5_30
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