The shared principalship: invitation at the top

A school principal’s workload is recognised as being heavy, with an imbalance between demands and resources. This paper contributes to the development of collective leadership. The principalship constellations of six schools in Sweden were studied with the aim of strengthening the current knowledge about structures and experiences of shared principalship. The empirical basis is qualitative data from interviews with principals and vice-principals. The analytical focus was on how the sharing structures were organised and how the shared principalship was experienced. The results point to a considerable variation in the organisational structures of shared principalship. Despite the type of model, form and constellation, the principals and vice-principals voiced a striking sense of relief in not feeling alone in their duties, as problems and troubles became manageable. An intensified interaction level in the principalship constellation created opportunities to develop competence. Theoretically, this study broadens the invited leadership concept to include horizontal invitations across unit boundaries between principals in different units within the same school. The knowledge contribution of this study is useful in discussing the legal possibilities for shared principalship, which may be especially relevant in times when the Swedish school system is being criticised for not delivering good student outcomes.     

The effect of extended UTAUT model on EFLs’ adaptation to flipped classroom

Education and Information Technologies - The educational transformation of flipped classroom continues to be the important approach to increasing students’ readiness for flipped learning. To...     

Learning (abroad) mobility in the European Union: A comparison of youth in and out of higher education

In the European Union (EU) context, learning abroad mobility (LAM) also includes non-formal learning activities. Young people can participate in LAM whether they are in tertiary education or not. Nevertheless, studies focusing on the participation of out-of-higher-education (Out-HE) youth in LAM are often scarce. The current study aims to explore the role of several sociodemographic factors in participation in LAM among Out-HE youth, based on the analysis of a large-scale survey conducted across EU member countries. Findings show that Out-HE youth is less likely to participate in LAM than the youth in higher education as expected. However, some socioeconomic factors, such as gender and age, play different roles among Out-HE youth and the youth in higher education in old (EU15) and new member countries (NMS) of the EU.