New Managerialism: The Educational Executives’ Selection Policies in the Educational Administration in Greece

Abstract

This study attempted to explore the impact of New Public Management policies on the selection process of the educational executives in Greece, in the 1981-2020 period. For this purpose, primary and secondary sources were examined, i.e.: institutional and legislative texts issued by the Greek Department of Education during that period as well as the relevant literature on the topic. Data analysis revealed that during the first two decades the selection policies and practices for the educational executives’ post had constantly focused on the teaching experience as the main asset for the candidate teachers. The advent of the new millennium coincided with a shift in the country’s educational administration system. In particular, the selection criteria were enriched being complemented with the scientific knowledge and the managerial skills along with teachers’ academic qualifications, professional development, and their lifelong learning experiences. In this way, the Greek state appeared to follow the international trends and to adopt specific elements ascribed to the New Public Management approach. In conclusion, the New Managerialism challenges on the educational administration in Greece unveiled invisible aspects of the current transformation taking place in the public sector, which unavoidably drove to major configurations or even reversed the status quo of the bureaucratically organized educational systems.