Organizational and environmental contexts affecting school principals' distributed leadership practices.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the organizational and environmental contexts that affect the distributed leadership behaviours of school principals working in primary schools in Turkey. A phenomenological research approach has been adopted and data was collected via semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 primary school principals. Maximum variation sampling strategy is used in recruiting participants and the collected data was analysed using content analysis. The results suggested that legislations, school culture, parents’ and students’ culture, national culture, and centralized and bureaucratic structure affect the attitude school principals distribute the leadership in schools. School principals generally do not want to share leadership with teachers or parents. While the justification about teachers is based on their reluctance to take responsibility or the negative competition between them, the justification for parents is based on the potential of parents' leadership to be a threat towards social justice at school. In addition, the law puts more responsibility on school principals, pushing them to become the leader of the school. However, school principals do not have as much authority as responsibility at schools. Thus, the hierarchical structure that intensifies the power in the center will provide more effective control over the school.