"The principal of a school cannot be elected like the president of a neighborhood council."

BarcelonaEducational leadership is one of the most influential factors in improving learning outcomes. This idea, validated by international research, is also supported by UNESCO's latest GEM 2024/5 education report, presented this Thursday in Barcelona. However, the study Leadership in education It also makes a clear warning: in many countries, this impact cannot be realized. According to the document, the reason for this low impact of educational leadership is that school principals do not have "the training, autonomy, support, or the necessary conditions to exercise effective leadership" and, thus, improve education.

Faced with these obstacles, the UNESCO study makes a series of proposals aimed at taking measures to facilitate educational leaders—teachers, principals, and also policymakers—being able to effectively lead the educational changes that the system needs. These recommendations have been adapted to the Catalan context by a team of experts coordinated by the Barcelona Center for Educational Leadership (LID) and also presented this Thursday.

The Catalan team's approach has focused primarily on the need to empower school principals through increased recognition of their work, but also through improved selection and training processes for professionals who eventually become school principals. "It's unacceptable that a school principal is elected like the president of a building," warns Anna Jolonch, a doctor in educational sciences and director of the Barcelona Institute of Educational Development (LID), referring to the problems Catalan schools have in finding teachers who want to lead a school or high school.

In fact, the study warns that the fact that many centers only have one candidate for the principal position "raises significant questions about the functioning of the system itself," which ultimately means that, when it comes down to it, there is no real selection process for school principals.

In this sense, the report also raises possible reasons for this situation. "It's a very unattractive position, because it lacks a defined career path and financial recognition in relation to the responsibility it entails," insists Jolonch. For this reason, the study—which also included the participation of experts such as the former president of the Higher Council for the Evaluation of the Education System, Joan Mateo, and the director of the Eixample School Institute, Isabel Balaguer—points to the need to rethink the working conditions of these professionals.

More economic recognition

How? First, with greater financial recognition, considering that, according to Eurydice, Spain has one of the lowest salary gaps in Europe between teachers and principals. Second, with more abstract recognition. "Having a professional career with training, mentoring, and the possibility of later working with other schools is also a form of recognition," Jolonch points out. The doctor in educational sciences also emphasizes the need for a firm commitment to mentoring new principals: "We need to support them, because when a school principal starts, they feel very alone."

Along these same lines, the UNESCO international report advocates for a more personalized career path for those aspiring to become a principal and for training in, for example, administration. Instead, experts propose implementing this idea in Catalan classrooms by strengthening the role of the secretary or administrator—there doesn't need to be one in every school, but perhaps a regional representative—to free the principal from bureaucratic tasks, giving them more time to manage pedagogical aspects. Experts estimate that 500 professionals with this profile would be needed in Catalonia.

Furthermore, the report promoted by the Barcelona Educational Development Institute (LID) also points out that, despite empowering principals more, a "second line" of pedagogical coordination in schools and institutes should be created and intermediate leadership roles established.

The leaders of the system

Beyond the role of the principal, the UNESCO document also points to the need for better selection of "system leaders," which in Catalonia could be translated into directors general and deputy directors of the Ministry of Education.

However, the study warns of the danger of politics influencing the selection of senior civil service officials, since they do not necessarily have training in education and, furthermore, are professionals who change every time there is a change of government. "It cannot be that if the political party changes, everything changes. There must be professionalization and clear criteria established that determine what determines the selection of these figures, who, ultimately, govern the school administrations of our system," concludes Jolonch.