Reforms Supported by the Reformers

Journal of Siberian Federal University. Series: Humanities & Social Sciences. 2015. Vol. 11. P. 2458–2468.

Kasprzhak A. G., Bayburin R. F., Isaeva N.

The article discusses the results of the study of the management decision-making styles of secondary school principals, which was held in 2014 in eight regions of the Russian Federation (one region of each federal district) basing on the methodology of A. Rowe. The objective of the study was to assess the Russian principals’ reform potential, which in the present conditions, according to the authors, is based on the ability to build a partnership with teachers in decision-making and to preserve the ability to solve problems in a situation of uncertainty, which was so characteristic of the era of change. Based on the findings of the research on the management decision-making styles, comparison of the two reforms in the recent history of Russian education was made: the financial reform that includes certain financial freedom for schools willing to switch to a form of the autonomous institution, and the substantial reform that offers schools to claim to a lyceum and gymnasium status with wider opportunities to organize the educational process. The comparison reveals that the substantial reform has attracted a greater number of principals-reformers than the financial one, which characterizes a formal and directive side of the latter.

Keywords: школьное лидерство, School leadership, стили принятия решений руководителями образовательных организаций, директора школ, реформаторский потенциал системы образования, school principals, реформы в образовании, decision-making styles, reforms in education, reform potential of the education system