Aikaterini Balasi, George Iordanidis and Eleni Tsakiridou
To improve school organisational performance and innovativeness, and meet diverse student needs, school leaders should be innovative, risk-takers and proactive, thus applying…
Abstract
Purpose
To improve school organisational performance and innovativeness, and meet diverse student needs, school leaders should be innovative, risk-takers and proactive, thus applying entrepreneurial practices/strategies and market mechanisms. This study aims to investigate, from a schoolteacher's perspective, the degree of entrepreneurial leadership behaviour (ELB) applied by school principals in European primary schools. Given that school autonomy is perceived as an important predictor of leaders' entrepreneurship, this study investigates the impact of educational macro (autonomy and accountability) and micro (demographics) contexts on ELB by comparing centralised and decentralised European school systems with the highly centralised Greek school system.
Design/methodology/approach
This comparative study was conducted in Greece (630 participants) and in 14 European countries (972 participants). Thornberry's Entrepreneurial Leadership Questionnaire was used, comprising general entrepreneurial leader (GEL), miner (MIN), accelerator (ACC), explorer (EXP) and integrator (INT) behaviours.
Findings
The results revealed that ELB is a multi-dimensional concept, and that all participating teachers perceived ELB application moderately, with more focus on the internal (than external) school environment. Furthermore, the dual-directional macro-contextual influence found in applying ELB indicates that high school autonomy and accountability activate ELB owing to the school's freedom to engage in entrepreneurial ventures, while low autonomy/accountability still activates ELB, but only for organisational survival within hierarchical-bureaucratic school environments. This feature differentiates “intrapreneur/intrepreneur” from “entrepreneur” school principals.
Originality/value
The theoretical basis of entrepreneurial leadership (EL) in education should include entrepreneurial multi-dimensional leadership aspects (competencies, behaviours, skills) and educational context (macro and micro). Implications for school leadership research and practice are also discussed.
Details
Keywords
Nikoleta Jones, Spiridon Roumeliotis, Theodoros Iosifides, Maria Hatziantoniou, Eleni Sfakianaki, Eleni Tsigianni, Kalliopi Thivaiou, Athina Biliraki and Kostas Evaggelinos
The aim of the present study is to contribute to the discussion introducing the concept of social capital as a significant parameter influencing students' perceptions concerning…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the present study is to contribute to the discussion introducing the concept of social capital as a significant parameter influencing students' perceptions concerning greening initiatives in HEIs.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical analysis is presented concerning the possible links of social capital components with students' perceptions on environmental management initiatives. Furthermore, the results of an empirical study are presented exploring these issues from the perspective of students, both through quantitative and qualitative social research methods.
Findings
The empirical study reveals that students' social capital is connected with their perceptions for the environmental management of the university.
Social implications
The paper underlines the importance of examining and taking into consideration social factors prior to the implementation of environmental management initiatives in HEIs, in order to increase their effectiveness.
Originality/value
The paper is a first attempt to empirically explore the influence of students' social capital on their perceptions for environmental management initiatives in higher education institutions.