DESCRIPTORS:
Principal; school administration; opinion surveys; self-evaluation; traits of a principal; communication; professional competencies.

SYNOPSIS:
The image of the principal is vital to the effective establishment of a school’s management. In this article, the most important factors contributing to the positive image of a principal are surveyed. The results are reviewed and interpreted and several “real-life” examples are examined. The article concludes with a recommendation for supporting the principal’s development of a positive image.

School management cannot be effective without a principal establishing an image that is attractive and charming. In his/her daily professional routine, a school principal has to deal with at least four social groups: students, teachers, maintenance staff, and parents. I might also add local community representatives. In other words, the social arena of a principal’s activities is wide and diverse. This makes it even more difficult to preserve one’s image as charming and powerful. Many school principals have realized this complexity and turned serious attention to the process of remaking their own images. A well-crafted image will definitely help any principal to re-establish himself in the school and community environment, as well as building personal relationships with teachers, children, and parents. Such an image will certainly help to reaffirm one’s professional reputation and personal authority.

To discover the most important factors that contribute to a principal’s positive image, I have conducted a sociological survey. My idea was to compare teacher perception of the principal with the principal’s own image of himself/herself. Two primary methods were used: questionnaires and interviews. The total number of participants, mostly from the Moscow region, was 150. This number was split between 120 teachers and 30 principals. All of the participants, 95% of which were women, had higher education diplomas.

The survey allowed not only opinions of teachers about their principals to be contrasted against the opinion of the principals themselves, but it also helped in the collection of valuable information about the image of a principal in general.

Below are some interesting and useful statistics and facts which can be translated into practical recommendations for a principal in building a positive image.

1. The data collected indicates that many principals tend to make an overestimation in their self-evaluation. Let’s compare the figures: 30% of teachers responding consider their principals as being just satisfactory, but only 2.7% of all school principals responding agree with this judgment and seem to be aware of their own insufficient training in school management.

Opinions of school principals

2. Teachers were asked to name primary professional and personal character traits of their principals. School principals had to answer the same question, but about themselves. Looking at Table two, one can see that school principals have over-estimated their self-evaluation in terms of their personal traits with one exception, “erudition.” On the contrary, the majority of teachers consider their principals quite knowledgeable.

3. We are certainly concerned about a serious shift in opinions on such primary moral indicators as “fairness” and “nobleness” (high moral character.) 77.7% of all principals consider themselves fair and 52.7% noble. In contrast only 28.7% of the teachers consider their principals fair and 22.5% noble.

Personal and professional traits

It has been proven elsewhere that a high degree of social and business communication at school usually influences school success. Here is how teachers and principals responding define the frequency of communication in their schools.

Communication of principals and their employees

As our survey shows, school principals are only half-realistic about their frequency of communication with teachers. 75% of all principals believe that they stay in constant communication with their teachers, but only 30% of teachers share the same opinion. Keep in mind that any school building is quite compact and teachers tend to get together in their teachers’ lounge. This might mean that school principals hardly ever leave their own office for social time with their teachers.

4. Our research indicated that one of the primary problems of our modern education is the character of many school principals which does not meet modern social expectations. To prove this statement we suggest a closer look at the evaluations that teachers have given their principals, accusing them of unfair decisions, poor usage of the Russian language, and of an inability to communicate with children and adults. All these characteristics radically diminish the image of school principals.

Let us look at table 2 one more time. What else does it show us? School principals are not objective in their self-analysis. Only 2% of them have a negative image of themselves in comparison with 155 of teachers who have the same opinion. In other words, the difference between a principal’s and his / her teachers’ opinions is striking. It might mean that school principals either do not know about their personal and professional shortages, or they express a typical “bureaucrat’s self-confidence.”

There is one more serious problem which I would like to touch on briefly in this article; one of “softening” the communication process between teachers and principals. Our questionnaire, entitled, “A Principal as a Friend; a Principal as an Authority,” showed that 65.5%of all principals sincerely believe that their teachers seek their advice on different, non-school related issues; in comparison with only 21.2% of teachers who share the same opinion. In addition, 47.8% of teachers do not have any desire to consult their principals on any matters beyond school-related activities.

It looks like many school principals overestimate the level of friendly relations they have established with their teachers. Here are some figures to consider. 99.9% of all school principals believe that from time to time, teachers consult them on non-school related issues. This figure contradicts the opinions of teachers who participated in the survey; 47.5% of whom have no desire to consult their principals on matters other than work.

Let me highlight one idea, which I believe, is applicable only to school in comparison with other institutions. Here is what I mean. Usually when you talk about an employer and his / her employees, you apply the formula, “a boss and his/her subordinates,” but in schools one usually has a different type of relationship; “a leader and his/her colleagues.” This is why, in a school setting, we consider collegial and friendly relationships among the most important, in contrast to relationships of subordination. This management style is more productive in establishing relationships with students as well. As Confucius stated, “You can force people to obey, but you cannot force them to learn.”

There were only two issues in the entire survey where school principals and teachers had the same opinion; the necessity to acquire management technologies and personal charm. Both school principals and teachers consider these two, very important. 45% of all teachers would love to have a principal who is able to be charming. 47.2% of school principals consider that they have mastered the techniques which make them personally charming. Although we realize that charm is not sufficient on the whole, personal charm is a very strong factor which helps to build one’s professional reputation and authority. It is also very important that schoolteachers feel sympathy with their principal.

One more disturbing factor, which our survey showed, was a discrepancy between the desirable and actual competencies of school principals. Let me stress one more time that in any school with intelligent and polished teachers who are concerned about their professional level and personal ability to express their emotions, one would expect that the school principal represent the “school’s public image.” This is a simple reason to remember that the position of a principal does not guarantee authority. The best guarantee remains related to one’s personal charm. The more attractive one’s personality is for the teachers and students, the more authority the principal can gain.

Why am I so persistent in saying this? Again, because of the survey. 65% of all teachers believe that their principal should possess qualities and techniques to predict, avoid, and resolve conflicts, but only 19.4% of all principals consider that they have mastered such techniques. This brings us to a conclusion that the majority of school principals are in need of conflict resolution skills.

One more valuable indicator is the attitude of teachers to their principals’ potential resignation. 11% of all teachers are indifferent about this possibility while 51.2% of teachers and 61% of principals feel sorry about it. This shows that many teachers are personally attached to their principals, and an even larger number of principals are similarly attached to their schools. But, looking at the situation from another angle and considering the 11% who are indifferent to a principal’s departure and will not feel sorry about it, school principals need to put more efforts into building a better reputation, authority, and sympathy among their colleagues.

Now let us talk about the ideal, modern, school principal as a result of this sociological survey. The survey showed that such a person would be a highly professional, sociable, and hard working person who is knowledgeable in his/her field. However, teachers seem to address their principals with questions only when it is absolutely necessary and then most principals cannot answer eloquently. One more disturbing fact is that half of all teachers have no desire to seek advice from their principal on non-school related matters. This is also an indicator of a very formal type of communication between principals and teachers.

Our survey results also indicate the necessity to provide every school principal with constant support for the creation of an attractive image.

An Image of a School Principal

Our research has proven that a modern, school principal should be able to attract different people, define his/her goals correctly, and find ways to achieve them. Our research has also shown the necessity to improve the professional training of school leaders who should be prepared for establishing different relationships and who should also have an impressively attractive image. Having such an image is extremely important because a school principal, in my understanding, is “similar to the sun” for both teachers and students. It is of utmost importance that a school principal attracts both teachers and students. This attraction comes out of his/her unusually bright personality. A school principal should be open, friendly, and trustworthy. He/she should also bring optimism to teachers and serve as a model for a healthy life style.

To me, the image of Anton S. Makarenk[2]o was such an example, a person who was not striking in appearance but magnetically appealing to everyone.

Another example was the principal of Udelninskaya secondary school[3] in the Ramenskii District of the Moscow Region. This elderly lady was both an attractive leader and a great professional. I always admired her dark- blue, business suit with snow-white blouse and lacy cuffs. Even more, I admired her capacity to find and attract very talented people and bring them to our school. She always tried to create an exceptional, intellectual atmosphere. She purposefully allowed different opinions to be presented and discussed. It didn’t make her life easier, but she managed to pick up the best ideas out of those debates and discussions.

Every time I meet with the “gymnasium” principal from Shelkovo,[4] I learn from her. She is a “treasure chest” full of wisdom. She is driven to find answers to all questions and to have them verified by research and educational theory. This has made her school an experimental, focal point for research where her teachers are equal partners with several scholars from The Russian Academy of Education and other research institutions. This principal has a very refined taste for innovations. She was the initiator of the country’s first, school-wide, “conflict-resolution service,” composed of teachers, students and their parents. Her “gymnasium” was also the first to teach such school subjects as “Image Making,” “The Conflict Resolution Process,” and “Ortobiotics.”[5] For me, the principal and teachers of this “gymnasium” have become true experts in every innovation that I have suggested in the sphere of sociology and management theory. I should add just once more that the image of this school principal is just perfect.

Summarizing the results of our sociological survey, I have come to a number of practical recommendations:

• Create a gallery of model school principals.
• Expose these model figures in different pedagogical publications and on TV.
• Conduct an annual contest entitled, “An Image of a School Principal” and fully praise its winners.

Finally, the League of Professional Image-Makers is ready to support any of the above mentioned suggestions.

COMMENTARY:

Although I began the article with an interest in learning what Russian principals and teachers think of the “image of the principal,” I was disappointed to see the article and research descend into a conclusion that a public relations makeover is all the principal needs in order to win over the hearts and minds of teachers, students, and parents. I am sure that PR experts would love to help out in schools. It could prove lucrative for them.

I disagree with the author’s opinion. I believe that a successful principal does not need to win a beauty contest or be voted most popular in the school. To be successful, and by successful, I mean to fulfill the goals of the school: to educate the children who attend to the best of everyone’s ability, a model school principal, in my opinion, must gain his/her authority, respect, and honor by creating a school culture that respects every child and meets their needs. When that goal is accomplished, the principal will be installed on a pedestal for public veneration.

Anyone with experience in life has met attractive rogues. The truly attractive, charismatic, magnetic person has developed these traits over a lifetime and they are based on respect, fairness, and kindness towards all. There is no need for cosmetic overhauls when an honest, trustworthy, and intelligent person is selected to lead a school.

John Mc Gurgan, retired principal and teacher;
President of THE AMERUS EXCHANGE, LTD