Oplatka, I. (2004). The principalship in developing countries: context, characteristics and realities. Comparative Education, 40(3), 427-448.
Main point: contexts/characteristics of principalship and similarities/differences between principals in developed and developing countries.
Typical features of a developing country school leader:
– limited autonomy,
– autocratic leadership style,
– summative evaluation,
– low degree of change initiation, and
– lack of instructional leadership functions
Method: meta-analysis (n=27)
Conclusions:
– Anglo-American conceptualizations of principalship cannot claim to be universal and applicable in developing countries.
– The current review emphasizes the need to change the narrow definitions of principalship towards instructional issues and provide principals with greater autonomy, prior to any attempt to implement education policy that focuses on teaching improvement.