Reynsla skólastjóra af meistaranámi í stjórnun skólastofnana

This paper presents the findings from research aiming at investigating the attitudes and experience of pre- and compulsory school principals of a master’s program in school management and leadership at the University of Akureyri, and at exploring the impact they felt the program had on them and their work. The research question was: What was the principals’ attitudes and experience of the program and how they thought it influenced their professional development and capacity as principals? Research has demonstrated that the leadership and leadership behaviour of principals is crucial for sustained school improvement and students’ achievement. Together with an emphasis on school-based management, these findings have increased the responsibilities of principals and amplified the pressure on them. The findings have also led to an increased emphasis on principal preparation programs, both in-service and for prospective principals, followed by increased research on their success. In Iceland, the first master´s program in educational management and leadership was established in 1997 at the Iceland University of Education. Since 2000 a similar program has been offered by The University of Akureyri. Even though a substantial num ber of participants have graduated from both these programs, little research exists on their impact and usefulness. Data for the study reported in this paper was gathered through semi-structured individual interviews and document analysis of their theses. The interviews were conducted with 14 principals in pre- and compulsory schools, who had completed the master’s program in school management and leadership at The University of Akureyri. During their studies, the participants were either in-post principals, or became principals during or shortly after their completion of the program. The interviews were conducted in September October 2014 and lasted 60–70 minutes each. The aim of the interviews was to search for key concepts such as self-confidence, self-awareness, vision, leadership and educational change. The main themes that emerged were theoretical knowledge and self-confidence, principal behaviour, reflective and critical thinking, and practical value and the thesis. The findings demonstrate that completing the programme gave the principals an increased sense of competence and deepened their understanding of their roles as principals. They reported increased self-awareness and assurance, their theoretical knowledge had grown and they were more reflective and critical. Most of them said that the studies had helped hem change their way of practising leadership and increased their leadership capacity. Part of it was that they utilize the human capital of the school better. Furthermore, they had become better at forming a vision and working towards school improvement. The principals felt they had gained tools that they could use in practice, at the same time as they knew better where to look for such tools when they were needed. The principals found it easier to speak up and argue for their ideas and visions, both inside and outside their schools, because they had a stronger theoretical stance and increased confidence. According to the principals the most practical part of their studies was their work on their theses. It seemed that during this work they had freedom to research and deepen their understanding of topics of interest, and that they were more likely to make changes in their schools regarding the subject of their theses. However, some of the principals called for more practical assignments/programs, especially regarding financial and human resource management. The findings also showed that what was considered practical by one principal was regarded as less practical by another one. It seemed to depend on the principals’ former experience, their interests and assignments, such as the topic of the thesis, and working situations. These findings are in many ways in line with findings from research from other countries. They give reason to believe that completing a master’s program such as the one investigated in this study is important for the principals’ understanding of their work and their behaviour in a way that is likely to make a difference for school improvement and to students.