Restructuring is examined in this article, not as the official educational policy of decentralization, autonomy or change of the form of the accountability of school systems, but as a homeostatic answer of a school system to important changes that are happening to its ecology. It is about a case study concerning the transformation of an one-culture demography of a school system in the Cypriot Educational System. Through ethnographic methods of observation, interviews, official documents and data analysis in the depth of time, the impeding changes that the “unexpected” multicultarism of the student population brings to the structure of the school system and their diffusion in the higher administrative levels of authority are being examined. The results show a new theoretical perspective: that of the operation of restructuring as a homeostatic change of the elements of the structure of a school system spontaneously, as a dynamic bottom-up change in the centralized Cypriot educational system.

During the past few years there is a strong and increasing debate amongst the research and academic community on the significance of educational leadership for school effectiveness. Moreover, the broadening of the European Union with the participation of ten new members also meant the widening of the interest around the various education systems across the European states. In this paper, our aim is to investigate and compare the views and practices of English and Cypriot Headteachers, through the use of group interviews. There are a number of differences between the two educational systems. At the national level, the English educational system is a highly decentralised system with an increasing number of powers invested in the School Governors, the Local Educational Authorities and individual school units. However, we could argue that at the school level, the English educational system remains a centralised educational system or a pseudo-decentralised educational system due to reasons that have to do with the increased demand for accountability and also due to the powers that have been given to Headteachers. On the other hand, the Cypriot educational system remains a heavily bureaucratic and centralised system at the national level, whilst at the school level it is characterised as a micro decentralised or a pseudo-centralised system due to reasons that have to do with the lack of time for Headteachers to manage the instructional practises and learning, the lack of powers to manage the school in their own way and the demanding administrative role which is time consuming. Preliminary data indicate that the educational context within which school heads operate, is a significant determinant of their role. We believe that the difference in how power is allocated within the two systems allows Headteachers to built and sustain an educational vision for their school unit.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the principals’ contribution to school effectiveness in primary schools in Cyprus and to validate three models of the principals’ effects on the students’ achievement. More specifically, efforts were made in order to validate three models of effects: (a) the direct model (direct effects of the principals’ leadership style on the students’ achievement), (b) the indirect model (effects of the principals’ leadership style on the students’ achievement through intermediate variables) and, (3) the reciprocal model (interactions between the principals’ leadership style, other variables and the students’ achievement). For this reason, school culture was used as a third variable, in order to validate the indirect model and the reciprocal model. The first aim of the study was to identify the parameters of leadership style and culture in primary schools. The second aim was to develop and validate a multilevel model of school effectiveness. More specifically, possible influences of school leadership and culture on the students’ achievement in Greek Language and Mathematics were examined. The achievement in Greek Language and Mathematics were measured at the beginning and at the end of the school year 2002-2003. Leadership style and culture were measured at the end of the same school year. Initial findings indicate the validation of specific theoretical models of school leadership style and culture. Moreover, the findings indicate that: (a) at school level, the principals’ human resource leadership style and three dimensions of organizational culture, and (b) at classroom level, three dimensions of learning culture significantly influence students’ achievement. The effects of the principals’ leadership style on students’ achievement were small but statistically significant. Finally, the statistic analysis showed the validation of the direct model of the principals’ leadership style on the students’ achievement. On the contrary, no validation of the indirect model or the reciprocal model was found.

In an era marked with continuous reforms and change, school principals and teachers are called to assume more demanding roles and responsibilities. In such a context, a promising and, in some respects, unexplored way for obtaining insights into principals’ and teachers’ behaviour and motivation is by studying their efficacy beliefs. The purpose of the research in progress is to test a new model of efficacy (both self- and collective) at the school level, by exploring the relationship of the various types of efficacy of school principals and teachers in relation to the principals’ leadership behaviour. This paper reports the development of the scales that are going to be used as part of the research in progress, in order to measure self-efficacy and the collective efficacy beliefs of principals and teachers in primary schools in Cyprus.

The study examines the relation among personality and leadership styles of head teachers in primary education, and how these two factors affect their attitudes and beliefs about management of change. For conducting the specific study quantitative methods were used for collecting data. In specific, for the needs of the study, a representative sample of 160 Cypriot head teachers was selected. Head teachers were asked to complete three different data instruments: Each head teacher completed a) The Personality Inventory of “The Big Five Factors of Personality (Costa & MacCrae, 1997), b) The Leadership styles questionnaire “The Four Frames of Leadership” (structural, human resource, political, symbolic) (Bolman & Deal, 1992), c) The statements for a scenario for management of change, constructed by the researcher, in order to examine head teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about management of change. In addition, the teaching personnel of each head teacher of the sample (approximately 2000 teachers), also completed the leadership styles questionnaire “The Four Frames of Leadership”, concerning their head teacher. All data was elaborated by SEM (Structural Equation Modeling), for extensive examination of the relations of the examined factors.