The proposed symposium will focus on school leadership in Cyprus, within the era of transformation in education. It aims at presenting empirical data on key posts in the Cyprus educational system, from the existing practice, to a new, emerging leadership practices. It will focus on three research projects on school leadership and administration conducted recently in Cyprus.  The three projects are interrelated in the sense that:

• They all refer respectively to the three administrative/leadership positions which exist in primary education: assistant principal, principal, inspector.
• The three papers are a result of a similar methodology which combined both qualitative and quantitative methods of research and data analysis.
• They all explored current and ideal practice relative to the duties and responsibilities which emanate from the three job descriptions.

The inspector survey examined specifically the perceptions of principals and teachers with respect to (a) the philosophy of inspection as exercised in the day-to-day inspectorate activities (b) the deficiencies involved in the current and ideal practice of  supervisory duties and responsibilities, and (c)the perspective of adopting a supervisory rather than an inspectorate role.

The principal survey also examined the current and ideal practice with respect to nine broad areas of job responsibilities emanating from the effective schools research.  A factor analysis study was also undertaken to identify the major areas of concern for primary school  principals in the centralized system of Cyprus. 

The assistant principal survey looked at the perceptions of principals, assistant principals and teachers concerning the role of assistant principal. Given the vagueness of the position as regards leadership and administrative duties, the focus of the study was to prescribe a role for assistant principals in the primary schools of Cyprus.

The research effort referred to above comprises a major breakthrough in school administration and leadership in Cyprus mainly for four reasons:

• it remains a major research effort in primary school administration and a comprehensive one in the sense that it embraces all three leadership positions,
• it provides the baseline for a detailed role prescription for each leadership position,
• it highlights the shortcomings of the selection process of school administrators currently in practice in Cyprus and pinpoints to necessary changes in this respect, and
• it presents useful feedback for a major educational reform effort currently contemplated in the public educational system of Cyprus.