Delegation in School Leadership – Relic of the Past or Lasting Necessity?

Problem vođenja škole dugo je aktualan u procesu reformiranja školskog sustava, pri čemu se propituje autonomija ravnatelja škole, ali i uključenost ostalih dionika u donošenje odluka koje ih se tiču. Pritom se nastoji napustiti model individualnog vođenja škole, koji podrazumijeva ravnatelja kao jedinog nositelja odlučivanja u vođenju škole. Umjesto toga, zagovara se model distribuiranog vođenja u procesu kojega se moć odlučivanja dijeli sa svim dionicima odgoja i obrazovanja, a radi povećanja kvalitete odgoja i obrazovanja. Postavlja se pitanje kako se u taj proces uklapa delegiranje, koje je kulturalno uvjetovano i manifestira spremnost zaposlenika na prakticiranje takve prakse u procesu donošenja odluka. Sukladno tomu, cilj je bio provesti analizu teorijskih modela vođenja škole da bi se ovim radom doprinijelo razumijevanju položaja delegiranja na razmeđu individualnoga i distribuiranog školskog vođenja. Iako delegiranje sadrži elemente distribuiranog vođenja jer su u vođenje uključeni i drugi dionici, još uvijek je u ovom modelu vođenja naglašeno individualno vođenje ravnatelja i autoritet koji proizlazi iz njegove formalne pozicije u hijerarhiji škole. Ono je još uvijek zastupljeno u školama i odolijeva suvremenim nagnućima, budući da viša razina aktivnog uključivanja zahtijeva spremnost svih zaposlenika na dijeljenje odgovornosti, iz čega onda proizlazi zahtjev za demokratizacijom cjelokupne kulture škole.The issue of school leadership has been accompanying the on-going school reform discourse, focusing on the autonomy of school leaders and the involvement of other stakeholders in the decision-making process. At the same time, an effort is being made to abandon the model of leading school independently, meaning that the headteacher is the sole bearer of power in school. Instead, the model of distributed leadership is advocated implying that the power is shared with all stakeholders in the decision-making process, with the aim of school improvement. The question arises as to how delegation fits into this process, which is culturally conditioned and shows the willingness of school employees to get involved in the decision-making process. Therefore, the aim was to analyses theoretical models of school leadership in order to contribute to the understanding of the position of delegation at the borderline between individual and distributed school leadership. This paper places delegation on the border between independent and distributed school leadership. Although delegation contains elements of distributed leadership (with numerous stakeholders involved in leading), this model of leadership still emphasizes the headteacher’s independent actions based on the authority derived from his formal position in the school hierarchy. As such, it resists modern tendencies and continues to exist in contemporary schools, due to the reluctance of other stakeholders to take on further responsibilities and get more actively involved in the process of creating a more democratic school culture