A escolha do diretor

Abstract

Decree-Law n.º 75/2008, April 22, establishes a model of state school governance based on headship, with the creation of the director in a new figure – the director. Following a competitive examination proceeding, similar to a public contest, it is up to the school`s strategic body of direction – the general council – more pointedly assumed as a socio-community based body, to elect the school director, a task previously bestowed to an enlarged electoral assembly. It was the legislator`s intention that the election of the director should be valued upon the information contained in the report prepared by an internal committee of the general council, based on the analysis of the candidate`s curriculum vitae and intervention project for the school as well as the outcome of the interview. However, one concludes that in 2009, when the first competitive procedures were held in the northern part of Portugal, where the focuses of the analysis hereby presented lies, the contents of the reports had little influence on the choice of school directors. Furthermore, one also concludes that it was not the leadership profile envisaged by DecreeLaw n. º 75/2008 that guided the vote of each member of the general council. Actually, by analyzing the documents received by schools, one infers that other logics, more focused on internal contexts of schools, were decisive in this choice. In developing this analysis some more general conclusions are withdrawn about how schools and teacher candidates experienced the first competitive procedures and elections: high willingness of teachers to be elected directors, judging by the high volume of applications; willingness of former presidents of executive councils to be elected directors; tendency to apply in greater numbers and, furthermore, to be elected, of post-primary level school teachers; high percentage of candidates with specific qualifications in educational and school administration.

Date of Award	2012
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Joaquim Machado (Supervisor)