Abstract:

Distributed leadership in education means not leading the school only by the principal, but involving all educational personnel in the school management to have more opportunities for change and to achieve maximum improvement. Distributed school leadership is a necessity in a democratic society. The goal of the current research was to update the information on school leadership in Georgia and to understand whether the application of distributed leadership has become more successful. The simple random selection method was applied to choose the participants of the study. The sample involved 70 school administrators and teachers. A self-made 5-point Likert-scale (8 items) and multiple choice (3 items) questionnaire was assessed for validity and reliability and then applied online. It was concluded that in the management process still principals, vice-principals, and heads of educational units (M=3.75, according to a 4-point Likert scale) were more involved than other educators 1.25<M<2.47). Except for mentor teachers, other teachers are not actively involved in innovations and decision-making, either (1.7<M<2.47). Teachers are rarely awarded for their involvement in school management (M=2.13). Chairs, senior teachers, and trustee board members are rarely involved in organizing school events (1.67<M<2.47). Professional development in the schools is insufficient (M=2.43). The support of schools to apply innovation was assessed reasonably positively by the majority of the respondents (M=2.70). On the whole, the obtained results revealed that school administration in Georgia is not self-critical enough, and there is a need to distribute leadership more widely for the benefit of schools.

Keywords:

Distributed leadership, teacher nurturing, empowerment, development, education.