Rektors ledarskap och organisation i Montessorifriskolor – en intervjustudie av tre rektorer

Sammanfattning: Svensson, Elisabeth (2018). Rektors ledarskap och organisation i Montessori- friskolor – enintervjustudie av tre rektorer. (Principals leadership and organization in Montessori-schools - aninterview study of three principals). Pedagogik, Institutionen för Skolutveckling och ledarskap,Fakulteten för Lärande och samhälle, Malmö universitet.The research that has taken place has consisted of interviews with principals in two Montessorischools(F-6, F-9) and one Montessori-inspired school (F-6). My purpose with this study was toinvestigate how principals pedagogically lead and organize the daily work connected with how theschool structurally is built and lead. The interviews have been accomplished by a manual withquestions and are semi-structured. I have with a phenomenologically approach tried to describe,interpret and analyze the principals daily work from respondents own perspective. In my analysis,I have used the complexity theory in order to understand and interpret the complexity of the schoolorganization and two models of leadership, transformational and transactional leadership. Theresult of the analysis shows that the Montessori-school principals strategically consciously workwith attitudes and methods of working in the context of learning and teaching. I have identified abasis for how school leadership can be practised within the Montessori pedagogy. I have also in myanalysis established the fact that many of the characteristics of the Montessori pedagogy correspondwith what is stated in the curriculum of the compulsory school (Lgr 11). In relation to theleadership of the principals I have been able to state the fact that both a transformational and atransactional leadership are represented in the three schools. I have made the complexity in theprincipal’s leadership evident in the relation to the organization of the schools and have identifiedan obvious challenge and conflict of interest between the main organization, that is controlled bythe committee, and the principal and the staff of the the schools. My analysis clearly shows that theopinion of all three principals is that the daily work in the school organization is complex. I make acomparison with the complexity theory, which indicates that when the abstract and the simplifiedissues in the daily work meet with the more concrete and complex issues, this will cause difficultiesin the organization. .The study can hopefully increase the knowledge of principals’ leadershiprelated to the organization in Montessori-schools and be complementary to further research in thisfield.