The Head Teacher Role

S ummary . The responses of 162 male and 181 female head teachers to a Head Teacher Role Definition Instrument (HRDI) were compared by chisquare analysis. The head teachers were randomly selected from primary and non‐selective secondary schools throughout England and Wales. The HRDI, developed with the assistance of head teachers, had a test‐retest reliability of ·804. Hypotheses derived from American studies of the school principalship, which predicted stronger professional orientations on the part of female head teachers in respect of ideologies of service and technical competence were not supported. In confirmation of previous American research male head teachers were found to hold more autonomous role conceptions than female head teachers in connection with their relationships with teachers, parents and expert authority sources external to the school

Competence (human resources) · Developmental psychology · Head (geology) · Head teachers · Ideology · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Political science · Politics · Collaborative Teaching and Inclusion · Psychology · Social Psychology · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies · Teacher Professional Development and Motivation