Principals play a key role in the development of schools. They lead the work, organize teachers’ professional development, and drive improvement efforts. But what does the professional learning of principals themselves actually look like? Existing research is limited and focuses mainly on principals’ participation in formal training programs. A new study has shifted the spotlight toward principals’ learning as change in and for practice.
Current research often points to the same challenges—lack of time, and the fact that the courses principals attend rarely lead to meaningful change in their daily work. This dissertation aims to redirect the focus. Instead of viewing learning as something that happens only inside an individual’s mind, the study takes a practice-based perspective: learning is about changing how one actually works.
To explore this, an action research project was conducted in which principals collaboratively developed their leadership in relation to the digitalization of preschool education. The result? The principals changed their ways of leading by gaining a deeper understanding of digitalization as a phenomenon, reorienting themselves in relation to other practical processes, and, based on this, transforming their leadership actions.
“Action research is about implementing change in everyday practice,” says Emelie Johansson, PhD in Educational Work at Karlstad University. “It’s about critically examining one’s own leadership—how have I, as a leader, created the conditions for my staff to develop their work in their daily routines? Change can be perceived as challenging, so leaders need to take the lead while also understanding that.”
Three factors particularly important
Based on the findings, three factors emerge as particularly important for learning as change in and for practice:
How learning is organized – it should be arranged in ways that support actual changes in practice.
Moving away from viewing time as a limitation – adopting a process-oriented perspective on time promotes a historical understanding of, in this case, how technology influences the organization over time.
The role of emotions in learning processes – the results highlight how emotional engagement is tied to the purpose of education and acts as a driving force for change.
“The action research was initiated due to the requirement for principals to lead digitalization. Two years later, at the end of the project, the government decided to abolish the national digitalization strategy. The dissertation therefore highlights the importance of school leadership when educational governance fluctuates between different directions. Leading preschools and schools is not about managing something static, but about creating meaning and structure in a constantly changing environment. It is therefore essential that principals are given the space to reflect on their organization and intentionally shape change, rather than merely react to external demands. Through reflection and critical distance, principals can develop professional judgment and resilience, enabling them to remain steady even in the face of external pressures.”
