Balancing school autonomy and head teachers’ accountability for schools in Slovakia

Abstract

The paper presents an analysis of the changes which have been introduced into the legislation on education in Slovakia. The paper, in its first part, presents an analysis of the transformation process which the system of education in Slovakia has undergone during the period of the last three decades. Within this process a great number of responsibilities have passed from the central authorities to local municipalities and individual schools. The changed conditions and the increased autonomy of schools meant that schools had to face new tasks and challenges. The new demands required new professional competences and calls for the professionalization of school leaders became part of a wider movement for school reforms. How the professional development of the school leaders is currently solved in Slovakia, what kind of education primary and secondary school head teachers are obliged to undergo, who are the main providers of this education, how it is provided, and how it is structured as to its content are described in the second part of the paper. The last part of the paper presents main results of research aimed at an evaluation of the scope of autonomy given to schools and powers given to head teachers from the point of view of an optimal amount of this autonomy in relation to actual needs and requirements of the head teachers.