Eureka! Institutional Repository

This study concerns the introduction of innovations in education, highlighting the role of the school principals. The research questions looked at how the principals perceive the meaning of innovation in the school environment, how they estimate the contribution of innovations to Greek education system, what supports and what makes it difficult to introduce innovations, what is the attitude of the school administration to innovation and which practices the directors support the introduction and implementation of innovations in the school environment. The research was qualitative in a sample of 14 principals of primary and secondary schools of Thessaloniki. Data analysis was carried out by deliberate sampling while using a semi-structured interview. The data was processed using the content analysis method to systemically and objectively analyze the views of the principals for the extraction of the findings. Data analysis has shown that principals converge in their views in several parts (subjects). The main conclusions were as following: the principals were enough familiar with the term of innovation as the majority of them explained aptly what is innovation in education. Most of the principals considered the contribution of innovations to both the upgrading of learning outcomes and their benefits to all members of the school and local community and. In addition, they argued that what supports the introduction of innovations in the school 6 environment is the receptivity of all members towards change, while what hinders the introduction of innovations is the reluctance of some teachers due to the non-flexible program and the extra workload. Notable attention was also given to the lack of appropriate logistics equipment to facilitate the introduction of innovations. The majority of directors highlighted the key role of the leadership in encouraging and supporting school community members to introduce and implement innovative programs as well as focus on the existence of an appropriate collaborative and positive school climate. Finally, the directors mostly depicted the key role of the administration in supporting the introduction and realization of innovations through the encouragement of teachers and their appropriate training.