SALIENT IDENTITIES OF LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS IN GREEK PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Published 31 July 2020 •  vol 1  •  no 1  • 


Authors:

 

Konstantia Spyriadou, Hellenic Open University, Greece
Manolis Koutouzis, Hellenic Open University, Greece

Abstract:

 

The vast majority of leadership research and literature has been focused on the leader, his/her traits, behaviors, styles etc. This paper adopts a different stance as it examines salient identities of leaders (headteachers) and followers (teachers) in Greek primary schools. More specifically it attempts to discuss leaders-followers identities formulated not as an active process but rather as a consequence, a spinoff of the observed hierarchies in Greek (primary) schools. A Qualitative Methodology was used, as a total of 43 telephone semi-structured interviews were carried out to respondents, who work in 13 regional directorates of education (the whole country), in order for the sample to be representative, while the thematic/topic coding was applied. Research findings show that differentiated identities emerge in schools, through both verbal and non-verbal communication, as a result of institutionalized hierarchy. Although, distinctive identities are interdependent, they can also become confrontational, to the extent that headteachers manifest “hegemonic” behaviors, forcing teachers to adopt a Passive Follower Identity. The interactive nature of this relationship is reflected in the influence exercised by leaders, which in turn has positive results in teachers’ professional development and creativity but also in the influence exercised by followers, leading to the reformation of Leader Identity.

Keywords:

 

Salient Identities, Leader, Follower, Interaction, Influence, Prototypicality, Institutionalized Hierarchy

References:

 

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Citations:

 

APA:
Spyriadou, K., & Koutouzis, M. (2020). Salient Identities of Leaders and Followers in Greek Primary Schools. Journal of Education and Teaching Methodology (JETM), ISSN: 2652-7286, NADIA, 1(1), 19-30. doi: 10.33832/jetm.2020.1.1.02.

MLA:
Spyriadou, Konstantia, et al. “Salient Identities of Leaders and Followers in Greek Primary Schools.” Journal of Education and Teaching Methodology, ISSN: 2652-7286, NADIA, vol. 1, no. 1, 2020, pp. 19-30. JETM, http://article.nadiapub.com/JETM/vol1_no1/2.html.

IEEE:
[1] K. Spyriadou, and M. Koutouzis, "Salient Identities of Leaders and Followers in Greek Primary Schools." Journal of Education and Teaching Methodology (JETM), ISSN: 2652-7286, NADIA, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 19-30, Jul 2020.