Journal archive

Abstract: The article deals with the content of the notions “management” and “leadership” with reference to the sphere of education. It analyzes social factors determining leadership as the necessary element of education institution management under modern conditions. The author carries out a comparative analysis of functions and opportunities of a manager and a leader from the point of view of the Russian social psychology. Alternative points of view on the question of possibility to combine the roles of a manager and a leader by one person are presented: according to one point of view, an education institution manager should also be a leader; in accordance with the other one, a manager without salient leadership properties may compensate for the missing skills by way of creation of a mutually complementary management team. In addition to management of education institution, the article also dwells on another level of pedagogical management connected with management of academic process carried out by the pedagogue. The article describes an empirical investigation focused on testing the hypothesis: whether students take their pedagogues not only as organizers of academic process but also as people possessing leadership characteristics. Student interviews revealed the characteristics typically ascribed to leaders (the content of the implicit leadership theory), as well as characteristics ascribed to the pedagogues who had significantly influenced professional and life experience of the students. The results of our research showed that students ascribe to teachers who had more influence upon them both the characteristics of a manager (can organize group work (academic activity), takes responsibility upon himself, is clever) and the traits of a leader (responsive, supporting, understanding, helping, able to motivate and interest). The article concludes that leadership is the necessary element of efficient management of both education institution and academic process.