Abstract
This thesis examines the interplay between organizational structure and culture
and principals’ communication with their teachers in a Swedish school setting.
Especially communication about issues connected to teaching and learning,
student outcomes and school improvement are in focus. These issues are
examples of what principals work with as pedagogical leaders. The thesis
consists of four published articles on principals’ communication in relation to
organizational prerequisites and aims. The four separate articles are all
connected to three overall questions. How do organizational factors relate to the
communication process? How does the communication between principals and
teachers affect and reflect principals’ and teachers’ work towards the national
objectives in the Swedish curriculum? What, if any, differences are there in the
communication process between successful and less successful schools? The
research undertaken in this thesis is a part of a larger project called ‘Structure,
Culture, Leadership – prerequisites for Successful Schools?’. The empirical data
used consists of interviews and questionnaires with teachers and principals in
twenty-four Swedish schools as well as one school outside the projects study
population. The twenty-four schools within the project have been divided into
four groups depending on how they have succeeded in reaching academic and
social objectives in the curriculum. The overall result shows that most
communication in schools is related to everyday activities and individual
students. Teachers state that their communication with their principals is
uncomplicated and straightforward. Viewing communication as a
multidimensional process including information, affirmation/feedback and
interpretation reveals that many principals overestimate their ability to
communicate as pedagogical leaders. The difference in the communication
process between the schools was more due to organizational factors like
structure and culture than the principal’s individual communication abilities. In
the successful schools, principals and teachers communicated more frequently
about issues related to teaching and learning. These principals made more
classroom visits and provided more frequently feedback on teachers’
professional role. In many of the other schools, there were signs of a
communicative and organizational blindness. There is a potential in many
schools to improve principals' and teachers' daily conversations so the
communication process to a higher extent support long-term work towards
positive school outcomes.
Keywords: Communication;