Managerial Challenges Among Vocational School Principals

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 4:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Leadership Without Walls: Virtual, Vocational, and Cross-Cultural Contexts

Abstract

This article examines the managerial challenges faced by 26 vocational school principals in Israel. The findings highlight four distinct managerial challenges: 1) managing a vocational school as a stigmatized organization; 2) consistently employing three primary justifications for vocational education when communicating with government officials, industry employers, students, and parents; 3) making significant marketing efforts to promote the school to encourage enrollment and prevent school closure; 4) and prioritizing non-formal educational practices, such as cultural enrichment activities, over formal academic practices, to better meet the core needs of vocational school students. Our findings shed light on vocational school principal’s role and the broader linkage of vocational schools, social exclusion, and inequality.

Authors

• David Bitan, University of Haifa

• Avihu Shoshana, University of Haifa