Leadership and management conditions for innovation in Chilean schools: nothing to hide, nothing to fear

Abstract

Today innovation is an imperative in education systems, and management is crucial in how the processes develop in organizations. The relationship between leadership and innovation has been little studied, particularly in the Chilean context. Among elements of management, leadership has been identified as relevant, and three types with different effects have been described: transactional, transformational and passive-avoidant. Questionnaires of managerial leadership and conditions for innovation were administered to 127 teachers from 14 secondary schools in Iquique, Chile. High transformational and transactional leadership were observed, which also show high correlation with each other and with conditions for innovation. The passive-avoidant leadership negatively correlated with conditions for innovation. Tolerance to failure and resources availability were the least frequent conditions. These results are discussed in light of elements of school culture and the Chilean national culture.