Research problem/Aims of the study

Only very few authors have focused on schools with vacant leadership positions (e.g. Hargreaves et al. 2003). In Germany, for example, the lack of school leaders is a serious problem (Niedersächsischer Landtag 2015). Against this backdrop, we address the following questions: Which management challenges or dilemmas do provisional school leaders face? How can provisional school leaders deal with these dilemmas?

Participants and their attributes

We conducted 20 interviews with provisional leaders in personal, semi-structured interviews. The schools were located in both, rural and urban/suburban regions in Northern Germany. Two third of the interviewees were female; ages ranged from 35 to 65 years.

Research Method

The interview material was analyzed using an inductive approach to data analysis. The interviews were read in full, and memos were written. The three authors read the interviews independently. On a subset of interviews, we performed line-by-line coding, and the emerging codes were compared, discussed and revised. After that, we derived a number of key analytic constructs, including (1) motivation, (2) networks, (3) resources, and (4) recognition.

Outcome, Conclusions & Implications

Some preliminary findings suggest that protecting the intrinsic motivation is a key issue that spread across almost every school. Most provisional leaders started their job highly motivated, but due to a number of external restrictions (lack of preparation, lack of resources, lack of co-operation with school administration, lack of recognition), intrinsic motivation was endangered. We also observed that provisional leaders suffer from myopia: The potential of active leadership, including quality management, personnel development, or strategic management of the school organization are likely not to be performed. The implications for managing dilemmas in schools are discussed.