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Research on principals’ leadership practice within Swedish special school settings is scarce. As a response to this, the aim of this project is to explore principals´ leadership practice within Swedish special school and describe how it is shaped by, and shapes, other practices, as well as how it can be improved from a school improvement perspective.

Principals’ influence on teaching and assessment processes in special school
This study explores principals’ leadership practice while they examine their local special school and initiate improvements in teaching and assessment processes. The study has been conducted within the National School Leadership Training Programme, supervised by the researcher and an educational leader with an action research approach. Data in this qualitative study comprised six principals’ written reports, produced as part of assignment work included in their school leadership training. These related to their systematic examination of the internal processes at their schools in relation to teaching and assessment. The reports were analysed, in depth, using an approach informed by the theory of practice architecture. The analysis suggested that principals’ influence on teaching and assessment was constrained, as well as enabled, by several factors that are described in the paper. The study draws attention to the principals’ self-understanding as system players, and the opportunities to influence practice ecology.

The research study has been reported in a paper published in August 2023.