Principals’ Communication Inside Schools - A Contribution to School Improvement?

Oct 15, 2026

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Empirical research examines how organizational structure, school culture, and message content shape communication between principals and teachers within a Swedish school undergoing decentralized reforms. Findings show that internal communication often functions mainly to transmit information needed for daily work, producing predictable conduct rather than stimulating learning or promoting challenging dialogue. The study analyzes communication conditions that influence understanding and adoption of educational intentions, highlighting scarce research on leader communication in school contexts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Research Reports

Purpose of the Study

Method

Organizational Communication Perspectives

Evaluation Tool

Principals’Communication Inside Schools: A Contribution to School Improvement? by Helene Ärlestig Abstract This paper reports on an empirical study of how structure, culture, and message content affected communications between principals and teachers in one Swedish school. The study revealed that communication within this school merely transmitted the information necessary for conducting daily work, which resulted in predictable behaviors, rather than stimulating learning and encouraging challenging dialogue about significant pedagogical and school improvement issues. During the last decade, various reforms have led to a decentralized Swedish school system. These new educational initiatives call for principals to take responsibility for adapting and implementing national school reforms in the local schools they lead. Guided by his or her own vision for the school and through a democratic process fueled by dialogue with staff members, the principal is expected to lead the work so that the school can be successful (Nygren and Johansson 2000; Utbildningsdepartementet 2001) . According to Begley and Johansson (2005, 16), “A democratic and ethical leader sees a clear connection between work assignments, national and local political goals, and the schools’operational philosophy.” Communication is an important process inside schools and the most frequently used tool by organizational leaders. Witherspoon (1996, 204) made an even stronger claim: “Leadership exists only through communication. Leaders are increasingly important as creators of culture, decision makers, and change agents. These roles require the use of communication to develop shared meanings, search and use information effectively, and create and communicate visions to enhance an organization’s future and guide it through eras of change.” 262 Research Reports How key concepts, intentions, and aims become known and adopted within the organization depends on how leaders perceive and use communication processes. Some researchers work with theories that can be used as methods to communicate and understand the local context. Deliberative dialogue, framing, and a salubrious approach are examples of such theories (Antonovsky 1987; Weick 1995; Englund 2000) . Despite the massive body of research on both leadership and communication, few studies focused on leaders’ communication in school settings have been conducted. Research that focuses on specific aspects of the communication process, such as interpretation, learning, border setting, and participation, is particularly scarce. In this report, the author describes and analyzes communication between teachers and principals in one Swedish school by examining structure, culture, and content—prerequisites for and factors in the communication process. Purpose of the Study The thesis of this study stems from the idea that school leadership does not exist without communication. Through communication, the principal leads and unifies his or her staff members in the work necessary for academic results and school improvement. This study focuses primarily on in-school communications between principals and teachers about pedagogical and school improvement issues, and attempts to address three questions: • Can different aspects of the communication process, such as structure, culture, and message content, be used as analytic tools to understand communication between teachers and principals inside schools? • In what ways, if any, do teachers’ and principals’ communications inside schools focus on teaching and learning? • In what ways, if any, does the communication process inside schools encourage professional interpretation and learning? Method In their recent study, Heide et al. (2005) divided organizational communication into three perspectives: traditional, interpretative, and critical. Through an interpretative perspective, the researcher tries to understand organizational processes largely through qualita

FAQs

What does the study investigate about communication inside schools?

The study examines how structure, culture, and message content affect communications between principals and teachers in one Swedish school.

What do the results suggest about the role of in-school communication?

The communication mainly transmits information for daily work, leading to predictable behaviors instead of encouraging learning and challenging pedagogical dialogue.

How does the study analyze communication in the school?

It uses an interpretative perspective and an evaluation tool based on key subject areas (structure, culture, and message content), drawing on documents, questionnaires, and interviews.

Oct 15, 2026

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