The Leadership in Angolan Teacher Training Schools

Abstract

In the current international context, the democratic improvement of societies is clearly linked with education. Since its recent incorporation into democracy, Angola has found itself in a stage of democratic changes within the education system, spurred on by the reform of 2004. In this sense, the nurturing of teacher training is a fundamental factor. The leadership of the directors of the teaching training centers is particularly interesting for its influence on all Angolan teachers. With an eminently qualitative research design, we have investigated the different types of leadership that exist in the directors of the teacher training centers through specifically designed interviews and questionnaires. We discovered the existence of several predominant types of leadership: autocratic, “laissez-faire,” and democratic. Democratic leadership is still scarce, representing less than a third of the total. This means that we are still far from what would be desirable according to the guidelines of the country’s last educational reform. The existence of these three types of leadership is associated with the country’s historical, social, and political context. However, in the centers characterized by a democratic leadership, we find suggestions to stimulate a democratic and quality education in the rest of the country.