The access to school headship has been a subject of permanent interest for those who have subscribed to it during the past few years. The reason is very simple: the leading-team members are a key element in the working of the educational system; they are the nexus/link between the macrosystem (Educational Administration) and the microsystem (schools). After considering all that, in order to make sure that schools progress, it is absolutely necessary for them to be endowed by a good leading-team which is not easy at all. That leads us to take interest first, in knowing the way headmasters/ headmistresses reach their post, to consider afterwards the means of access incidence in pactising their duties (managerial/leading style). Ámong other aspects we have taken interest in:

a. Investigating the process they follow to reach their post (motivations, process to access, difficulties, etc.).

a.1. First of all we analysed the internal processes: motivations, perceptions, expectations, attitudes, dilemmas, uncertainties… related to school headship, both from the point of view of headmasters/mistresses and that of the rest of classes composing the educational community. The work, that ended in the Doctoral Thesis, was published in Els Factors Interns de la direcció escolar (The internal factors of school headship) (Girona, 1997)

a.2. Then we did a specific analysis of the process of access to the post following the selective pattern established by the LOPEGCD and concentrating our attention in Perspectivas desde las cuales se afronta el acceso a la dirección de un centro escolar público (Perspectives from which we face the access to the headship of a state school) (Deusto 2000) and in Singularidades en el proceso de acceso a la dirección (Singularities in the process of access to headship) (Córdoba, 2001)

a.3. At present, after the process of selection established in the LOCE and the LOE through the researches “Acceso y formación para la dirección escolar”(Access and training for school headship) (MEC, 2006-2008) in the whole spanish state , with the participation of 12 Autonomous Communities and   “ Anàlisi del procés d'accés al càrrec de director/a d'un centre educatiu de titularitat pública i disseny d'un pla integral de formació”, (ARIE 2007-2008 (Analysis of the process of access to the post of headmaster/mistress in a state school and design of an integral training plan), in Catalonia. A synthesis of all this can be found in El acceso a la dirección escolar: de la LOCE a la LOE (the access to school headship: from the LOCE to the LOE) (published in Participación educativa (Educational Participation). Electronic Maganzine of the State School Council)

b. Helping teachers in their process of taking up the headship in what is related to the suitability of presenting themselves as candidates and afterwards in their elaboration of the Headship project .   The material related to the Headship Project dates already a few years back (1998). Therefore it has to be updated in what has to do with the access to school headship (to adapt it to the LOE) but it is absolutely operative in what refers to the Headship Project, the different parts that form it, the way to elaborate it , the examples brought, etc. To obtain more grounds and examples on the Headship Project, refer to :

TEIXIDÓ, J. i altres (1999) : El projecte de direcció . Què és? Per a què serveix? Com s'elabora? Elements de fonamentació i materials per a l'acció ./ The headship project. What is it ? What is it used for? How can we elaborate it? Fundamental elements and material for the action. Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament d'Ensenyament

c. Suggesting reflexion elements for headmasters/mistresses in practice depending   from the length of time they have been occupying their post and thus, from the need to face challenges inherent to the change of the post in a positive way, taking into account the progress of the school and the personal and professional balance of the person who is leaving the post. Change of air in school headship ( Organización y gestión educativa, núm. 1-07, pp. 9-12)