Ludvík Eger

Project Risk Management in Educational Organizations a Case from the Czech Republic

The past 20 years have been a period of reforms for school systems in Visegrad countries. However, the successful implementation of educational reforms requires effective leaders and managers and, to produce effective leaders, changes in the system of leadership and management programmes need to be adopted. From 2004, the Czech Republic saw a growth of school project activities, with educational projects becoming important tools for supporting innovations in teaching and learning processes. Despite the new system of leadership development, there was a gap between level of headteachers’ competencies and the competency required to manage educational projects successfully. This study focuses on the leadership competencies of project management, particularly risk management, in the context of educational organizations. The survey data were collected through interviews with headteachers, senior teachers and project managers in 118 educational subjects from nine regions of the Czech Republic. The research team acquired data from 300 educational projects. The key findings show that headteachers have difficulty in managing the risks of educational projects. Survey results also indicate that a very high level of risk occurred in 8% of the examined projects, and medium risk, in 27%. It is suggested that training and knowledge-transfer programmes about project management, including risk management, should become priorities when preparing headteachers for their role.

Metodické listy pro předměty doktorského studijního programu P6208 Ekonomika a management Fakulty ekonomické Západočeské univerzity v Plzni

Rozvojový a vzdělavaci projekt VS-17-022: inovace a připrava noveho doktorskeho studijniho programu Ekonomika a management na kreditni system studia

Development programs for head teachers in four Central European countries: an international comparison

The past two decades have witnessed increasing debate on how to better prepare school leaders for their roles. It has led to a surge of investigations into what constitutes successful school leadership. In many countries, new development programs and certifications for school leaders have been created. The main task of these programs is to provide school-centred management trainings that will support effective leaders in head teacher roles. In this article we examine trends in design of development programs for head teachers in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and in Saxony. The purpose of our comparative study is to illustrate how school leader development is organised in four countries in the Central Europe. The requirements for head teacher position and selection of head teachers refer to the underpinning rationales and processes of programs and design refer to the structure, content and teaching and learning methods of these programs. The study identifies patterns in the described programs and stresses that school leadership is exercised within a specific context.

Does Entrepreneurship Education Matter? Business Students' Perspectives.

The paper presents the findings of a mixed-methods study investigating the perceptions of business students in the Czech Republic towards entrepreneurship education, and examining the factors influencing their level of intention to be entrepreneurs. The results indicate that family background significantly influences the student’s entrepreneurial intention, and that participation in entrepreneurship-oriented courses positively influences the student’s level of self-efficacy. The study revealed further that business education had some effect on the student’s ability to gain the necessary knowledge for entrepreneurship. Another key finding was that entrepreneurship education specifically for business students has to equip students with entrepreneurial skills, attributes and behaviours. The results also suggest that entrepreneurship education is a contextually determined concept which requires modification of content and methods to meet the specific needs of particular target groups. The study has important implications for higher education institutions in terms of designing and managing effective entrepreneurship education.