Strengthening School Management in Brazil: Pedagogical Leadership and the Professional Growth of Principals
About the presentation
This presentation examines policies and practices aimed at strengthening school management in Brazil, focusing on how systems design their selection, training, and evaluation processes to enhance the role of principals as instructional leaders. It discusses the importance of pedagogical leadership in promoting student learning and sustaining school improvement, drawing from both national frameworks and international evidence. The presentation also shares findings from a case study conducted in public schools in the State of São Paulo, which explored how principals exercise pedagogical leadership practices to foster teachers’ professional development across schools with different levels of management complexity. By connecting policy design, leadership practice, and learning outcomes, the study seeks to illuminate how strong, learning-oriented leadership can transform school cultures and improve educational equity in Brazil.
About Alex
Alex Moreira Roberto is a researcher and consultant in education, whose work combines academic research, public policy implementation, and educational practice in educational systems and school contexts. He holds a Ph.D. in Education from Universidad Diego Portales in Chile, with a doctoral fellowship at the University of Granada, Spain. Alex has worked as a public school teacher, academic researcher, and in teacher and school administrator training, as well as a technician and consultant for education departments throughout Brazil. He has collaborated with several Brazilian third sector organizations in education in the design and implementation of educational initiatives with an emphasis on strengthening the educational leadership of administrators and their practices based on national and international evidence. He is also the author of studies and technical materials on school leadership, among other topics such as learning recovery, teacher development, comprehensive education, and assessment, contributing to the advancement of effective and equity-oriented educational systems in Brazil.
