DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS ROLE, THEIR ROLE AND POTENTIAL PRINCIPALS PERCEPTIONS

The aim of this research is to identify differences between primary and secondary school principals' roles and the differences between the roles that principals perform and potential principals perceive. Under the term "potential principals" the author considered teachers and expert associates which have legal conditions to access the contest for principal and have the opportunity, to be chosen for principal function. The used questionnaire, constructed by the author, contained 192 variables about principals’ tasks, and 10 questions provided data about the respondents’ surroundings. Sample N=119 principals (N=83 elementary, N=36 secondary, presents 10% of principals’ population in Croatia), and N=120 potential principals, provided answers in six categories of the Likert scale; from completely disagree to completely agree. Results confirm that the principals perform more duties that the law requires of them. Statistically, significant differences between principals jobs in elementary and secondary school exist in six variables. Differences between teachers' perception and jobs principals do exist in 39% of examined variables.