Educational management: essence, functions, role of leadership

Educational management and educational leadership are fundamental concepts in the organisation of management of educational institutions. Both concepts are the subject of ongoing discussions aimed at clarifying the role of leadership in the management system, which are complicated by their practical and theoretical significance. It is not surprising that the lack of clarity in these concepts contribute to a decrease in the detail of educational programmes, which affects the effectiveness of educational organisations. To investigate this issue, the author analysed the essence and structure of educational management and highlighted the role of leadership and its distinctive features. The author has studied the publications of Russian and foreign researchers devoted to the nature of educational management and the role of leadership in the management of internal processes of formal educational institutions - schools, colleges and universities. As a result, the author concludes that educational management implies delegated responsibility for achieving the goals of the organisation, whereas the concept of educational leadership is reduced to the application of mechanisms of influence and work incentives.