Which Standards to Follow? The Plurality of Conventions of French Principals Within the School Organization

Abstract

This study examines the moral agency of French secondary school headteachers through the lens of the theory of conventions. Using qualitative data from interviews with fifteen headteachers involved in professional development, this study explores how these leaders justify their practices within a centralized, bureaucratic, and hierarchical education system. It identifies a variety of conventions—civic, domestic, industrial, project, market, inspired, and fame—that headteachers draw on to navigate institutional constraints, manage professional relationships, and foster pedagogical and organizational change. Particular attention is given to how civic and domestic conventions shape leadership discourse and practices, especially regarding trust building, decision making, and reform implementation. We also compare the French context with international examples from the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP), focusing on Nordic countries, where leadership emphasizes democratic participation, professional trust, and shared responsibility. This study underscores the uniqueness of the French leadership model, which resists managerial and market logics while remaining rooted in republican and egalitarian ideals. It concludes by advocating for a more context-aware, ethically grounded, and dialogical approach to school leadership.

1. Introduction

The French case is analyzed here to compare with school leadership research in Nordic countries and the ISSPP project (Moos et al., 2011; Gunnulfsen et al., 2023). The ISSPP (International Successful School Principalship Project) is a global research initiative involving over 20 countries and more than 200 case studies on the qualities and practices of school leaders that foster academic success (Gurr et al., 2020). Unfortunately, France has not yet taken part in this comparative study. Our research examines the moral agency of French school leaders working toward success in a context characterized by ethical republicanism and a focus on social justice. We use the theoretical framework of conventions to analyze the moral dilemmas these leaders face, through the concepts of ‘justification’ and ‘tests.’ The first part of this study discusses these concepts following a brief overview of the theory of conventions supporting our analysis.

This study extends beyond the usual themes of ‘capacity building’, ‘meaning’, or ‘professional capital’ as extensively discussed in the existing research literature on school leadership (Sun & Leithwood, 2015). It delineates, in the following sections, the links between various ‘tests’ (or challenges) encountered by school administrators and modes of justification rooted in context-dependent conventions. Some research findings from the ISSPP project are used to demonstrate that these conventions can be discerned within the contexts of France and Northern Europe, albeit with notable national variations. The following analysis provides illustrative examples of French school principals’ moral agency, their perceptions of justice, and the challenges they encounter in their daily administrative practices aimed at achieving success. Consequently, this work constitutes a partial and preliminary contribution to the emerging scholarly inquiry into the ethical dimensions characterizing school leadership.

2. Institutional Context of the Study and State of the Art

2.1. Institutional Context

The governance and administrative policy of education in France is characterized by its complex, multi-layered structure, featuring a bureaucratic system with many stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education and various local authorities (Lewis, 2018; Normand, 2020). This complexity reflects the diverse nature of educational missions and the distribution of responsibilities across different regulatory levels under the overarching influence of the state. Historically, this governance structure has maintained a clear separation between primary and secondary education sectors, leading to the development of distinct professional cultures and regulatory practices.

Secondary schools, including both middle and high school levels, are managed by a headteacher responsible for daily staff oversight, organizational management of educational activities, and budget administration. Usually, the headteacher is assisted by one or two deputy principals, depending on the school’s size. The headteacher leads a governing board made up of representatives of teachers, parents, students, and local independent authorities. Additionally, a pedagogical council, composed of teacher representatives, meets to discuss pedagogical and instructional issues.

Secondary schools are responsible for implementing curricula established at the national level by the National Curriculum Council, in addition to complying with directives issued by the Ministry. They are encouraged to pursue innovative pedagogical initiatives, provided they receive approval from educational authorities, which grants them access to allocated budgets but also limits their autonomy and flexibility in pedagogical approaches. Furthermore, all schools are required to participate in a systematic self-evaluation process based on a nationally prescribed framework. This process involves developing a comprehensive five-year strategic plan, which is negotiated and formalized through a contractual agreement of objectives with local state authorities.

According to the standards set by the Ministry, responsibilities related to teaching and learning within the classroom do not fall under the authority of headteachers. This separation is partly due to the fact that education policy remains mainly focused on student guidance and career development, aiming to promote equal opportunity. From this perspective, French policy aligns with the comprehensive school model, which emphasizes equal chances. Moreover, both the Ministry and the Inspectorate General explicitly deny headteachers any authority over classroom instruction, viewing such matters as the responsibility of inspectorates. As a result, aspects of learning—whether organizational, professional, or pedagogical—are not considered central to the missions and roles of French headteachers, who serve as civil servants. Additionally, headteachers generally lack ideas or initiatives related to these issues.

Inspectors play a vital role within the French education system. At the secondary level, they monitor curriculum implementation, contribute to curriculum development, work with school principals on pedagogical issues beyond classroom instruction, and ensure teaching quality. Additionally, they oversee educational reforms and evaluate their impact. Often working remotely, they stay in contact with teaching teams and headteachers, focusing on curriculum expertise and preparing students for national exams like the brevet and baccalauréat. Overall, these inspectors show limited involvement in school management issues and lack awareness of leadership practices. Their main focus seems to be promoting and defending academic subjects and influencing dedicated groups of teachers.

School life within secondary schools is a key part of the French educational system. It includes a variety of activities and services that help organize students’ daily routines outside of academic lessons. The department responsible for school life handles issues, like student absences, lateness, discipline, and behaviour, and also supervises students during breaks, meals, and extracurricular activities. The responsibility for school life generally falls to the Conseiller Principal d’Education (CPE), who is usually supported by assistants, often university students. This organizational setup has created a clear division of roles within secondary schools, separating the “pedagogical” aspect—teachers’ responsibilities in the classroom—from the “educational” aspect, which involves managing school life. This separation often hampers collaboration among teachers outside of formal teaching activities, as many teachers see their role as primarily instructional, believing that education mainly takes place in the classroom, or they assign broader educational responsibilities either to the realm of school life and administration or to families.

2.2. State of the Art

The ISSPP (International Successful School Principalship Project) highlights leadership that includes a sociocultural dimension, social identity, and moral considerations. Research findings from ISSPP show that effective school leaders focus on the quality of interpersonal relationships and build trust within their communities. Such leadership is also defined by a commitment to values and principles of equity (Gurr & Moyi, 2022). This view of leadership differs from a purely instrumental approach focused on efficiency; instead, it involves practices aligned with moral goals, including elements of ‘courage,’ and aims at the moral and social growth of students and teachers (Day, 2022).

The international ISSPP scholars advocate for a redefinition of leadership practices rooted in complexity theory, complemented by a humanistic paradigm that highlights moral purpose, personal dedication, and contextual awareness. At the core of this approach is the understanding that effective educational leadership goes beyond simply following external policy mandates; instead, it involves a dynamic, value-driven process deeply connected to the leader’s personal experiences, relationships, and comprehensive knowledge of the school community. Moving past reductionist or universalist views, ISSPP research states that successful leadership emerges from the interaction of multiple, interconnected factors, namely moral conviction, contextual intelligence, and strategic agility, that are activated based on specific contextual demands, situational factors, and stakeholder needs. Specifically, school principals operate within highly unstable and often socio-economically marginalized environments, facing political pressures, budget limitations, and cultural challenges. In this setting, they exemplify ‘positive disruption,’ which is defined as the ability to challenge deeply rooted dysfunctions. Additionally, policy implementation is viewed as a creative, normative process where external mandates are interpreted, reframed, and sometimes resisted, serving broader educational goals focused on equity and student success.

The biographical stories of educational leaders reveal how personal experiences, ethical values, and emotional strength interact, offering insight into their leadership styles. Trust, courage, and empathy are seen not just as extra qualities but as core elements that drive change, build dedication, and create a sense of belonging in school communities. Even in environments driven by performance and accountability, these leaders use holistic, people-centred approaches. Additionally, ISSPP research critically explores the limits of focusing only on managerial and technical views of educational leadership. While practical strategies, such as data use, program rollout, and organizational changes, are necessary, their success depends on integrating human values and relationship skills. True teaching and school improvement come not from top-down orders or standardized best practices but from leaders’ ability to ground their actions in an ethical vision, supportive relationships, and community involvement (Normand et al., 2021).

3. Theoretical and Methodological Framework

3.1. Theoretical Framework

This study relies on the theoretical framework of ‘conventions,’ defined as collectively established norms, rules, or underlying structures that facilitate coordination among headteachers, allowing them to reach consensus without using coercive means (Diaz-Bone & de Larquier, 2020). These conventions are understood not as social norms or prescriptions but as normative frameworks of moral justification that headteachers invoke to rationalize and legitimize their professional actions.

Our analysis is rooted in the theoretical framework developed by Luc Boltanski and Laurent Thévenot, with particular emphasis on the theory of conventions following their influential work, On Justification (Boltanski & Thévenot, 2006). This framework helps identify different repertoires of justification, the types of evaluative tests used, and conventions that headteachers invoke when justifying decisions, resolving conflicts, or explaining strategic choices. It enables a detailed examination of moral tensions these leaders face by analyzing several key conventions, including the civic convention (highlighting the public interest), the domestic convention (focusing on hierarchy and tradition), the industrial convention (valuing effectiveness and performance), the market convention (centered on market dynamics and competition), the inspired convention (promoting innovation and creativity), and the project convention (emphasizing networking, mobility, flexibility, and adaptability).

Convention	Description	Example
industrial	It values effectiveness, performance, and technical expertise; school leaders are evaluated based on their ability to deliver reliable and measurable outcomes.	A school implements tests to assess student achievement and teaching quality.
Market	It is based on exchange value, competition, and profit; what is considered valuable is what attracts demand or maximizes profit.	A school aims to attract excellent students in a competitive school market.
Civic	It prioritizes the public interest, equality, cooperation, and solidarity; actions are justified by their contribution to the public interest and welfare justice.	A school aims to promote social equity programs for the most disadvantaged students.
Domestic	It bases its legitimacy on tradition, authority, loyalty, a sense of local community, and personal hierarchies; value comes from seniority, respect for roles, or trust.	A school headteacher respects the orders given by his superiors.
Inspired	It is rooted in grace, intuition, creativity, or spiritual elevation; it values genuine acts, moments of rupture, and inner impulses.	A teacher is valued for his/her unique and passionate teaching style or his/her pedagogical creativity.
Fame	It judges greatness based on media visibility, public recognition, and reputation.	A school aims to enhance its image and reputation with families and the media.
Project	It emphasizes activities, projects, networking, and the connections among actors, while valuing diversity and the mobility of individuals (flexibility, adaptability).	A school is creating innovative projects by collaborating with other schools and partners.

These conventions serve as ideal types within the framework of the theory of conventions. In real-world settings, headteachers often use multiple conventions at the same time or switch between them depending on the context. Such conventions help justify actions within a complex sociocultural landscape marked by diverse visions. The main focus is on situations of disagreement or ambivalence, where actors need to justify their actions and critique others’. Our analysis helps identify different leadership styles, based on various combinations of justifications, resources, and constraints, which reveals the key conventions in school leadership in France. We mainly focus on domestic and civic conventions because covering all justifications and conventions used in different contexts would be beyond the scope of this study. We also recognize that the approach to effectiveness related to leadership varies significantly among Northern European countries, Southern European countries, and North America or the United Kingdom, mainly due to the limited or more recent development of standardized tests, less pressure to perform, and the limited impact of the school market. However, the industrial convention adopts a broader definition of effectiveness, not only in terms of evaluation but also through an instrumental and technical approach that relies on tools, such as self-evaluation, inspection or audit, quality assurance, and other devices or procedures. Additionally, our study highlights the variety of challenges faced by French headteachers, who handle tensions between institutional mandates, leadership practices, and ethical commitments.

3.2. Methodology

This qualitative study adopts an interpretive approach, focusing on the subjective experiences of participants and the interpretations they assign to their actions. Data collection involved interviews with fifteen secondary school headteachers from both general and vocational sectors. These participants took part in a continuing professional development program designed to enhance their leadership skills within a specific French region. Participants were purposively sampled to ensure diversity in practice contexts, including factors such as school type, years of experience, and socio-territorial background, while aligning with the main research goals. Access to the research site was gained through a formal partnership with the local education authority, enabling initial contact and ethical approval for the study. All participants were thoroughly informed of the participation conditions, confidentiality measures, and data use procedures through detailed explanations before data collection.

The interviews took place face to face at the local authority offices from September 2022 to June 2024. Each interview lasted about 90 min, was audio-recorded with the participants’ informed consent, and later transcribed verbatim for thorough qualitative analysis. The data collected were anonymized to protect confidentiality. An interview guide, based on seven key thematic areas, was created before data collection to ensure systematic coverage of the following topics: perceptions of educational leadership and the necessary skills for its implementation; internal relationship dynamics within the educational institution (including interactions with the management team, teachers, and staff); strategies for implementing educational and organizational initiatives; resource use (institutional, human, and symbolic); challenges and pressures faced in leadership roles; interactions with the broader educational community and hierarchical bodies; and medium-term strategic visions or planning.

The data collection process was further enhanced by analyzing secondary sources, which helped contextualize the primary data and outline the institutional frameworks and normative standards that support the reported practices. These secondary sources included a variety of documents, such as training plans for headteachers, skills reference frameworks published by the French Ministry of Education, regulatory texts and circulars related to the responsibilities of headteachers, inspection reports, and strategic framework documents created at the national level. This methodological triangulation connected individual discourses to established normative standards and provided a detailed understanding of moral dilemmas within the specific political–administrative context of the French education system, known for its highly hierarchical and centralized structure.

The interview corpus was analyzed using a thematic coding approach with qualitative data analysis software (NVivo 1.7.2). Coding was performed iteratively through a cyclical process that moved between empirical data and the theoretical framework to identify key categories aligned with the research goals. Each interview was transcribed in full and imported into NVivo as a separate source. The initial coding involved open coding at the line or meaningful segment level, without applying predefined categories, allowing empirical categories to emerge directly from the language used by headteachers. These categories included but were not limited to the following: “tensions with the teaching team,” “compromises between institutional demands and local adaptation,” “valuing the school project,” “leadership practice,” “conflict avoidance,” and “moral justification of decisions.” Segments of text were then assigned to one or more nodes (codes), enabling detailed cross-sectional analysis across the entire corpus.

Secondly, axial coding was used to systematically organize the initial nodes into broad, structured categories based on relationships, such as causality, contrast, temporality, or co-occurrence. This process produced a hierarchical taxonomy of categories that define professional challenges (including internal conflicts, system adjustments, hierarchical pressures, and loneliness in decision making), resources mobilized by headteachers (such as support for teachers, in-service training, and leadership of teamwork), and the moral justifications behind their actions (including a sense of public service, pursuit of authority and legitimacy, emphasis on efficiency, and advocacy for innovation and change).

Building on the established categories, cross-cutting thematic coding was performed using concepts from the theory of conventions. Each discursive segment was carefully analyzed based on the type of justification used by the headteacher, such as efficiency, equity, loyalty, commitment, or creativity. This approach helped link specific justifications to conventions, highlighting key moments where headteachers had to choose between conflicting conventions (e.g., performance versus equality; tradition versus innovation). Additionally, NVivo software was used to run cross-referencing queries (e.g., type of test combined with type of convention, or moral justification alongside type of test). Appendix A lists the main sub-categories of conventions highlighted in the headteachers’ interviews and their percentage distribution to indicate their respective weight. We connected them to excerpts from significant interviews.

• Some insights from the ISSPP research: the significance of the civic convention in Northern European school leadership.

Studies examining school leadership in Northern Europe within the framework of the ISSPP project suggest that, despite the spread of accountability measures and the growing influence of the school market, local democratic processes, participatory dialogue, shared values, and a collective sense of citizenship remain central to the practices of headteachers (Moos et al., 2020; Gunnulfsen et al., 2023). This ‘northern’ aspect of school leadership serves to uphold professional ethics and autonomy by reducing the potentially harmful effects of performance management systems. It promotes open communication and negotiation among educators and community stakeholders, even as headteachers face various ethical dilemmas linked to their expanded managerial responsibilities. Despite these challenges, they are able to sustain a sense of collegiality and shared leadership that requires a nuanced understanding of contextual factors. Such a leadership approach is fundamentally grounded in democratic principles, collaboration, and a strong dedication to education as a public good. Moving away from portrayals that see leadership as a heroic individual achievement or as the mere application of management techniques aimed at raising standardized test scores, the ISSPP research supports a relational, political, and context-sensitive approach. Ultimately, success is not primarily measured by effectiveness through metrics but by the ability of school leaders to foster an inclusive, participatory, and values-driven school culture over time.

These characteristics have recently been confirmed by subsequent research conducted in Nordic countries (Gunnulfsen et al., 2023). According to this conceptual framework, scholarly studies reveal various ways of coordination that relate to different conventions of school leadership. However, these conventions are strongly rooted in specific cultural and historical contexts, greatly influencing the definitions of the common good and the moral duties guiding school leaders in different educational settings. While it is essential to recognize similarities across national contexts, it is equally important to examine differences in the moral agency of school leaders. Through an analysis of the French context, shown below, this study aims to clarify the challenges and reasons faced by French headteachers as they navigate multiple conventions in their leadership roles. The discussion will then expand by comparing the French case with findings from the ISSPP project. A key feature of effective leadership in Northern Europe is its collective focus. Leadership here is always seen as a process based on collaborative practices, where school leaders work closely with teachers, students, and community members within an environment of mutual trust and shared responsibility. This leadership model challenges traditional hierarchies, promoting the sharing of power among various stakeholders to support student well-being, equity, and democratic participation. In contrast, this approach sharply differs from models that focus on hierarchical control and charismatic individual management, as seen in the French context. Ultimately, this view suggests that the success of educational leadership depends on the combined efforts of committed professionals working in a supportive environment.

Let us examine how the categories within the theory of conventions apply to empirical findings from the ISSPP project. In the Danish context, as documented by Moos and Kofod (2011), cooperation is viewed as a collective resource that serves the interests of the local community, aligning with the civic convention. Danish school administrators actively work to mobilize parental involvement and build collaborative relationships with teachers in response to contemporary challenges such as declining school attractiveness and high teacher turnover rates. These reciprocal interactions among teachers are rooted in teamwork aimed at initiating systemic improvements and school development, driven by inspired convention and project convention dynamics. Such practices involve ongoing dialogues and persuasive communication directed at teachers, reflecting elements of civic and fame conventions. Additionally, these interactions help foster a ‘democratic Bildung’—a shared educational formation—embodying the principles of the civic convention through participatory decision-making processes shared between principals and teachers, and demonstrating a collective commitment to the ideals of the ‘FolkSchool,’ which exemplifies domestic convention.

In Norway, the development of quality and evaluation standards within the educational sector—referred to as an industrial convention—requires that headteachers undertake organizational and cultural changes in their leadership roles (Møller et al., 2011). This process emphasizes innovation and the pursuit of sustainable improvements in teaching methods, aligned with a motivated convention perspective. Notably, one headteacher involved in the Norwegian study prioritized issues of care, equity, and social justice, advocating for student inclusion and voice, particularly for students with special needs—an approach consistent with a civic convention. The school historically maintained an inclusive culture for such students—what can be called a domestic convention—while the headteacher further supported this by actively fostering partnerships and encouraging teamwork among staff to enhance support, aligning with a project convention. These initiatives were discussed collaboratively within student councils and staff meetings to promote shared educational goals based on mutual respect, reinforcing the civic convention. By creating an adaptable learning environment, the headteacher aimed to build trust through a ‘tacit agreement’—a domestic convention—by engaging parents, introducing innovative activities, transforming physical learning spaces, and taking on the role of organizer. These efforts fostered creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, which were well received by the educational community, reflecting a balance between the project and domestic conventions.

More broadly, based on the findings of ISSPP research (Moos et al., 2011), headteachers, as key leaders, use face-to-face interactions and communication with teachers—conceptualized through civic and fame conventions—to actively involve educators in reflective and exploratory processes. These interactions help teachers express their demands and expectations, aligned with the inspired convention. This process involves self-reflection and a sense of internal responsibility, guided by domestic and industrial conventions, prompting teachers to gain new skills, make pedagogical decisions, and pursue innovative projects, collectively known as the project convention. The development of shared understanding through interaction and experiential comparison is rooted in a rationality based on shared histories (domestic convention), which informs decision making aimed at shaping future practices and fostering creativity, thereby encouraging collaborative action within the educational setting (inspired convention).

• Stabilizing and revising conventions: the place of objects and tests.

Conventions that define leadership are observed in various types of school organizations across Europe. As previously discussed, the educational community is valued in the civic and/or domestic convention, depending on the country. The industrial convention relates to performance specific to school management, such as standardization and accountability. It may serve as a compromise with the domestic convention, which values hierarchy and tradition. These conventions are rooted in the display of different objects within the school, such as timetables, teaching materials, and spatial arrangements (Landri, 2020). The industrial convention is also reflected in assessment tools, dashboards, or strategic plans that support and guide management teams. Discussions within the educational community relate to a civic convention that structures discourse within institutional settings (councils, boards) and fosters dialogue that encourages reflexivity, highlights aspirations, and opens up possibilities (inspired convention). The civic convention enshrines its principles in legal texts, internal rules, and charters that reinforce citizenship and a shared sense of belonging. Regarding the domestic convention, it is expressed through experiences, habits, and customs via various ceremonies, celebrations, and anniversaries. It also appears in references to history, tradition, and culture supported by material objects, such as desks and chairs arranged in lines, a flag in the classroom, textbooks, or the wearing of uniforms by students.

Considering the various norms and goals in school environments, members of the educational community work together to coordinate their actions and build interactions. This coordination is often guided by the leadership of headteachers, who facilitate these processes through compromises that act as temporary, context-specific arrangements aimed at reaching mutual agreement. However, some situations may serve as evaluative ‘tests,’ where the validity of certain agreements is examined, prompting participants to re-express or redefine their actions. These moments are critical points where existing norms can be debated, renegotiated, or even rejected. For instance, poor performance on national assessments can trigger such a testing process, leading to a reassessment of current coordination methods and traditional practices.

There are two main types of tests: strength tests and justification tests. Strength tests involve applying standards from outside the schools (Boltanski & Chiapello, 2006). These include systems, criteria, or procedures imposed on schools, often without their input or a real chance to discuss them. Specifically, this includes the following: introducing quantitative criteria for evaluating activities (value-added indicators, national assessments, tests, etc.); implementing quality assurance or self-evaluation procedures, often inspired by the private sector; reforms to budget systems that make school funding dependent on performance; and individual career management for teachers and administration, based on contracts, targets, or even performance bonuses.

In addition to following established standards, leaders must also meet strict justification requirements. This involves systematically explaining and defending their decisions and actions to various stakeholders, including teachers, supervisors, policymakers, and parents. These justifications often include explanations of the core reasoning and importance of their initiatives (e.g., “What is the relevance of this activity?”); evaluations of the social and economic impact of their results (e.g., how it supports student guidance and success); demonstrations of commitment to change (e.g., how reforms are put into practice), innovative projects (what kind of change culture is being enacted?), or pedagogical initiatives (is the school sufficiently innovative in teaching basic skills?); and proof of skills in collaboration, innovation, and teamwork (how effective is school management overall?).

Tests of strength and justification can be seen as challenges faced by headteachers, serving both as ways to assess individual abilities and to ascribe value to persons or objects by recognizing specific qualities (Boltanski & Thévenot, 2006). As events and experiences unfold, these tests influence the moral agency of headteachers across different settings. Some of these tests are formalized or institutionalized—for example, the use of good practice toolkits or skill frameworks designed to promote effective behaviours among teachers that headteachers are expected to support. Conversely, some tests are reversible or can be delayed, such as when headteachers postpone meetings with teachers due to upcoming protests or conflicts, or temporarily set aside current accountability demands. Objects play a key role in maintaining relational stability by setting constraints within the work environment (Latour & Woolgar, 2013). For instance, headteachers are often required to implement school self-evaluation protocols aligned with objectives established by the hierarchy. Furthermore, these tests appear in top-down bureaucratic directives; however, they also involve moral judgments aimed at the common good and serve as justifications (Boltanski & Thévenot, 2006).

• How are French school leaders incorporating the civic convention into their leadership practices?

Persuading teaching teams is a key part of the leadership style adopted by French headmasters, who often base their management strategies on industrial and civic norms across schools (Normand, 2016). However, their practices go beyond simply empowering teachers or implementing accountability measures; they also include a moral and ethical aspect exercised daily. Merely imposing standards or relying on hierarchical directives is not enough to build lasting professional relationships with teachers. Instead, creating a shared understanding and a collective vision of the common good within the school environment is crucial. In their effort to reach consensual agreements that drive the school’s pedagogical project and support ongoing reforms, French leaders must navigate and reconcile multiple conventions. This continuous negotiation process allows them to develop their leadership styles through agreements with teachers and efforts to strengthen their moral agency within the school community.

3.3. Expressing Civic and Industrial Conventions Within a Bureaucratic Structure

The civic convention, which is legally codified and prominently observed within French educational institutions, primarily emphasizes the governance of administrative councils and class assemblies in schools. These entities are responsible for establishing the school’s mission, overseeing student guidance, and allocating financial resources. They include representatives of educators, parents, and local independent authorities. The headteacher is then faced with a challenge: shifting from reliance on these representative bodies to fostering more informal, deliberative discussions that encourage genuine self-expression, going beyond narrow professional interests. This process also involves developing reflexivity and creativity to implement reforms that improve teaching and learning conditions in line with the principles of the project convention.

Another major challenge involves fostering trust in line with the local tradition and establishing regional arrangements with educators that differ from the industrial model. French school principals are required to create comprehensive school plans and implement accountability measures that meet bureaucratic standards and align with national goals set by the Ministry of Education. At the same time, they must uphold principles of equality in organizing activities and distributing tasks among teachers, following standardized and fixed schedules and national curricula that reflect the civic framework. This strict top-down control leads to a type of management focused on functional and planned actions, which teachers often criticize. Such bureaucratic systems may be seen as inflexible, as they tend to exclude alternative actions and justifications that could benefit the educational community. Additionally, teachers often feel disconnected from these hierarchical and predetermined directives due to their significant professional autonomy. Some French school leaders themselves criticize these performative standards, which enforce uniformity in the organization of space and time for human and material resources, arguing that this undermines the recognition of alternative teaching practices and approaches.

Headteachers often distance themselves from directives issued by inspectors and senior civil servants, who tend to communicate a dominant political message through top-down circulars and formal instructions that reflect the Ministry’s agenda. This bureaucratic standardization creates the impression that educational change is solely about following predetermined plans and prescribed procedures. In this context, terms like “steering” or “structure” often evoke a quasi-military organization, with references to the Ministry as the “Red Army” or the “Mammoth,” symbolizing bureaucratic culture. Meanwhile, discussions around “equality” influence both professional practices and collective visions, highlighting a tension between hierarchical loyalty—an established convention—and the desire to respond attentively to teachers’ voices and pursue local negotiations to avoid conflict. French headteachers are, thus, caught between these competing demands, facing challenges in implementing directives and establishing accountability mechanisms across different settings—conditions shaped by teachers’ motivation and engagement. At the same time, they practice humanistic leadership within their teams and also face testing moments of justification when promoting local cooperation, as illustrated by the testimony of a headteacher. This headteacher was assigned to a middle school where the teachers were not very engaged. He aims to introduce changes to improve student outcomes. To do this, he plans to revitalize the pedagogical council, a statutory body whose purpose is to unite teachers for school improvement.

I talked a lot, and people were receptive. Everything went smoothly, except when we had to discuss the school project; nobody was interested. Otherwise, everything was about organization, and we reached an agreement. However, we didn’t discuss teaching, training, or student outcomes, and that’s what I wanted to change. We managed to create a ‘revamped’ pedagogical council, which now consists of three rooms equipped with several computers. These rooms are dedicated to workshops on pedagogical issues. The agenda is entirely up to the teams and is shared online in a shared document. The goal was to restore full pedagogical autonomy to the council, where I do not intervene… André, Headteacher in a middle school

This headteacher explains how, through the strategic use of material resources, he was able to transform a traditionally formal and legally defined procedure—the pedagogical council—into a dynamic forum that promotes dialogue, consensus building among teachers, and meaningful development of the school project. Here, we can see how he tries to build a compromise between the civic convention (representation of teachers defined by law) and the project convention (to support school improvement). This method also aims to reduce potential tensions. The pursuit of consensus may initially cause the headteacher to overlook or underestimate the importance of implementing a carefully planned strategy based on diagnostic assessments supported by relevant indicators. Usually, such diagnostic information is shared with teachers, who are then responsible for determining the conditions for implementation before endorsing the “contract of objectives” with local government authorities—a common practice among most French headteachers working under the industrial convention. Conversely, ignoring the formal plan and diagnosis can create an environment rooted in open, transparent discussions about collective actions, emphasizing local solidarity and the need to address inequalities, in an approach based on civic and domestic norms.

However, the civic convention is officially established through legislation and is clearly shown in educational settings, especially through governing bodies like school boards and student councils. These groups are responsible for making decisions related to the school’s main goals, student guidance, and budget distribution. They usually include officially designated representatives of teachers, parents, and sometimes local independent authorities. On the other hand, the headteacher faces the challenge of moving from reliance on these formal representative groups to creating an environment that encourages informal discussions and genuine self-expression, going beyond just professional interests. This involves developing reflection and creative ability to implement changes that enhance teaching conditions and learning environments, conceptualized here as inspired and project-based conventions rather than the civic convention. Additionally, headteachers must build trust within the community (domestic convention) and develop local arrangements with teachers to enable effective teamwork (industrial convention).

3.4. Establishing Trust with Teachers and Transitioning from the Domestic Convention to Other Conventions

The issue of trust in the scientific literature on school leadership is developed through research findings that highlight a school culture and organizational environment characterized by collegiality, mutual respect, well-being, and moral integrity among members of the educational community. Trust is understood as existing at the intersection of professional skills and experiences rooted in shared emotional and affective responses. While inherently connected to collective responsibility for ongoing improvement, findings from the ISPPP research emphasize the vital role of trust and caring in strengthening the moral capacities of headteachers to effectively collaborate with teachers and staff.

According to the theory of conventions, trust enables people to be judged and qualified within the comforting framework of past habits and agreements (domestic convention), as a way of demonstrating cooperation and solidarity in the face of unexpected or unpredictable events (civic convention) and as a shared opinion on commonly recognized signs (convention of fame). Coordinating actions through trust helps headteachers diminish hierarchical constraints and the tensions that accompany them while still respecting teachers’ autonomy and supporting individual commitments to teamwork. By seeking local and contextual solutions, headteachers create a compromise that overcomes potential tensions caused by seemingly conflicting agreements and helps them promote the common good.

For example, because of the school’s architectural layout, a French headteacher explains that the physical distance between her office and the staff room creates a separation between administrative management and teaching staff. This layout also leads the headteacher to adopt a more emotionally distant attitude, influenced by hierarchical protocols and loyalty to her hierarchy, in line with domestic and civic conventions. By adjusting her approach—from a strictly authoritative stance to one that emphasizes collaboration—she aims to build trust through engagement in local social and material arrangements. In doing so, she maintains existing routines and practices aligned with the domestic convention while gradually encouraging more participation among teachers, helping to move toward the civic convention. This headteacher arrives at a rural secondary school where she must change the routines and habits of teachers who are very individualistic and not highly committed to projects. She aims to give the educational community a new sense of purpose and ambition by encouraging them to work together.

The problem was that they [the teachers] weren’t used to working together [outside the classroom]. So I suggested a time for discussion, but that couldn’t last more than an hour! Many micro-meetings with different people— they weren’t always the same to avoid exhausting them, because I only have 22 teachers. It can get overwhelming. Last year, they came to my office, and we worked together in small groups. We went to a room. This year, I’m going to work in the staff room. I go downstairs with my things, and we sit around the table in the teachers’ room. We work with the teachers we’ve planned to work with, and what’s interesting is that those around us also participate. Sometimes, some of them come and join us for a chat. I’ve never done that before—working in the teachers’ room! I’m not saying it’s a model, but it works! Eva, head of a middle school.

This excerpt shows how the headteacher designates a specific space—namely, the room intended for peer-to-peer interaction and fostering teacher-to-teacher relationships, characteristic of a domestic convention—to build trust within local arrangements aimed at improving team efficiency, aligned with an industrial convention. By forging this compromise in the teachers’ room, she hopes to revive the school improvement dynamic (project convention). The coordination observed is non-hierarchical, emphasizing a horizontal relationship among teachers; however, it is rooted in tradition, as exemplified by the staff room in France being regarded as a sanctuary protected from administrative interference and professional habits linked to domestic conventions. These elements collectively support the development of a common good based on the civic convention, such as social cooperation and solidarity. Later in the interview, the headteacher explains how encouraging reflective practice and idea sharing among teachers has created a sense of belonging to the school’s mission, thereby strengthening teamwork with purpose through initiatives and shared responsibilities. This process indicates a shift from a domestic convention toward a project-based convention.

In a different scenario, a headteacher actively sought outside expertise to improve her teaching teams’ skills in pedagogy and learning strategies. Instead of relying on local state authorities, she engaged with trusted colleagues—specifically, a teacher experienced in cooperative classroom settings and a deputy head involved in innovative practices. This approach leverages familiar expertise, fostering trust and closeness, according to the domestic convention. Additionally, the headteacher aims to democratize staff participation, avoiding formal procedures associated with the civic convention that might hinder creativity and steering clear of opinions based on personal reputation (the convention of fame), which can lead to dominance by specific individuals and suppress diverse perspectives. Instead, she promotes informal interactions, such as organizational visits to companies, boat trips, and zip-lining activities, that are justified through domestic and inspired conventions. These activities enhance the “permeability of relationships,’ encouraging collective expression aligned with the civic convention and personal involvement in projects reflecting the project convention. Such dynamics are likely to contribute positively to the overall school effectiveness related to the industrial convention. The headteacher explains that by taking the teaching team outside the school on a boat trip, she hopes to forge a compromise between the domestic and project conventions.

When there were 40 of us on the boat and we couldn’t get out for 3 h, people started talking to each other. It began to create bonds and, above all, it also helped me integrate new teachers because here, a third of the teaching team changes every year. Last year, when I started proposing projects, I received only one response.

This headteacher explains that, before she realized it, the commitment between individuals was largely invisible to her. Later, she noticed that relationships among teachers were starting to develop. Some teachers began moving away from their usual practices based on the domestic convention to try new activities aligned with the inspired tradition, working together with colleagues (civic tradition), and taking on more responsibility and initiative (project tradition). As she explained, this process of building interpersonal bonds helped interactions that not only strengthened local relationships based on the domestic convention but also expanded their reach to include broader coordination efforts aimed at improving overall school effectiveness, balancing civic and industrial conventions.

4. Discussion: Comparing Conventions Between France and Nordic Countries

This analysis of leadership practices among French headteachers shows how they balance different justifications when managing teachers. Institutional standards, whether implemented through bureaucratic procedures or driven by quality assurance frameworks, rely on methodologies, tools, and instrumentation that align with the industrial convention. This convention reflects a view of predictability based on measurable data and systematic planning. However, this effectiveness approach is often criticized for its performative and instrumental nature, leading school leaders to depend on additional conventions to motivate teachers within the broader scope of school development initiatives.

In Europe, the industrial convention has become compatible with the school market, increasing competition among schools and parents’ free choice (market convention). Quality is expected to regulate the supply and demand for educational services. It can be reflected through the convention of fame when league tables or rankings influence stakeholders’ opinions, policymakers, and schools’ reputations. At the same time, these conventions significantly impact the attractiveness and recruitment of students in some European countries, where competition between schools is growing.

These conventions are infrequent in the French educational system, mostly because it is highly regulated through catchment area policies. Also, performance data and national assessments are not publicly available, which reduces transparency. Unlike some countries, France does not have a benchmarking system between schools or a true school market, and government efforts to regulate private schools are increasing. Reputation effects mainly appear in large cities. However, these patterns differ from those in Denmark, where developing performance indicators and competition among schools challenge the humanistic principles of Bildung and the ‘Folkeskole’ system (Storgaard & Frederiksen, 2023). This reflects a tension between market and civic values. Similarly, in Finland, the culture of trust and shared humanity typical of the Peruskoulu is increasingly influenced by managerial practices and parental school choices, especially among middle- and upper-class families seeking specific educational programs (Seppänen et al., 2023). This shift indicates a move from civic to market and industrial values, impacting the traditional educational ethos of Finnish educators.

French headteachers demonstrate a strong commitment to the humanist and egalitarian principles that underpin the schooling system, as outlined in the civic convention. They resist market forces and are notably skeptical of managerial approaches. This civic convention is widely supported by teachers, who actively participate in activities and projects that align with these values. In doing so, they balance the civic convention with the domestic convention, which continues to have a significant influence within the French educational system.

However, these domestic and civic conventions differ from the community mindset shared by school leaders in Nordic countries, who remain committed to trust-based relationships and promote active participation and local discussions with teachers and other members of the educational community (Gunnulfsen et al., 2023). In France, only the ‘national community of citizens’ truly matters, as there is no real recognition of local interests or local modes of representation because of the importance of state intermediary bodies. Moreover, each school is seen as a ‘secular sanctuary’ separate from private and religious interests. Like Finland, the focus is on engaging citizens in a shared national project through education (civic convention) (Simola, 2014). However, the existence of a school life service, separate from teachers and pedagogy, which addresses issues such as violence and school climate, creates a division between the pedagogical aspect (teachers) and the educational aspect (school life), making teachers feel less connected to the school community outside the classroom.

The domestic convention highlights tradition, influencing school culture and pedagogical knowledge. It also emphasizes hierarchical reliance, especially in interactions with inspectors. In the French context, headteachers typically follow authority, build personal relationships within professional and union groups, and foster trust and loyalty toward policymakers. Discretion and restraint are also common traits among French headteachers. The idea of “belonging to the same house”—referring to the Ministry—serves to reinforce order and mutual respect among civil servants in education. This professional ethos demands conformity, submission, responsibility, and the exercise of authority within a reciprocal system of rights and duties. While the domestic convention sometimes allows for relationship building based on trust and proximity, as seen in Northern European contexts, maintaining such relationships over time is more difficult for French headteachers, as the sense of local community often does not match the experiences shared by most educators.

5. Limits of the Study

This study encounters several epistemological and methodological limitations. By solely using the theoretical framework of conventions, it offers valuable insights into the moral justifications and localized compromises enacted by French headteachers. However, it overlooks consideration of alternative theoretical perspectives on school leadership, especially those emphasizing organizational learning, systemic leadership approaches, and their effects on student achievement. Additionally, focusing only on headteachers restricts the analysis to other key actors, such as teachers, students, and parents. This limitation hinders a comprehensive understanding of the complex nature of school leadership as it is practiced.

For instance, situations of cooperation between leaders can be justified according to different common goods in different countries and professional cultures. For example, the sense of community might be stronger in the United States and Northern Europe than in France or Germany. On the other hand, the reference to tradition might be more pronounced in Europe and Asia than in the United States or New Zealand. Attention to others from leaders may be strongly supported by conceptions of equality and social solidarity in some countries, while other education systems value schools as spaces for discussion and dialogue guided by mutual respect and trust. Issues of freedom, choice, recognition, or diversity may give rise to very virulent public debates, but they can also serve as basic principles for interpersonal relationships in schools. The emphasis on innovation, change, and creativity can be the result of rational and planned management, but it can also be based on a communitarian vision open to peer learning, or it may correspond to a traditional and shared sense of entrepreneurship and risk taking.

From a methodological perspective, the sample, which includes fifteen headteachers involved in leadership training, shows a selection bias toward profiles that are already reflective and aware of this practice. This is uncommon among French headteachers who are unfamiliar with the concept of leadership itself. Additionally, this study is limited to one French region, restricting its generalizability. The qualitative approach mainly relies on interviews and a coding grid heavily guided by the theoretical framework, which could lead to confirmation bias.

Future research should enhance this study by adding direct observational methods of leadership practices and developing additional case studies in primary and secondary schools. These approaches would help provide a more detailed understanding of the daily challenges faced by French headteachers and how these challenges influence their behaviors and interactions. Furthermore, it would be helpful to expand this comparative analysis using the findings from the ISSPP survey to improve this study’s contextual and empirical strength.

6. Conclusions

This research aims to examine the moral agency of French headteachers through the theoretical framework of conventions, thereby clarifying the tensions, compromises, and justifications that support their leadership practices within a highly centralized and bureaucratic education system. Compared to leadership practices observed in Northern Europe, these findings confirm that headteachers’ roles go beyond mere compliance with standards or the implementation of prescriptive directives. Instead, their leadership involves a subtle negotiation among diverse conventions—industrial, civic, domestic, market, fame, inspired, and project—that are actively used to coordinate collective actions, build trust, and manage conflicts of legitimacy or justifications.

In this context, school leadership in France seems to involve moral skills from headteachers and their ability to reflect on and navigate some of these conventions, creating consensus with teams and fostering a common good, often in tension with bureaucratic standards. The results also show that French headteachers rely heavily on civic and domestic conventions, and less on market or fame-related ones, to establish modes of coordination that uphold public service and republican values while also aiming to innovate or experiment with new, more collaborative arrangements involving teachers in projects.

This research makes a unique contribution to understanding leadership practices in France, though there is a need to expand this kind of research to various French schools and settings. As an exploratory effort, it provides a clearer understanding of the moral, political, and relational complexities of leadership roles among French headteachers. This study encourages a re-evaluation of these headteachers’ leadership based on the challenges they face and their pursuit of legitimacy in educational environments marked by uncertainty, institutional pressures, and internal tensions. Recognizing the diversity of moral commitments can lead to more ethical, context-sensitive, and shared leadership—less instrumental and performative—more focused on the well-being and improved lives of educational communities.