ABSTRACT
The importance of the role of the headteacher or principal in relation to innovation, briefly mentioned previously, is recognised by several writers. Hoyle (1974) observes that the headteacher has the necessary authority to introduce innovations into the school, that he has the opportunity to see the school as a whole and thus identify the need for innovation, that he controls the resources usually required by innovation and that he has contact with the ‘messengers of innovation’. The headteacher is not only able to initiate innovation himself but his support is needed by an individual or group of teachers who wish to introduce an innovation. The relative autonomy of the teacher within his classroom puts considerable demands on the head-teacher’s leadership skills when he himself wishes to introduce an innovation. Hoyle sees the leadership role of the headteacher as an important but insufficient answer to the problems of innovation in schools.
