Chapter 3: Principals’ Work in High-Need Schools: Findings from Rio de Janeiro: Findings from Rio de Janeiro

Brazil has one of the most unequal educational systems in the world, despite having an emerging economy, our educational results in international evaluations are dismal (60^th in the PISA 2015 ranking, http://www.compareyourcountry.org/pisa/country/bra?lg=en). As extensive sociological research has shown, social background is the most important impact factor on students’ results. Nevertheless, educational research has repeatedly highlighted some school factors that can minimize the impact of students’ social characteristics and favor satisfactory academic results despite low socioeconomic status (SES) indices. One of these key school factors is the role of the school principal. In this chapter, we choose to enlighten and discuss how the principal’s leadership can make a difference in challenging circumstances. Specifically, we identified two schools in Rio de Janeiro’s urban area with similar SES indices and similar contextual issues but very discrepant students’ results. These two schools highlight a successful experience in a high-need situation in contrast with another school experience, where similar social challenges were faced. Interviewing teachers and principals (using the ISLDN Protocol) and observing the schools’ routine enabled us to better understand how the principals manage their jobs considering their high-needs situation, focusing on student learning (or not). The qualitative research developed helped to expand our perception of the importance of building an atmosphere suitable for learning, which includes the relationships between principals and teachers, and certainly the skills to welcome and discipline, without losing focus on the main goal of the school: to prepare everyone.