Modern Trends Toward Shaping the Image of Educational Leader

The intention of this paper is to raise and study some questions connected with shaping leadership skills in graduate teachers. The results of the survey showed how well the teacher graduates acquired both hard and soft skills that will enable them to become educational leaders and which they are called upon to form in schoolchildren. The authors looked into the factors which contribute to the establishment and development of a new type of educational leaders that are able to make creative, theoretical, and practical contributions in the innovative processes in education. The study reveals that graduates have a fairly clear idea of the essence of leadership. They understand leadership not only as a process of formal management of social communities but also as a high level of professionalism. The image of a teacher-leader the students shaped has the potential of a researcher and a knowledge translator. The majority of students believe that a modern teacher should implement a learner-centered approach, helping them to deal with the challenges and developing their personalities. On the whole, students are aware of the current trends in education and its main hardships. Professional qualities and skills together with the personal qualities are the constituents of a leader in education. © 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature.