Organisation: Colegio Universitario Antonio Rendic
Position: Director
Among his many studies, Tulio Barrios Bulling has a Post Doctorate in Governance and Public Policies in Education from the University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain and a Doctorate in Education granted by Warnborough College Ireland. During his professional career, he has held different senior management positions at various educational levels. Currently, he serves as Headmaster at Antonio Rendic University College. He also collaborates with the Faculty of Education at Andrés Bello University and the Doctorate programme at the Universidad Superior de Guadalajara. Among his interests, educational leadership and management, innovative teaching strategies, alternative forms of academic evaluation, and the promotion of Technical Education stand out. Additionally, he serves as co-editor of the Spanish version of the International Journal of Technical and Vocational Education. IVETA member since 2019. He has presented papers and taught courses in countries such as Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Canada, Spain, England, Ireland, Bulgaria and Australia.
The State of Educational Leadership and Its Research Today
Presentation
The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on educational systems, causing learning setbacks, affecting the emotional well-being of teachers and students, and widening socio-educational gaps. This context has demanded a new kind of educational leadership—resilient, capable of managing uncertainty, rebuilding school communities, and responding to growing social demands for inclusion, equity, social justice, and cultural diversity.
Educational leadership can no longer be limited to resource management; today, it must lead pedagogical change, promote digital literacy, and ensure equitable access to technology. It must also help shape critical, ethical citizens committed to sustainability and emotional competence. This shift has broadened the leadership agenda, aligning it with global, ethical, and civic challenges.
Current research on educational leadership focuses on several key areas. One is the conceptualisation of leadership, highlighting instructional, transformational, moral, participative, managerial, and contingency leadership approaches. Another central focus is leadership preparation and professional development, including studies on training
programmes, ethical principles, inclusive leadership, and models relevant to specific and culturally diverse contexts.
Research also explores the impact of leadership on school operations, including links with teacher satisfaction, student outcomes, change management, and the use of digital technologies. Additionally, tools have been developed to measure various leadership styles and personal leadership development. The political dimension is also studied, with
critical analyses of reforms, innovation implementation, and school autonomy. The main challenges identified for educational leadership include technological innovation, diversity and inclusion, change management, the well-being of staff and students, collaboration, performance evaluation, continuous training, resource constraints, and communication with the community.
¿En qué está el liderazgo educacional y su investigación hoy?
La pandemia de COVID-19 tuvo un impacto profundo en los sistemas educativos, generando rezagos en los aprendizajes, afectando el bienestar emocional de docentes y estudiantes, y ampliando las brechas socioeducativas. Este contexto exigió un nuevo tipo de liderazgo educativo, resiliente y capaz de gestionar la incertidumbre, reconstruir comunidades escolares y responder a crecientes demandas sociales en torno a la inclusión, equidad, justicia social y diversidad.
El liderazgo en educación ya no puede limitarse a la gestión de recursos; hoy debe liderar el cambio pedagógico, promover la alfabetización digital y garantizar el acceso equitativo a la tecnología. Asimismo, debe contribuir a formar ciudadanos críticos, éticos, comprometidos con la sostenibilidad y emocionalmente competentes. Esta transformación ha ampliado la agenda del liderazgo educativo, alineándola con desafíos globales, éticos y cívicos.
La investigación actual sobre liderazgo educacional se concentra en diversos ejes. Uno de ellos es la conceptualización del liderazgo, destacando enfoques como el liderazgo instruccional, transformacional, moral, participativo, gerencial y de contingencia. Otro foco central es la preparación y desarrollo profesional, con estudios sobre programas formativos, principios éticos, liderazgo inclusivo y modelos de liderazgo en contextos específicos y culturalmente diversos.
También se investiga el impacto del liderazgo en el funcionamiento de las escuelas, incluyendo su relación con la satisfacción docente, los resultados estudiantiles, la gestión del cambio y el uso de tecnologías digitales. Además, se han desarrollado herramientas para medir diferentes estilos de liderazgo y su evolución personal. La dimensión política del liderazgo también es objeto de estudio, analizando reformas, implementación de innovaciones y autonomía escolar desde una perspectiva crítica.