Educational leadership and administration in Algeria: Policy, development, and reflective practice

Algeria's education system rapidly transformed since its formal inception in 1962. Numerous past and ongoing educational reforms led to school and higher education (HE) restructuring cycles. This chapter traces emergent key dimensions of Algerian educational leadership and administration in terms of vision, structure, and expansion by analysing key reform policies in education. The findings draw on semi-structured interviews with 18 female academics working full-time at five different Algerian universities. The chapter provides a brief sketch of the Algerian education system to offer context. It explores the HE sector by examining how various policy reforms shaped and reshaped Algerian HE focusing on administrative and pedagogical aspects. The sample interviews are examined to explore various ways in which policies are perceived by agents at the level of implementation across both administrative and pedagogical leadership. A discussion of the findings examines the emergent themes focusing on the discrepancy between educational policy reforms and the views and experiences of practitioners. Finally, the chapter argues for the need to consider the complexities of the local socio-political context in Algeria and the micro-political dynamics surrounding leadership when proposing new educational reforms.