170939 20260430151735.0 doi 10.11591/ijere.v15i2.37279 sideral 149116 ART-2026-149116 eng Cored-Bandrés, Sergio Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-9563-6789 The complexity of school leadership in Spain: between leadership and educational management 2026 School leadership in Spain faces notable complexity arising from bureaucratization, limited autonomy, and the insufficient professionalization of the role. This study, grounded in perspectives from distributed, transformational and instructional leadership, analyses leadership teams’ perceptions regarding access to the position, training, the competencies required, and the satisfaction associated with these functions. To this end, a qualitative design was employed, based on semi-structured interviews conducted with 24 teachers holding leadership positions. The data were examined through categorical content analysis with the support of NVivo, ensuring both inter- and intra-rater reliability. The study offers an original contribution by providing updated empirical evidence on how structural and organizational conditions shape motivations, training relevance, and the relational competencies that underpin participatory leadership models. The thematic analysis identified several recurring themes: positive evaluations of initial training, diverse motivations for assuming the role (from vocation to compulsory appointment), the emphasis on communicative, collaborative and organizational competencies, and ambivalent professional satisfaction, combining fulfilment with administrative overload. In conclusion, the study underscores the need for more contextualized, practical, and sustainable policies and training programs that strengthen effective and humane pedagogical leadership, addressing the persistent gap between current training and real school demands. Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/S57-17R info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/S57-20R info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/UZ/Grupo EDI-Educación y diversidad info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by-sa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.es info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Mairal-Llebot, María Universidad de Zaragoza Vazquez-Toledo, Sandra Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-2206-2299 Latorre-Cosculluela, Cecilia Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-6083-8759 4001 215 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ciencias de la Educación Área Didáctica y Organiz. Esc. 15, 2 (2026), 1129 [13 pp.] International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education 2620-5440 464462 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/170939/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2204719 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/170939/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:170939 articulos driver 2026-04-30-13:57:30 ARTICLE