@article{2138dac1af654d2eb99119542eb83b77,
title = "The influence of School principals{\textquoteright} management on school efficiency: Evidence from Italian schools",
abstract = "This paper investigates the relationship between school principals{\textquoteright} managerial practices and two key dimensions of school performance: students{\textquoteright} cognitive outcomes and school climate. School performance is assessed using a classical Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) framework, complemented by both unconditional robust and conditional robust models to evaluate the influence of managerial practices on school efficiency. We introduce a methodological innovation that allows for a nuanced analysis of how contextual variables – specifically, principals{\textquoteright} managerial practices – affect performance, both individually and through their interactions. The analysis is based on 2019 INVALSI data from a nationally representative sample of 8th grade students in Italian schools. The findings show that principals{\textquoteright} practices, as well as the ways in which these practices interact, play a significant role in shaping school efficiency, particularly by promoting a positive and supportive school climate.",
keywords = "Assessment, Conditional efficiency, Educational economics, Principals, School performance",
author = "Anna Mergoni and Ana Camanho and Mara Soncin and Tommaso Agasisti and \{De Witte\}, Kristof",
note = "Funding Information: Ana Camanho acknowledges Funda\textbackslash{}u00E7\textbackslash{}u00E3o para a Ci\textbackslash{}u00EAncia e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, for financial support via the project \textbackslash{}u2018eduBEST: Education Systems Benchmarking with Frontier Techniques\textbackslash{}u2019 (2022.08686.PTDC). Tommaso Agasisti, Mara Soncin and Kristof De Witte acknowledge funding from the European Commission by the Horizon Europe grant EFFEct (grant 101129146). Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Anna Mergoni acknowledges funding from Flemish Science Organization through grant 11G5520N. Funding Information: Tommaso Agasisti, Mara Soncin and Kristof De Witte acknowledge funding from the European Commission by the Horizon Europe grant EFFEct (grant 101129146 ). Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Funding Information: Ana Camanho acknowledges Funda\textbackslash{}u00E7\textbackslash{}u00E3o para a Ci\textbackslash{}u00EAncia e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal , for financial support via the project \textbackslash{}u2018eduBEST: Education Systems Benchmarking with Frontier Techniques\textbackslash{}u2019 ( 2022.08686.PTDC ). Funding Information: Anna Mergoni acknowledges funding from Flemish Science Organization through grant 11G5520N . ",
year = "2026",
month = feb,
day = "16",
doi = "10.1016/j.ejor.2025.06.020",
language = "English",
volume = "329",
pages = "260--272",
journal = "European Journal of Operational Research",
issn = "0377-2217",
publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",
number = "1",
}