The influence of School principals’ management on school efficiency: Evidence from Italian schools

This paper investigates the relationship between school principals’ managerial practices and two key dimensions of school performance: students’ 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’ 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’ 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.