Cognopolis

Revista de educción y pedagogía

Vol. 3(3), 144-161, 2025

https://doi.org/10.62574/83j16423

144

Executive leadership and professional teaching profile from an

ABSTRACT

Understanding contemporary educational phenomena requires epistemological approaches that transcend

reductionist views and capture the complexity of educational processes. In this context, the research

objective was to analyse managerial leadership and the professional profile of teachers from an

epistemological perspective. The methodology employed was a qualitative documentary review, using the

Descriptors: science philosophy; science and society; scientific culture. (Source: UNESCO Thesaurus).

RESUMEN

La comprensión del fenómeno educativo contemporáneo requiere aproximaciones epistemológicas que

trasciendan visiones reduccionistas y capturen la complejidad de los procesos formativos. En este contexto,

el objetivo de investigación fue analizar el liderazgo directivo y perfil profesional docente desde una

perspectiva epistemológica. La metodología empleada correspondió a una revisión documental con enfoque

cualitativo, utilizando el método analítico-sintético para examinar veinticinco artículos científicos publicados

entre 2020 y 2025 en bases de datos reconocidas internacionalmente. Los resultados evidencian que

ambas categorías han transitado desde concepciones operativas hacia marcos comprensivos que

Received: 23/08/2025. Reviewed: 03/09/2025. Approved: 08/09/2025. Published: 15/09/2025.

Research articles

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Revista de educción y pedagogía

Vol. 3(3), 144-161, 2025

Liderazgo directivo y perfil profesional docente desde una perspectiva epistemológica

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educational processes in all their multifactorial dimensions. From this

perspective, managerial leadership and the professional profile of teachers

emerge as central categories that shape institutional dynamics and determine, to

a considerable extent, the quality of teaching and learning processes. However,

their approach has traditionally been limited to operational approaches that

prioritise the measurement of results over conceptual reflection, creating a

significant gap between theoretical foundations and situated practices.

From this perspective, it is imperative to examine the epistemological bases that

underpin both the exercise of school leadership and the configuration of the

professional profile of teachers, recognising that both categories respond to

Convergently, the evolution of the teaching professional profile has moved from

vocational conceptions to competency-based approaches that integrate

disciplinary, pedagogical, and technological dimensions. This transformation

responds not only to the demands of the globalised context but also to an

epistemological reconceptualisation of teaching that positions it as a reflective

profession in constant construction. In this regard, Castro et al. (2024) warn that

Latin American education systems face the challenge of articulating international

competency frameworks with local realities, generating tensions between

normative discourses and the daily practices of teachers.

Based on the above, the research objective was formulated to analyse

Cognopolis

Revista de educción y pedagogía

Vol. 3(3), 144-161, 2025

Liderazgo directivo y perfil profesional docente desde una perspectiva epistemológica

146

exploration. The documentary review, understood as a methodological strategy,

went beyond mere bibliographic compilation to become an interpretative process

that sought to unravel the underlying meanings in the scientific production

analysed.

The method used was analytical-synthetic, a logical thought process that allowed

the object of study to be broken down into its constituent parts for independent

examination and then reintegrated into a holistic understanding that revealed the

relationships and connections between the components. This method was

particularly relevant for epistemological research, as it facilitated the identification

of the structural elements of the theories, the ontological assumptions that

during the period 2020-2025, selected using specific inclusion criteria that

ensured their relevance and academic quality. The inclusion criteria comprised:

publication in peer-reviewed journals, availability of the full text, thematic

approach linked to educational leadership, professional teaching profile or

pedagogical performance, and theoretical relevance to the proposed

epistemological analysis. On the other hand, documents that did not meet

methodological rigour standards or that presented merely descriptive content

without significant conceptual contribution were excluded.

The documentary corpus consisted of twenty-five scientific articles from

internationally recognised databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo,

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Revista de educción y pedagogía

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Liderazgo directivo y perfil profesional docente desde una perspectiva epistemológica

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professionalism.

The analysis procedure was structured in three interlinked phases: The first

phase, called familiarisation, consisted of a comprehensive reading of the

selected documents, identifying the central arguments, theoretical frameworks

used, and conclusions derived. The second phase, analytical in nature, involved

the systematic breakdown of the content using qualitative content analysis

techniques, establishing emerging categories and recurring patterns in the

literature reviewed. The third phase, synthetic in nature, was oriented towards the

integration of the analysed elements into coherent interpretative frameworks that

allowed the research objectives to be met.

Confirmability was ensured through the systematic recording of the analytical

process, allowing for the traceability of the interpretations formulated.

RESULTS

Based on the documentary analysis, knowledge is generated:

Epistemological foundations of educational leadership

The conceptualisation of educational leadership has undergone substantial

transformations over the last few decades, responding to paradigm shifts in the

educational sciences and emerging demands from school systems. In their early

stages, theoretical approaches to school leadership were strongly influenced by

management models from the business world, characterised by hierarchical

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Liderazgo directivo y perfil profesional docente desde una perspectiva epistemológica

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epistemological relevance of these models, pointing out that they reduce the

complexity of the school phenomenon to administrative variables and ignore the

relational, cultural, and pedagogical dimensions that shape institutional life. Along

these lines, Yao and Ma (2024) argue that authoritarian leadership models create

restrictive work environments that limit teachers' professional autonomy and

reduce their job satisfaction, negatively affecting teaching processes. The

research carried out by these authors shows that the decentralisation of decision-

making power and the promotion of participatory spaces are determining factors

for educational improvement.

The emergence of transformational leadership represents a significant

professional development needs. As confirmed by Yousefi et al. (2025),

educational institutions that implement transformational leadership practices

show significant increases in organisational commitment and job satisfaction

among teachers, variables that directly affect pedagogical performance.

At the same time, the distributed leadership model is another epistemological

approach that has gained relevance in the field of education. Unlike

transformational leadership, which maintains a certain centrality in the figure of

the leader, distributed leadership proposes a radical decentralisation of power,

conceiving leadership as an emergent property of the interactions between the

various institutional actors. On this point, Hsieh et al. (2024) argue that this

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phenomenon. In line with this position, Li et al. (2024) emphasise that distributed

leadership favours pedagogical innovation by allowing teachers to assume

leadership roles in their areas of expertise, generating dynamics of co-

construction of organisational knowledge. These authors caution, however, that

the effective implementation of this model requires specific structural conditions,

including clarity in the distribution of responsibilities and coordination

mechanisms that prevent organisational fragmentation.

The digitisation of educational processes has introduced new epistemological

complexities in the understanding of school leadership. According to Mah and

Groß (2024), the incorporation of technological tools in institutional management

dimensions to instrumental imperatives.

The evaluation of managerial leadership is another aspect that requires

epistemological reflection. In this regard, Tapia et al. (2024) criticise evaluative

approaches that reduce leadership effectiveness to quantitative indicators of

student performance, pointing out that this perspective ignores the multiple

mediations that intervene between managerial practices and learning outcomes.

Instead, they propose multidimensional evaluation models that consider variables

such as organisational climate, teacher professional development, and

institutional innovation culture.

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Liderazgo directivo y perfil profesional docente desde una perspectiva epistemológica

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ability to manage their own emotions and understand those of others is a

significant predictor of teacher performance and institutional commitment.

Similarly, Shafait and Huang (2024) argue that knowledge-oriented leadership,

which integrates cognitive and emotional dimensions, enhances creativity and

innovation in teaching teams.

Epistemological configuration of the teaching professional profile

The conceptualisation of the teaching professional profile has undergone

substantial epistemological transformations that reflect paradigm shifts in the

understanding of educational processes and the emerging demands of

contemporary societies. Traditionally, teaching was conceived as a vocational

reconfigured this conception. In relation to this aspect, Brandt et al. (2024)

analyse how education systems have moved towards competency-based models

that recognise the complexity of teaching work and require specific qualifications

for its practice. These researchers identify that teachers in training need to

develop not only disciplinary and pedagogical competencies, but also skills to

identify the linguistic and cultural characteristics of their students, adapting their

practices to the diversity of the classroom.

The competency-based approach represents an epistemological break with

traditional teacher training models. On this issue, Solano et al. (2024) examine

teaching practices in Ecuadorian contexts and show that university curricula have

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The incorporation of digital competencies is one of the most significant changes

in the configuration of the contemporary teaching professional profile. In this line

of research, Orozco et al. (2025) propose a model of digital competencies for the

development of teaching performance that integrates technical, pedagogical, and

ethical dimensions of technology use. These researchers argue that digital

competence is not limited to the instrumental use of technological tools, but rather

involves the ability to critically integrate technologies into teaching-learning

processes, considering their pedagogical potential and limitations.

Continuing education emerges as a constituent component of the professional

teaching profile that has been the subject of increasing research attention. In this

The Latin American context has particularities that require specific attention in the

configuration of the professional profile of teachers. On this subject, Álvarez et al.

(2024) analyse the effectiveness of higher education policies in Ecuador and

show that regulatory reforms do not always translate into effective improvements

in research productivity and teaching quality. These researchers point out that

educational policies must consider the structural conditions of the system,

including infrastructure, resources, and working conditions for teachers, in order

to achieve substantive transformations in the professional profile of teachers.

Educational inclusion is another dimension that has reconfigured the

requirements of the teaching profession. On this issue, Aguilar et al. (2024)

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educational needs, identifying that a lack of specific training in this area leads to

frustration and work overload among teachers.

Teachers' professional expertise has been conceptualised in various ways in the

specialised literature. Within this framework, Jacobs et al. (2024) propose profiles

of teaching expertise based on mathematical noticing ability, i.e., the ability to

identify, interpret and respond to students' mathematical thinking during

instruction. These researchers demonstrate that teaching expertise is not a static

property, but rather a process of progressive development that requires

systematic opportunities for reflection on practice and specialised feedback.

In relation to the contextualisation of teaching work, Paccha et al. (2024) address

are inapplicable in particular contexts.

Active methodologies represent another emerging component of the professional

teaching profile that has gained relevance in contemporary educational debates.

In this regard, Ordoñez and Román (2024) analyse learning environments in

physics teaching and show that teachers who implement active methodologies,

such as problem-based learning and the flipped classroom, achieve higher levels

of motivation and conceptual understanding in their students. These authors point

out, however, that the effective implementation of these methodologies requires

specific institutional conditions, including adequate infrastructure, teaching

resources, and pedagogical support.