In order to develop Latvia’s economy focusing on a high value-added product and to build a knowledge-based society, it is necessary to provide qualitative education and its compliance with the labour market, as well as to provide integration of higher education, science and innovations. It has been emphasized in a Latvian National Development Plan that the basis for Latvia’s development should be society’s ability to create new knowledge and use it for economic development and raising general living standard. There are many strategic and tactic educational tasks for pedagogic and educational management universities. The success of economy of Latvia depends from qualitative educational management at all levels of educational system as whole.

Bachelor and masters programs of school management are realized in Riga Teachers Training and Educational Management Academy and many others universities of Latvia .

Large group of school leaders competencies are linked with policymaking and leading school as organisation – sharing vision, promoting changes, maintaining strategic direction, working together with stakeholders planning resources, ensuring accountability, targeting outcomes; second group – organizing teaching and learning, especially important it is on threshold of 21st century, in environment of modernistic and pluralistic society, where is based contemporary education-improving learning, collecting and analysing data, speaking with stakeholders, monitoring students behaviour; next group of competencies is based on personnel-communicating work with the staff, delegating responsibilities, managing conflict, promoting further education, fostering institutional development, building understanding, facilitating groupwork, network and teamwork.

Educational management literature gives several examples of classifying the skills and competencies. If we accept, that competence is based on and formed by several skills, there are some groups :

1) academic competencies (ability to think, speak, learn, write, work in team);
2) professional competencies (ability work at school, at educational institution, lead and guide the educational process, to achieve educational standards, to ensure quality of education);
3) organisational competencies (ability make vision, plan, organise, coordinate, motivate, control);
4) leadership or personal competencies (creativity, responsibility, honesty, ability to work in changeable world)

The results of questionnaire of school headmasters and deputies from general education institutions, students of school management studies at bachelor and master level confirm competencies based approach in content and structure of programs and relatively close relation studies and practice. Respondents indicate professional, social and personal competencies as basis for successful work at educational institution level.
Development of democratic and competitive society asks from education system, from schools leaders to revise methods and approaches of upbringing and educating citizens. The role of management and leading educational institutions becomes important especially after joining Latvia to Europe Union.

One of the strategic direction in the field of higher education is the improvement of quality according to requirements of the European common higher education space.