The governance and management of kindergartens, basic and upper secondary schools, as well as higher vocational colleges is specified by the Organisation and financing of education Act (en). It specifies the education and other requirements for management and other education staff, as well as their duties and responsibilities. The Higher education Act (en) specifies the governance and management of universities and other higher education institutions.

The leadership of kindergartens and schools is the responsibility of head teachers. They assume two roles: that of an educational leader and that of an executive manager. They are responsible for the execution of activities as specified by law and by the council of kindergarten or school. In public institutions divided internally into organisational units, the director may assume the management, the head teacher of the unit the pedagogical leadership. Rights, duties and obligations are specified with the act of foundation.

The head teachers elaborate proposals of the development programme, annual work plan, and over standard kindergarten or school programmes. The head teacher assumes responsibility for the programme implementation, exercise of rights and duties of children, pupils and other interested parties; furthermore, the head teacher caters for the regularity of work; administers to the cooperation with parents, and acts as a representative of the institution. Head teachers are rather autonomous in their function. The head teacher's statutory assignments encompass: attending classes of pre-school teachers or teachers, as well development of annual self-evaluation report of a kindergarten or school. The head teacher is appointed and dismissed by the council of kindergarten or school.

Head teachers are high ranking teaching professional. SiStat data of the school year 2020/2021 show that 11% of basic school head teachers held a higher education qualification equivalent to the first cycle degree, 77% equivalent to the second cycle degree, and 12% to the third cycle degree. Women head teacher outstripp male (75%).

The operations of kindergartens and schools are supervised by the National School Inspectorate.

The pedagogical counsellors at public institutes foster development of kindergartens and schools:

• National Education Institute
• National Institute for Vocational Education and Training
• Slovenian Institute for Adult Education
• National School of Leadership in Education.

The management of higher vocational colleges is the responsibility of directors and head teachers. The directors manage colleges that are independent institutions, and head teachers lead organisational units of school centres. Their duties extend to obligations related to employers and students. The requirements and procedures for appointing directors and head teachers of higher vocational colleges, as well as their conditions of service, are regulated in the same way as in the case of upper secondary schools.

Management staff in higher education includes rectors and vice rectors, deans and vice deans, and heads of internal organizational units. Primarily, they are professional managers of higher education institutions and their activities. Rectors and deans of private higher education institutions have statutory managerial duties; these duties apply to other management staff if this is provided for by internal rules. The management staff is appointed from among university teachers or research faculty members with highest academic ranks. The procedures are subject to internal rules of the higher education institution exclusively.