PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR EXPERIENCED PRINCIPALS

In Sweden, the National Agency for Education has designed a programme for serving principals, which is the main professional development provision. The course has a limited intake and operates over three years, with two four-day residential units per year. Participants also receive in-school consultancy (Bush and Jackson, 2002:422).
The NCSL research reported that the principal development programme in New South Wales includes courses delivered by university centres, leading to a qualification – the Certificate of School Leadership and Management. It includes peer-assisted leadership, mentoring, coaching and shadowing, seminars and study leave (Bush and Jackson, 2002:422). In England, the Leadership Programme for Serving Heads (LPSH) is a shorter programme than in other countries, and it consists of pre-workshop preparation, a four-day residential workshop, post-workshop activity with a senior business leader and a follow-up one year after the workshop (Bush and Jackson, 2002:422). It is available for principals that have been serving for at least four years (Stroud, 2005:93).
Although a number of courses exist for aspiring, beginning and experienced principals, there were few examples of a coherent programme for all three stages (Bush and Jackson, 2002:426).Walker and Dimmock (2006:127) highlighted that many of the development programmes emerging from centralised initiatives are not without their problems or critics. Their research revealed that these initiatives are often contested at formulation, implementation and evaluation stages, as was the case in Hong Kong where formal requirements for serving principals were loosened in response to practitioner concerns.

FUNDING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

The study by Bush and Jackson (2002:423) of leadership programmes in nine countries and 15 centres revealed considerable diversity in the ways that leadership development programmes are funded. In Singapore’s full-time programme, the cost is paid by the government, and candidates still receive their salaries. North Carolina’s masters’ candidates receive a loan that is repayable if they leave the state within four years. In Sweden, the state funds the programme, including the costs of stand-in teachers, and in Chicago, all programmes are free – representing their commitment to educational regeneration through leadership development.
In Ontario, candidates pay their own fees, although they are tax deductible. In New South Wales, candidates receive grants to assist with fees, but these do not cover the whole cost. The masters and certification programmes in Hong Kong are also provided on a self-funding basis.
Selection for programmes also tends to be linked to the funding model. Where governments provide funding, there is an explicit selection process, whereas selection for programmes that are self-funding is independent of state sponsorship. In Ontario, there are tough prerequisites to be accepted, such as a master’s degree or equivalent additional qualifications.

 NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP (NCSL)

The NCSL is a principal source of advice to government and policymakers on school leadership issues (Hartle and Thomas, 2003:14). It has set out a national framework for leadership development which provides a professional development route for the preparation, induction, development and regeneration of school leaders. The NCSL is a government-funded non-departmental public body (NDPB). The government provided 10 million pounds for building the headquarters in Nottingham. The NCSL receives notification of their targets and objectives through an annual remit from the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (NCSL (c)).

NATIONAL STANDARDS

Today the use of standards is becoming an international trend, with similarities in the standards across USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand (Leithwood and Steinbach, 2003, cited in Weindling, 2003:12). In the US, the 1996 ISLLC Standards for school leaders hav ecently been updated. The new standards, Educational Leadership Policy Standards: ISLLC 2008, were adopted by the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) in November 2007 after a two-year national collaborative review process. They incorporate what has been learned about education leadership in the past decade and address the changing policy context of American education. They aim to provide guidance to state policymakers as they work to improve education leadership preparation, licensure, evaluation and professional development. They are the foundation and should inform all components of an aligned and cohesive system (Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), 2008:1-4).
The six ISLLC 2008 standards are themes organising the functions that define strong leadership. The standards are listed below.

CHAPTER 1: ORIENTATION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.2.4 HISTORICAL DYNAMICS TO PROFESSIONALISING PRINCIPALSHIP IN SOUTH AFRICA
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.5 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.
1.7 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
1.8 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
1.9 POPULATION AND SAMPLING
1.10 DATA COLLECTION
1.11 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
1.12 LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
1.13 DATA ANALYSIS
1.14 ASSUMPTION OF THE STUDY
1.15 CLARIFICATION OF CONCEPTS
1.16 CHAPTER DIVISION.
1.17 CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 WHY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NOW?
2.3 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
2.4 INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES.
2.5 PREPARATION FOR ASPIRING PRINCIPALS .
2.6 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR NEWLY APPOINTED PRINCIPALS .
2.7 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR EXPERIENCED PRINCIPALS
2.8 FUNDING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES
2.9 NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP (NCSL)
2.10 NATIONAL STANDARDS .
2.11 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF PRINCIPALS IN NAMIBIA
2.12 IN-SERVICE TRAINING OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN KENYA
2.13 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF PRINCIPALS IN APPALACHIA
2.14 PRINCIPAL LEADERSHIP PREPARATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG
2.15 PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN NIGERIA
2.16 SELECTION OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN GREECE AND CYPRUS
2.17 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN SOUTH AFRICA
2.18 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS
2.19 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE CHANGE STRATEGY
2.20 LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT OF PRINCIPALS IN SOUTH AFRICA
2.21 ESTABLISHING AN ACADEMY FOR EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN GAUTENG
2.22 THE SOUTH AFRICAN STANDARD FOR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP (SASSL)
2.23 PROVISION OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO GAUTENG PRINCIPAL
2.24 WHAT PRINCIPALS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT?
2.25 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
2.26 INDUCTION PROCESS FOR PRINCIPALS
2.27 THE EVALUATION AND STUDY OF SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES
2.28 PREPARING SCHOOL LEADERS FOR THE CHALLENGES OF TOMORROW
2.29 CHALLENGES FACED BY NEWLY APPOINTED PRINCIPALS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
2.30 LIMITATIONS OF LEADERSHIP PROGRAMMES AND CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
2.31 EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES
2.32 DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
2.33 POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR EDUCATION MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 3: SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT: UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT ON SCHOOL CAPACITY AND STUDENT LEARNING
3.1 INTRODUCTION .
3.2 COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP.
3.3 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT LEADERSHIP
3.4 GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES OF EFFECTIVE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
3.5 THE LANDSCAPE OF THEORY AND RESEARCH IN STUDIES OF SCHOOL LEADERSHI
3.6 SCHOOL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING FOR POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER 5: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
CHAPTER 6: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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The state’s capacitation of school principals: A positivist reflection on the effectiveness of development programmes in Soshanguve secondary schools, Gauteng Province