School leaders

1
School leaders professional development what
do they think about it?

• Dr Athena MichaelidouEducational Research and
  Evaluation Centre and
• Open University of Cyprus
• and
• Prof. Petros Pashiardis
• Open University of Cyprus

2
Structure of the presentation

• Introduction
• Literature review
• In service Training (INSET) and Continued
  Professional Development (CPD) - the case of
  Cyprus
• The research study - school leaders views for
  their CPD
• Methodology
• Results regarding their own general involvement
  in CPD and the specific course for school
  leaders
• Implications for the design of CPD for school
  leaders

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• INTRODUCTION

4
Review of the Literature

• Increasing interest and need for Continued
  Professional Development (CPD)
• Limited research on CPD opportunities
• School leaders CPD current research and
  implications

5
Current situation in Cyprus (1)

• CPD is mainly limited to INSET
• Lectures, Seminars, Conferences, specific course
  for school leaders
• CPD is highly centralised
• The Ministry organises most of the activities
• INSET is largely centralised
• Educational Reform is at a critical point

6
Current situation in Cyprus (2)

• Centralised educational system
• Very little autonomy to school leaders
• Appointment depends upon years of service and
  postgraduate qualifications
• Obligatory INSET through seminars and lectures at
  the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute (CPI)
• Law participation in CPD activities in general

7
Involvement of school leaders in CPD activities
in general

• Educational conferences for all teachers
• Seminars run by school inspectors for all
  teachers
• Seminars run by the CPI (some of them for
  Educational Management and Leadership)
• Postgraduate studies

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The INSET programme for school leaders (1)

• Newly appointed school leaders participate in a
  specifically designed programme
• The programme lasts for 8 months
• The programme takes place once a week, during
  school time
• Similar programme for secondary deputy school
  heads and school heads of both primary and
  secondary heads

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The INSET programme for school leaders (2)

• AIMS
• Becoming aware of updated and recently developed
  educational topics
• Formulation of skills and attitudes of dynamic
  school leaders
• Development of leadership and organizational
  skills
• Development of strategic planning and application
  of an action plan
• Becoming aware of ICT in education
• Development of opportunities for continued
  professional development

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• THE RESEARCH STUDY

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Research aims (1)

• To investigate school leaders views regarding
  their own CPD, as well as the INSET they
  officially receive in Cyprus, after they get
  promoted (both its content and organisational
  aspects).
• To examine whether specific personal
  characteristics of the leaders are associated
  with their perceptions regarding their
  professional development (e.g. post, level of
  education, gender).

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Research aims (2)

• To provide suggestions regarding
• the quality improvement of CPD and INSET for
  school leaders
• the creation of new flexible forms of CPD which
  will contribute to increase the number of school
  leaders engaged in CPD

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RESEARCH METHOD - 1

• Mixed approach
• Qualitative investigation
• Document analysis (international literature,
  European emphasis, local situation in education
  and training of school leaders)
• Interviews with school leaders attending the
  INSET courses
• Quantitative investigation
• Questionnaire survey (semi - structured
  questionnaire based on the above, as the main
  research instrument)

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DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY WITH SCHOOL LEADERS
INTERVIEWS
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RESEARCH METHOD - 2

• Sample
• All the participants in the INSET course for
  school leaders
• 362 deputy school heads of secondary education
• 120 school heads of primary education
• 101 school heads of secondary education
• Statistical Analysis
• Both descriptive and inferential statistics
  (SPSS)

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• RESULTS
• OF
• THE RESEARCH STUDY

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General attitude towards current INSET - CPD
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Reasons for participating in CPD - INSET
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Satisfaction with the specific INSET programme
for school leaders
5
4
Sec Dep Heads
3
Sec Heads
Prim heads
2
1
Interaction
Usefulness
Content
Teaching
Organisation
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MOTIVATION FOR SCHOOL LEADERS TO PARTICIPATE IN CPD ACTIVITIES PERCENTAGE
Reduction of school teaching time 60
Accreditation of the CPD activities 64
INSET during school time 59
Scholarships 27
Promotion 40
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Differentiation by personal characteristics

• Gender and years of service are not associated
  with school leaders views regarding their own
  CPD
• The level of education where they work is not
  associated with school leaders views regarding
  their own CPD
• Only school leaders post is related with their
  views regarding their own CPD (school heads or
  assistant heads)

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School leaders voice

• School leaders are not very satisfied with the
  current situation, regarding their CPD
  opportunities and the experience with INSET
• The methods of delivery of CPD INSET need to
  allow for peer learning, mentoring, coaching, etc
• Accreditation and reduction of school/teaching
  time would enhance the participation of school
  leaders in CPD activities

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Policy implications for the future -1

• Specifically designed programmes for leaders,
  prior to their appointment
• Subjects related to educational leadership are
  priorities for newly appointed leaders
• There is a need for decentralisation of CPD, to
  accommodate specific needs and be more practical

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Policy implications for the future -2

• Different courses for school heads (both primary
  and secondary) and deputy heads
• The content and methods of CPD need to be
  reviewed in the light of literature and the
  school leaders needs

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• Thank you for your attention