Principals’ views on continuing professional development programmes: Evidence from Malaysia

Abstract

This study reports on the professional development and school leadership programmes requested by principals in Malaysian schools. A total of 557 principals provided feedback on their preferred school leadership and professional development programmes which they believed as essential to be effective school leaders. Based on their feedback, mentoring was named the most needed leadership development programme as it allowed access to the guidance, knowledge and skills of senior principals. As for school leadership courses mentioned by school principals, financial management was considered as most useful. The study concludes by recommending suggestions to improve principals’ professional development programmes in Malaysia.

Exploratory Factor Analysis: Evaluating the Validity and Reliability of the Middle Leader Competency Model

“…These includes Singapore, Ireland, Brunei, the UK, and many more. In other words, the growing popularity of this trend proves that this method capable to uphold the excellence and effectiveness of middle leaders in schools (Lokman et al, 2021). This corresponds with the view of Silam et al (2020) who suggest identifying and developing the competencies of middle leaders needs to be done first before they can effectively carry out their roles and duties in schools.…”

Enhancing Quality Appointment, Preparation and Support System for Malaysian Principals

“…Tahir et al [47] have proposed a framework for principal professional development for principals. For continuous professional development, mentoring and coaching, informal discussion, benchmarking visits, continuous workshops, and effective leadership are seen as potential supporting programs.…”

“…Principals are also exposed to advanced syllabi for school-based management, such as financial management, school law, managing and developing staff, developing teacher competencies, managing conflict, managing school ICT facilities, instructional leadership and curriculum and assessment, and networking. These professional development courses can be conducted through sessions by retired/senior principals, seminars or conferences on school leadership, reflection, hands-on education, and practicality [47].…”

Linguistically Responsive Leaders: Working With Multilingual Students and Their Families

“…The literature specific to online professional development for education leaders consistently notes the limited research in this area (Grissom & Harrington, 2010), with further notations that oPD is seldom provided a digital format for education leadership (Bizzell, 2011). The existing literature around professional development specific to education leaders has been tied to beliefs and attitudes held by educator leaders (Boudreaux, 2015; Lutrick & Szabo, 2012; Moore & Kochan, 2013); identifying and addressing professional development needs for educational leadership (Allen & Weaver, 2014; Duncan, 2013; Duncan et al, 2011; Mohd Tahir et al, 2021; Ng & Szeto, 2016; Salazar, 2007), effectiveness of leadership professional development (Grissom & Harrington, 2010; Thannimalai & Raman, 2018) and the provision of teacher professional development by education leaders including implementation of technology (Dexter & Richardson, 2020; Nabhani et al, 2014; Sterrett & Richardson, 2020; Uğur & Koç, 2019; Vu et al, 2014). Here, too, there is evidence of a shift to collaborative formats in professional learning (Afshari et al, 2012; Wright & da Costa, 2016).…”