Primary school principals in Ethiopia: Selection and preparation

Abstract

The study is an explanatory qualitative research that seeks to investigate the processes of Ethiopian primary school principals’ selection and training for professionalising principals. The participants are seven faculty members, 11 school principals and five education officials. Data are collected through semi-structured interview, focus group discussion and document analysis that are analysed thematically. Findings of the study show that the denial of principalship to professional graduates and political affiliation lens are scenarios that inform principals’ selection for leadership positions. Selection criteria that give emphasis to university degree Grade Point Average (GPA), teaching experience and performance are deciding who is selected for postgraduate diploma in school leadership (PGDSL) training. These indicate the gap the selection processes have in selecting competent leaders for the training. The study also shows that the duration of the primary school principals’ training is short. Its curriculum lacks depth and breadth. Albeit the training helps trainees to be familiarised with school leading, it is deficient in informing principalship professionalisation. The Ministry of Education, therefore, needs to revisit the selection and training processes so that proper criteria and procedures, inform the selection and training of competent professionals needed in the area.

Procesos de selección de directores escolares en Latinoamérica: Brasil, Chile, Colombia y Perú

“…La dimensión política también forma parte de los procesos selectivos de directores. Un reciente estudio desarrollado en África, específicamente en Etiopía, muestra que los participantes con una afiliación política a fin a los miembros de la comisión electora tienen más posibilidades de obtener el cargo (Gurmu, 2019). La misma situación se experimenta en Indonesia (Bambang et al, 2015), siendo más prevalente la esfera política que la esfera profesional.…”

“…La misma situación se experimenta en Indonesia (Bambang et al, 2015), siendo más prevalente la esfera política que la esfera profesional. En el caso de Etiopía el criterio de desempeño docente y experiencia profesional en el aula es mayor a la experiencia como jefes de departamento o cargos de liderazgo medio al interior de la escuela (Gurmu, 2019). Esto podría ser una debilidad puesto que ser un profesor de alto desempeño no necesariamente es símil de un director exitoso (Naso, 2011).…”

Leadership Preparation in China: Providers’ Perspectives

“…Some programmes are well-established, for example in Singapore (Ng, 2008), Hong Kong (Ng & Szeto, 2016), England (T Bush, 2013) and the US (Fanoos & He, 2020;Fryer, 2011;Lazaridou, 2017), while others are more recent, such as those in Canada (A. D. Walker, Bryant, & Lee, 2013), Germany (Klein & Schanenberg, 2020) and South Africa (Gurmu, 2020;Okoko, 2020;Okoko, Scott, & Scott, 2015). Bush (2008) made a strong call for principal preparation describing leadership preparation as a 'moral obligation'.…”

Can the tahfidzul-qur’an education system (T-QES) create leadership with integrity? NVivo 12 analysis

“…Leadership integrity is meant to guide followers towards achieving a common goal and creating a system where there is happiness and contentment for all. It must be governed by honesty and integrity with an obligation to protect its followers (Ahmed, 2020;Gurmu, 2020;Thien et al, 2021).…”