Abstract
The tasks that heads of schools play in the management and administration of schools are very important. Branch, Hanushek, and Rivkin (2009) conducted a research on school principals in the state of Texas. They discovered that there was a greater variance in the efficiency of principals in high poverty schools in comparison to other schools. As a result, they came to the conclusion that the most essential factor in those institutions was principle skill. According to Leithwood and Levin (2008), “coming to a reliable assessment of the consequences of leadership development, particularly on students, is an extremely hard process.” Estimating the influence that leadership has on an organization is fraught with conceptual and practical difficulties. This knowledge is not easily accessible, despite the fact that policy makers and educators have a pressing need to be aware of whether or not and how professional development can assist principals in acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively lead schools and, ultimately, improve student achievement. Nicholson, Harris-John, and Schimmel (2005) concluded that it was essential for principals to participate in ongoing professional development in order for schools to be able to lead students to higher levels of academic accomplishment. They also discovered that the majority of states required the same amount of professional development from principals, which was 18 hours spread out over the course of the school year. In addition, the findings of their research demonstrated that the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act were the primary factor in determining the content of professional development. The delivery of professional development was found to typically adhere to the conventional paradigm of short-term workshops delivered by a centralized body of knowledgeable individuals.
The caliber of an educator has a significant bearing on the academic growth and accomplishments of their students. Recent research has demonstrated that the professionalism of teachers is the single most important factor in determining student success (Meister, 2010; Pedder & Opfer, 2011). According to Hattie (2009), continuing professional development (CPD) comes in at number 19 on the list of the 150 elements that impact learning. In theory, successful continuing professional development (CPD) leads to enhanced teaching, which in turn improves learning.
It is believed that participation in professional development will have some effect on the teachers’ ability to acquire and critically develop the knowledge, skills, and emotional intelligence that are essential to good professional thinking and planning with their students and colleagues throughout every phase of their teaching lives (Buczynski & Hansen, 2010; Gabriel, Day & Allington, 2011). CPD would assist to equip teachers with appropriate skills for instructional delivery, refresh their knowledge, and expose them to new techniques and materials to meet the requirements of the realities of the work. CPD would help to equip teachers with relevant skills for instructional delivery (Bubb & Earley, 2007; Garuba, 2007). Building on new educational ideas and practices is necessary to assist educators in becoming more knowledgeable in their respective fields (Dadds, 2001). In order to ensure that teachers continue to perform at a high level, educational institutions are working to ensure that they have access to chances for ongoing professional development (OECD, 2009).
According to Powell, Terrell, Furey, and Scott-Evans (2003), the effects of instructors participating in professional development will be seen both immediately and over the long term. Their study on teachers’ impressions of the effect of continuous development showed that the majority of instructors recognized the immediate impact of professional development as the capacity to reflect more deeply in teaching. This was rated as the most important benefit of continuous development (Powell et al., 2003). It is claimed that the instructors’ capacity to reflect has helped them to better assess the efficacy of their own instruction. [Citation needed] On the other hand, instructors think that the experiences they’ve had with professional development have helped them acquire better confidence in their own teaching abilities over the long run (Buczynski & Hansen, 2010; Powell et al., 2003).
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