Novice principal mentoring and professional development

PurposeThis article explores the contribution of mentoring to the professional development of novice principals. Based on Abbott’s (1988) framework, the authors suggest that effective mentoring depends on the extent it develops professional core knowledge, which includes the skills of diagnosis, intervention and inference that are heavily based on academic knowledge, practical experience, self-awareness and reflective ability.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory qualitative methodology was applied to discover principals’ perceptions of their mentoring. The authors interviewed 15 novice principals about their mentoring events and conducted a category-based analysis to find out how these events reflect contributions to their diagnosis, intervention and inference skills.FindingsThe study found that most of the mentoring events provided support for the intervention skill, while ignoring the skills of diagnosis and inference. We suggest that to develop novice principals professionally, mentors should place similar emphasis on all three skills.Research limitations/implicationsThe small research population and its possible bias toward positive mentoring experience may present only part of the picture. Still, the data provided important insights into how mentoring supports (or not) professional skills development, even in the best cases. Using professional skills in a large sample survey of effective and less effective mentoring relationships would help to validate this framework.Practical implicationsFirst, the findings serve as a guideline for mentor training programs to help develop mentors’ ability to support all three professional skills. Second, the findings may help novice principals to evaluate their mentoring relationships and their contribution to developing professional core knowledge skills.Originality/valueThe professional skills framework adds to the principal mentoring literature by emphasizing the importance of diagnosis, intervention and inference skills, in addition to certain content and specific conditions.

Induction Program: An Effort to Improve Professionalism of Novice Principals

<p><em>School principals had a very important role to create schools which passed Indonesian students who were expected to be smart and competitive so that they could c</em><em>o</em><em>mpete in industrial revolution era 4.0. Being school principals was not an easy challenge, especially for novice principals. Transition from teachers to principals inflicted several problems. Therefore, induction program was needed by novice principals. The purpose of this article was to develop an understanding on the concept of induction program for novice principals as an effort to develop professionalism. This article was written based on the result of literature review on novice principals, induction program, and some relevant studies. This article concluded that induction program prepared novice principals to succeed as school principals who were capable to do their roles, main tasks, and functions so that their professionalism was developed. Novice principals would through professional learning process in which they learned to adapt themselves from being teachers to being school principals</em><em>.</em><em></em></p>

Initial Challenges and Possible Useful Countering Strategies: Perspectives From Malaysian Novice Principals

As school leaders, novice principals faced some challenges within the first years of their leadership journey. This mixed-methods study explores the initial challenges faced by novice principals while leading their schools. At the same time, their countering strategies in handling the initial challenges are also being explored. A total of 168 novice principals responded to all items within a questionnaire on their initial challenges and their useful strategies to overcome the challenges. In addition, 11 novice principals were interviewed for in-depth information on their challenges and possible strategies in overcoming them. Findings revealed that dealing with a previous principal’s legacy and heavy workloads were major challenges faced by novice principals. In terms of their countering strategies, novice principals employed various approaches such as organizing an initial meeting with teachers, getting parents involved in school activities, and sharing leadership practice.

What do we know about novice school principals? A systematic review of existing international literature

For much of the past half-century, scholars from various parts of the world have studied the early stages of school principals’ careers. This article presents the results of a review of research on novice principals (NPs) regarding its current status, intellectual structure and conceptual structure. The review conducted bibliometric and content analysis of relevant articles accessed through Scopus. The findings primarily concerned patterns in the knowledge production related to novice school principals. Our findings indicate that this line of research is still in its infancy, but has been growing rapidly in recent years. Related studies have mostly focused on three broad areas: preparation and development of NPs; NPs’ socialization process and the challenges they face; and NPs’ role in school improvement. Most of the related studies are found to be lacking in terms of a solid theoretical grounding. The implications of the results for the related literature are discussed.

Leveraging a Handbook for Principal Mentoring: Pathways in a District Context

Mentoring is one important construct to support novice principals in this time of change. This study investigates the impact of a district-developed handbook to support co-constructed mentoring practices and cultivate a learning culture within a suburban school district. The handbook offered a framework of interactive systems and tools for communication and relationship building including guiding questions for deep discussion and analysis of practices and culture, data collection, and webinars. Use of the handbook was perceived to deepen instructional leadership capacity and to foster the colearning of the leaders through shared experiences. An emerging emphasis on professional learning among the participants in the mentoring program was unanticipated. Implications of these findings are offered within a specific district context for cultural shifts and improved student outcomes.