Hong Kong Principal Professional Development: Context, Challenges, and Opportunities

Abstract

The authors review the current school principal leadership development program in Hong Kong and analyze the challenges and opportunities based on existing scholarly work in the field. Based on the previous analysis from the literature, five areas in current principal leadership development are identified as key dimensions which need further improvement: vice principals’ career aspirations, the influence of societal culture on Hong Kong principals’ professional development, professional development needs of newly appointed principals, university-central authority-leader partnership, and principals’ influence on school performance and teachers’ professional development. Combined with the findings from other literature in the Hong Kong context, it is shown that these areas are essential to the success of effective principal professional development in Hong Kong but they have not been sufficiently studied and practiced. This study could shed light on the future development of school principal leadership training in the Hong Kong context.