Designing professional development for principals in a context of change: the case of Abu Dhabi

Abstract

Schools in Abu Dhabi are going through a period of transformation and reform. The Abu Dhabi Education Council commenced a professional development plan for principals to enhance their capabilities to manage and initiate change in light of the reforms. This study was conducted to explore principals’ perspectives on professional development received. The research focused on anticipated areas of improvement as far as professional development design. Findings identify areas of improvement in terms of design related to content and process. The research employed a qualitative exploratory case-study approach. Semi-structured interviews, as tools for data collection, were contextualized within the framework of policies and decrees relevant to principal professional development. Interviews with 16 principals in different educational settings form the main source of data collection and analysis. Recommendations presented in this paper support the need for a more proactive stance in designing professional development that supports school principals to implement change.

Keywords:

• school reform
• public policy
• professional development
• principal leadership
• professional development design

Notes

1. The Public Private Partnership project launched by ADEC in 2006 was designed to lay foundations for the New School Model introduced in the lower grades and designed to boost education standards. The partnership was established on a three-year contract basis where private operators would help the school achieve standardized goals to improve students’ performance and align teaching practices to international methods (http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/schools-ppp-future-to-be-revealed-soon).

2. A long-term plan for the transformation of the Emirate’s economy, including a reduced reliance on the oil sector as a source of economic activity over time and a greater focus on knowledge-based industries in the future.

3. Arabic word meaning leadership.

4. A plan that shows how the school intends to improve facilities and resources, all aspects of provision including the quality of teaching and the progress and achievement of students (ADEC 2012c, p. 7).

5. All schools in the city of Abu Dhabi are gender segregated. Common schools include more than one cycle. Common schools are a combination of two or three of the following: kindergarten, Cycle 1, Cycle 2 and Cycle 3. Common schools in Cycles 2 and 3 are gender based. Two common co-educational Cycle 1 schools in Abu Dhabi are a combination of kindergarten and Cycle 1.