Implication of effective school management for the continuing professional development of teachers

Abstract

In this paper we presented research findings about the implication of effective school managementfor the continuing professional development of teachers. Empirical data for research in which quantitative,non–experimental, descriptive research method was applied, were collected from a random sample of 1162respondents from 92 primary schools in Serbia. The primary purpose was to research relations between theperception of effective school management and: (a) teachers participation in continuing professionaldevelopment programs, (b) possibility of teachers to participate in continuing professional developmentprograms, (c) possibility of teachers to fulfill their educational needs through participation in continuingprofessional development programs, (d) the prospect of teachers to apply knowledge acquired in continuingprofessional development programs. The effective school management indicators we considered: (a) strategicorientation of school management, (b) leadership style, (c) organizational climate, and (d) relations of schoolmanagement to their employees (teachers) regarding continuing professional development.Accordingly, the basic techniques for gathering data were questioning and scaling by the instrumentdesigned as a survey comprised of questionnaire and modified five–point Likert–type scales. The appliedinstruments showed high reliability; the instrument for gathering data about teachers’ perception of effectiveschool management consisted of 22 items (Cronbach's =0.817), while the instrument for gathering data aboutteachers’ participation in continuing professional development programs consisted of 25 items (Cronbach's=0.833). The collected data were subjected to a few common (frequencies, std. deviation, mean, etc.) andmore complex statistical proceedings (canonical correlation analysis). The findings suggest that effectiveschool management has the capacity to affect: the possibility of teachers to meet their educational needsthrough participation in continuing professional development programs, teachers’ satisfaction with continuingprofessional development programs, and to help teachers to apply knowledge acquired in continuingprofessional development programs. These findings have important andragogic and pedagogical implications,especially in the fields of management in education and human resource development.