Development programs for principals in the Schools of the Future: A cost and effectiveness overview

This thesis examines the cost and effectiveness of five selected targeted professional development programs for principals of pilot schools in the Victorian Schools of the Future (SOTF) program SOTF is a major reform of school management, being conducted by the Victorian Directorate of School Education, which entails a move from a centralised authority to a self-managing one. The programs: Charter Development, Principal Leadership, School Operations, Financial Management and Personnel Management, are chosen from the entire training program because they relate directly to the role of a principal in a SOTF, and in systems elsewhere.;Findings result from an analysis of qualitative and quantitative responses to items on a survey instrument. There were two items related to effectiveness, one which depended upon the extent to which a program met its stated objectives, and the other was a set of perceptions from a participant's perceptions and his/her objectives. The linking of quantitative and qualitative responses on effectiveness was informed by the Bolman and Deal framework of leadership behaviour. Analysis of questionnaire items showed that principals were strongest in their support of the Principal Leadership program. Further breakdown of data according to: Gender, Region, School Type, and Years of Experience, indicated these categories had very little significant effect on principals' perceptions of the effectiveness of the programs.;The purpose of this investigation is to consider an overview of the cost and effectiveness of targeted development programs in times of large scale reform in the work place. The research is concerned with the effectiveness of professional development programs from the perceptions of the participants, the extent to which the objectives of the development programs have been met, and to determine direct and opportunity costs associated with the programs. This study helps to document the cost of professional development in the reform by considering the resource allocated, by the central agency, to run professional development programs for school personnel, especially principals. This study's value lies in the fact that it will inform both the implementation of the SOTF and future policy formulation, as well as the development of similar reforms in Australia and overseas.