Continuing Professional Development Needs of Headteachers

Research method

A five-strand methodology was used. The first strand was a literature review on headteachers’ CPD in the UK and internationally. The second strand was conducted through an online survey of headteachers with different levels of experience, for example new headteachers (in post for two years or less), established headteachers (in post eight years or more), and a middle range (in post between two and eight years). The third strand involved interviews with 36 new and established headteachers and the fourth strand took the form of interviews with CPD co-ordinators in 25 education authorities. The final strand involved consulting a contact stakeholder group.

Key findings

General

• The degree and quality of local support for headteachers’ CPD varies across Scotland and between education authorities.
• There is greater scope for collaboration between CPD providers, which would be valued by headteachers.
• Headteachers have a strong interest in developing their ability to empower staff and share leadership by encouraging and facilitating initiative, responsibility and decision making amongst school staff and others. New headteachers showed a marked interest in coaching as a technique for building leadership capacity and dispersing leadership.
• The management skills needed most by headteachers include support with professional development for underachieving staff, and learning and teaching.
• Headteachers value professional development through interaction and networking with colleagues as well as the ‘knowledge input’ from expert speakers. It is important to recognise that interaction outside the profession can be valuable in facilitating challenge or disturbance that extends learning.
• Headteachers identified a need for more time and opportunities for reflection.
• Headteachers value a number of CPD opportunities, including the chance to shape education policy or take up external roles, such as school inspectors.
• Headteachers’ perceptions of the degree to which barriers exist to accessing CPD are varied. Barriers identified were: the demands of the job preventing people taking part in CPD, limited budgets and staffing problems.

New headteachers

• New headteachers have the greatest perceived need for CPD, particularly in the technical challenges of the post (eg staffing issues, teaching and learning), leadership, sustaining/rebuilding confidence, mentoring, induction and better information on CPD opportunities.

Established headteachers

• The perceived need for CPD is less for established headteachers. However, many would like CPD in leadership, sabbaticals, secondments and time for reflection.

Recommendations

• Consistency of provision.  All headteachers should be provided with an appropriate level and quality of CPD. New headteachers need consistency of support so that all are offered mentoring, induction and a structured framework for CPD.

• Equity of access. Consideration should be given to how those with barriers to participation (eg because of problems with workload, time, budgets or distance from CPD locations) can be supported.

• Engagement of headteachers. Enabling headteachers to become fully engaged in both the planning and delivery of CPD is likely to increase its relevance and effectiveness.

• Needs of new headteachers. New headteachers should have opportunities to develop technical knowledge and skills such as management of teaching and learning and staffing issues.

• Leadership development. Priorities are knowledge and understanding of leadership, and dispersing leadership.

• Management skills. Priorities are the ability to deal with underachieving staff and developing systems for the management and evaluation of effective learning and teaching.

• System leadership. Consideration should be given to developing headteachers in external roles, for example with the local authorities via secondments, network activity, or working groups.

• Multiple pathways to learning. Greater attention should be placed on co-operative learning, for example through active learning communities and improving pedagogy of CPD provision, ie CPD that takes account of their current knowledge and needs.

• Time for reflection. Time for reflection is a priority, and different aspects should be considered, eg time for reflection within CPD activities, time in other settings and focused retreats.

• Challenge. Opportunities are needed that ‘disturb’ accepted notions and everyday assumptions.

• Support for collaboration. There is scope for greater collaboration between CPD providers.  Partnership arrangements are likely to be valued by headteachers.

• Information on CPD opportunities. Headteachers require information on the range of opportunities available and need to have sufficient and accurate information the content of CPD activity.