Principal’s preparation and professional development programs: Case study in Henan, China

Abstract

Principal preparation and professional development are generally viewed as the catalyst to school improvement. In China, the educational leadership practice is in the process of exploration and development. Therefore, this present article studies the challenges of school principal’s preparation and professional development programs in facilitating the practise of educational leadership. With the intention to explore the scenario of the leadership practise, three regions in Henan province were chosen for their suitability to the study background. Qualitative study was started with open-ended questionnaires by 37 principals, followed up with semi-structured interviews to 17 principals. The data was then transcribed to allow the essence from the sharing of experience to be extracted. There are four major challenges discussed in the article: resistance to innovative reform, accountabilities and authorities, funding, and teacher management. This study seeks to identify the challenges arising from the leadership practise and constructive recommendations to be taken for attention for a better practise and principal quality in the future.