Need for Enriching School Principal Training Programs in Light of Total Quality Management - A Case of Turkey

Abstract

School principals are expected to carry out many duties such as realizing the strategic aims, mission, and vision of the schools, maximizing school performance, maintaining discipline in schools and have many skills and knowledge in management processes. In preschool settings, principals need more training and have understanding of early child education because they have influence on teachers, students, and school context. That’s why quality of principal training programs is very crucial for school progression. This research aimed to determine and analyze the principal qualification requirements of preschools in Turkey. The results of this research will help universities to enrich their education management master and PhD degree programs and contribute to the General Directorate of Teacher Training and Development in Turkey during the organization process of the Education Management Certificate Program to meet the principal qualification requirements of preschools.

1. Introduction

School principals are expected to carry out many duties such as realizing the strategic aims, mission, and vision of the school, maximizing school performance, maintaining discipline, facilitating human relations, evaluation and conciliation in schools and have many skills and knowledge in laws and rules of Ministry of Education, management processes and practices, group dynamics, content of the curricula, program evaluation and development [1, 2]. School leaders and their preparation have impact on school quality and school outcomes. Principals have influence on teachers, student achievement, and school context so that they need knowledge and understanding of early child education [3, 4]. If the principals get more training in early childhood, they feel more confident in supervision of the prekindergartens [5]. In this sense, principal preparation programs are very important aspect of school development and progression [6].

When the regulations prepared for the recruitment of school administrators in Turkey before 2021 are examined, it is seen that to be successful in the selection exam for the appointment of school administrators, having minimum 3 years of experience as a teacher, not having received disciplinary penalty and good seniority characteristics are seen to come to the forefront. There was no mandatory training program or in-service course that school principals had to attend in order to be appointed. However, in order to train school principals who want to improve themselves academically, universities (through postgraduate study programs), Institute of Public Administration of Turkey and the Middle East (through TODAİE Specialization Program), and National Ministry of Education (in-service training activities) were trying to provide the necessary support to the teachers. With the amendment made in the Regulation on Selecting and Assigning Administrators to schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education, training to get Educational Management Certificate was made compulsory for candidates who want to be appointed as principal or assistant principals in educational institutions on February 2021 [7]. The following general conditions are sought for those who will be appointed as school principal: having undergraduate degree, working as a teacher in the Ministry staff, getting Education Management Certificate, and being successful in the oral and written exams specified in this Regulation in terms of those who will be appointed to the management for the first time.

Written exam topics and weights are:

1. General culture: 20%.

2. Atatürk’s principles and revolution history: 10%.

3. Values education: 10%.

4. Ethics in education and training: 10%.

5. Educational sciences: 30%.

6. Legislation 20%.

Oral exam topics and weights are.

1. Written exam subjects (legislation and general culture): 20%,

2. Comprehending and summarizing a topic, ability to express, and judgment: 20%,

3. Representation ability, merit, attitude, and behavior suitability for the task: 20%,

4. Self-confidence, ability to persuade, and persuasiveness: 20%,

5. Openness to scientific and technological developments: 20%.

The principal candidates can attend to the education management certificate program within the scope of distance or face-to-face education. The content of the education management certificate program includes

• Introduction to education management.

• Functions and features of educational institutions.

• Instructor management 1: recruitment, distribution of duties, and motivation.

• Instructor management 2: professional development, observation, performance evaluation, and feedback.

• Quality curriculum management and accreditation.

• Project management and change.

• Financial considerations.

The Educational Administration Certificate will be valid for 8 years from the year following the date of receipt. Those who currently serve as administrators in schools will continue to do so until their 4-year assignment ends. Candidates who want to apply for a second 4-year assignment from these people will need to attend the education management certificate program before the end of their first 4-year term successfully complete the training and get the certificate. The managerial duties of the principals who did not participate in the Education Management Certificate Program and those who did not succeed will end at the end of the 4-year period. Necessary arrangements and organization process for the Education Management Certificate Program are still in progress. Also, having a master degree or PhD degree in educational administration will contribute to final selection process of the principals with extra point advantage.

In order to graduate from the Educational Administration Master’s Program of a university in Turkey, students must

• receive seven courses with a minimum of 21 credits (at least two compulsory courses), one “Seminar” course, “Research Methods and Scientific Ethics” course (Tables 1 and 2).

• defend their thesis works successfully.

• be successful in all courses with at least a CB degree, have taken a minimum of 120 ECTS credits, and have a Weighted Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 2.50/4.00.

Course name	Credits
Leadership in educational organizations	3
Organizational behavior	3
Scientific ethic in research methods	2
Seminar	0

Table 1.

Compulsory courses in educational administration master’s program.

Turkish Educational System	3	Conflict Management in Educational Organizations	3
Educational Systems in Turkey and EU	3	Educational Discrimination	3
Social Theory and Education	3	Ethic in Education and Instruction	3
Education in Political Theories	3	Equality in Education	3
Performance Evaluation	3	History of Educational Administration in Turkish Educational System	3
Organizational Communication	3	Educational Law	3
Preventive Counseling in Educational Systems and Preservative Factors in Administration	3	New Approaches in Educational Administration	3
School Administration	3	Qualitative Research Methodology	3
School Management	3	Advanced Statistics and Its Applications	3
Human Resources Management	3	Scientific Research Method and Techniques	3
Educational Planning	3	Educational Supervision	3
Total Quality Management in Education	3	Introduction to Educational Administration	3
Curriculum Development and Evaluation in Education	3	Educational Politics	3
Quality Implementation in Education	3	Human Relations in Educational Administration	3
Educational Economy	3	Changing Management in Educational Organizations	3

Table 2.

Elective courses in educational administration master’s program.

1.1 Theoretical framework

The total quality management (TQM) is a management philosophy that involves all the shareholders of an organization to produce quality products and services. The thoughts of W. Edwards Deming, Joseph M. Juran, and Philip B. Crosby form the fundamentals of TQM. These researchers conducted their studies in Japan and in the United States about quality control. TQM was developed for business initially, but it has a wide application in education institutions to deliver higher-quality services to students [8, 9]. Top management leadership, responsibility of everyone for quality, avoiding the mistake, not finding fault, making the first attempt right, continuous improvement, improving efficiency, reducing defects and the costs, benchmarking, satisfaction of internal and external customers, concentration on the process, and being scientific are the basic elements of total quality management [10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15]. Involvement of students, instructors, parents, employers, and society as stakeholders of education in continuous development, focusing on their expectations and meeting their needs are essential in total quality management [8, 15]. The application of core principals and processes of total quality management in the process of curriculum development is essential [16]. Education faculties, focusing on quality education can advance the twenty-first-century skills of their graduates and achieve higher success of being preferred by the students.

There are state and private preschools implementing national curriculum and also British, Canadian, and American culture preschools implementing international programs such as bilingual education, Waldorf, European Language Portfolio, Montessori, Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) in Turkey. The Ministry of Education and the universities should consider the principal qualification requirements of preschools during the process of designing, updating, and developing principal training programs. There is a scarcity of research in the literature about the school principals’ recruitment and training in Turkey. The existing ones belong to years before 2018 [17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22]. When the studies on the selection of school administrators in Turkey are examined, it is seen that most of the studies are on the need to improve the implementation of the education system. For this reason, the research studies on the subject have not gone beyond being theoretical.

2. Method

2.1 Aim of the research

This research aimed to determine and analyze the principal qualification requirements of national and international preschools in Turkey such as sociodemographic features, work experience in school management, education level, soft skills, and hard skills.

2.2 Sample

Data were obtained from principal recruitment advertisements of 105 preschools implementing Turkish National Pre-School Curriculum and 15 preschools implementing international programs on the websites of the preschools, on the most popular job search sites, and in newspapers between May 2021 and April 2022.

2.3 Data analysis

The results of this qualitative research were analyzed and interpreted with document analysis method carefully and systematically [23, 24]. All physical documents, existing documents, participant, non-participant observations, and interviews can be analyzed together in the process of document analysis [25].

3. Results

The findings of the research are presented under the categories of principal qualification requirements of the preschools as.

• sociodemographic features,

• work experience,

• education level,

• soft skills and,

• hard skills.

3.1 Sociodemographic features

Results of the data analysis about the sociodemographic features of the principals sought by the preschools showed that both type of preschools implementing Turkish National curriculum and international programs prefer to recruit school principals between ages 25 and 40 (79.17% in total) and both type of preschools accept female or male principals (87.5% in total) (Table 3).

	Preschools implementing Turkish National Curriculum (n = 105)		Preschools implementing international programs (n = 15)		Total (120)
	(f)	(%)	(f)	(%)	(f)	(%)
Age
25–40	87	82.86^*	8	53.30^*	95	79.17^*
41–65	18	17.14	7	46.7	25	20.83
Gender
Female	15	14.29	0	0	15	12.5
Male	0	0	0	0	0	0
Female or Male	90	85.71^*	15	100^*	105	87.5^*

Table 3.

The sociodemographic features of the preschool principals.

* and bold shows the highest values.

3.2 Duration of work experience in school management

Principals having minimum 2–3 years of experience in school management are mostly preferred by the preschools implementing Turkish National curriculum and international programs (Table 4).

	Preschools implementing Turkish National Curriculum (n = 105)		Preschools implementing international programs (n = 15)		Total (120)
	(f)	(%)	(f)	(%)	(f)	(%)
Experience Year
Minimum 2–3 years of management experience at a school of Ministry of Education	69	65.71^*	8	53.33^*	77	64.17
4–25 years of management experience	33	31.43	6	40	39	32.5
Not stated	3	2.86	1	6.67	4	3.33

Table 4.

The work experience of the principals in preschool management.

* and bold shows the highest values.

3.3 Education level

Research analysis showed that both types of preschools prefer to recruit school principals who hold diploma of preschool teaching undergraduate degree and are suitable for appointment criteria of Ministry of Education (87.5% in total) (Table 5).

	Preschools implementing Turkish National Curriculum (105)		Preschools implementing international programs (15)		Total (120)
	(f)	(%)	(f)	(%)	f	%
Education level
Diploma of Pre-school Teaching Undergraduate Degree and Suitable for MEB appointment criteria	93	88.58^*	12	80^*	105	87.5^*
Diploma of Psychology Undergraduate Degree	6	5.71	0	0	6	5
Postgraduate education (Master / PhD)	6	5.71	2	13.33	8	6.67
Undergraduate Diploma in English Language and Literature, American Language and Literature, English Language Teaching of universities	0	0	1	6.67	1	0.83

Table 5.

The education level of the preschool principals.

* shows the highest values.

3.4 Soft skills

Analysis of data showed that preschools implementing Turkish National curriculum and international programs expect to recruit school principals having 33 different soft skills. Mostly preferred soft skills of the school principals are having positive energy/being energetic (94.17%), having team management skills (90.83%), being devoted/tolerant/flexible working hours on overtime (86.67%), having management and leadership skills (86.67%), being productive/creative (84.17%), being open to continuous improvement and innovation (80.83%), having strong communication skills (80%), loving and understanding children (79.17%), and having coordination skills (77.5%) (Table 6).

	Preschools implementing Turkish National Curriculum (105)		Preschools implementing international programs (15)		Total (120)
	(f)	(%)	(f)	(%)	f	%
Soft skills
1. Management and leadership skills	89	84.76^*	15	100^*	104	86.67^*
2. Strong representation	27	25.71	0	0	27	22.5
3. Have organizational skills	24	22.86	6	40	30	25
4. Have planning skills	27	25.71	0	0	27	22.5
5. Have coordination skills	81	77.14^*	12	80^*	93	77.5^*
6. Tracking direction improved	18	17.14	0	0	18	15
7. Can think analytically	30	28.57	9	60^*	39	32.5
8. Solution oriented/problem solving skills	27	25.71	11	73.33^*	38	31.67
9. Crisis management skills	18	17.14	12	80^*	30	25
10. Strong Communication skills	81	77.14 ^*	15	100 ^*	96	80^*
11. Persuasion skill	3	2.86	9	60^*	12	10
12. Devoted/tolerant/flexible working hours on overtime	90	85.71^*	14	93.33^*	104	86.67^*
13. Open to continuous improvement and innovation	84	80^*	13	86.67^*	97	80.83^*
14. Visionary	3	2.86	0	0	3	2.5
15. Have team management skills	96	91.43 ^*	13	86.67 ^*	109	90.83^*
16. Achievement-oriented	12	11.43	0	0	12	10
17. With a career plan	41	39.05	8	53.33^*	49	40.83
18. Loves the teaching profession	36	34.29	0	0	36	30
19. Loving and understanding children	83	79.05	12	80^*	95	79.17^*
20. Productive /creative	91	86.67^*	10	66.67^*	101	84.17^*
21. That can make empathy	18	17.14	0	0	18	15
22. Thinking fast and making effective decisions	9	8.57	0	0	9	7.5
23. Respectful to herself and her job/work discipline	18	17.14	8	53.33^*	26	21.67
24. Loves to share	17	16.19	0	0	17	14.17
25. Genial	15	14.29	0	0	15	12.5
26. Sympathetic	27	25.71	0	0	27	22.5
27. Have positive energy/energetic	98	93.33^*	15	100^*	113	94.17^*
28. Gives importance to his/her clothing, well-groomed,	29	27.62	9	60^*	38	31.67
29. Non smoking	18	17.14	0	0	18	15
30. Good Diction	21	20	0	0	21	17.5
31. Tidy	12	11.43	0	0	12	10
32. Responsible	19	18.10	0	0	19	15.83
33. Have patience	24	22.86	0	0	24	20

Table 6.

Soft skills of principal.

* and bold shows the highest values.

3.5 Hard skills

Mostly preferred hard skills of school principals by the preschools implementing Turkish National curricula in order are being able to use computer programs such as MEBBIS, KURUMNET, E-School (100%), having good command of today’s educational technologies and computer literacy (98.1%), having good command of Ministry of Education legislation and official procedures (97.14%), knowing contemporary education methods (48.57%), having fluent English (47.62%), having competent knowledge in the field of developmental psychology (39.05%), and having competent knowledge in the field of behavioral sciences (28.57%) (Table 7).

	Preschools implementing Turkish National Curriculum (105)		Preschools implementing international programs (15)		Total (120)
	(f)	(%)	(f)	(%)	(f)	(%)
Hard skills
Fluent English	50	47.62^*	9	60^*	59	49.17^*
Good command of MEB legislation and official procedures	102	97.14^*	6	40	108	90^*
Good command of international education programs	10	9.52	15	100^*	25	20.83
Good command of today’s educational technologies and computer literacy	103	98.1^*	11	73.33^*	114	95^*
Competent knowledge in the field behavioral sciences	30	28.57	0	0	30	25
Competent knowledge in the field of developmental psychology	41	39.05	0	0	41	34.17
Knowing contemporary education methods	51	48.57^*	13	86.67^*	64	53.33^*
Able to use MEBBIS, KURUM NET, E-SCHOOL programs	105	100^*	0	0	105	87.5^*

Table 7.

The hard skills of the preschool principals.

* shows the highest values.

Mostly preferred hard skills of school principals by the preschools implementing International programs in order are having good command of international education programs (100%), knowing contemporary education methods (86.67%), having good command of today’s educational technologies and computer literacy (73.33%), having fluent English (60%), and having good command of Ministry of Education legislation and official procedures (40%) (Table 7).

4. Discussion and conclusion

Due to the gap in the literature about the school principal qualification requirements of preschools for their recruitment in Turkey, this research aimed to determine the school principal qualification requirements of national and international preschools. Data were obtained from principal recruitment advertisements of 105 preschools implementing Turkish National Pre-School Curriculum and 15 preschools implementing international programs on the websites of the preschools, on the most popular job search sites, and in newspapers between May 2021 and April 2022. The document analysis of the data showed that both type of preschools implementing Turkish National curriculum and international programs prefer to recruit school principals between ages 25 and 40, and they accept applications from female or male candidates. School principals having minimum 2–3 years of experience in school management and holding diploma of preschool teaching undergraduate degree and suitable for appointment criteria of Ministry of Education are mostly preferred by the preschools.

Preschools implementing Turkish National curriculum and international programs expect to recruit school principals having 33 different soft skills. Mostly preferred soft skills of the school principals are having positive energy/being energetic, having team management skills, being devoted/tolerant/flexible working hours on overtime, having management and leadership skills, being productive/creative, being open to continuous improvement and innovation, having strong communication skills, loving and understanding children, and having coordination skills. Soft skills include emotional intelligence, social skills, communication skills, character traits, interpersonal people skills, attitudes, and career attributes [26]. When the contents of the education management certificate program of Turkish Ministry of Education and the education management master programs offered by the universities (Tables 1 and 2) are examined, it is seen that there are no courses fostering the soft skills of the candidate school principals. There are a lot of common problems about the soft skills in different countries [27] such as

• No focus on the development of soft skills and insufficient involvement of the employers during the design of educational programs

• Problem about the evaluation and also observation of soft skills

• The difference between the expectations, demand of the labor market, and the soft skills of graduates

Educational programs have to refocus on development of the soft skills of the graduates [27]. Soft skill development can be infused to the curriculum process of teacher education at the universities [28].

Mostly preferred hard skills of school principals by the preschools implementing Turkish National curriculum in order are being able to use MEBBIS, KURUMNET, E-School programs, having good computer literacy and a command of today’s educational technologies, having good command of Ministry of Education legislation and official procedures, knowing contemporary education methods, having fluent English, having competent knowledge in the field of developmental psychology, and having competent knowledge in the field of behavioral sciences. Mostly preferred hard skills of school principals by the preschools implementing International programs in order are having good command of international education programs, knowing contemporary education methods, having a command of today’s educational technologies, good computer literacy, fluent English, and good command of Ministry of Education legislation and official procedures. When the contents of the education management certificate program of Turkish Ministry of Education and the education management master programs offered by the universities (Tables 1 and 2) are examined, it is seen that there are no courses teaching and improving the knowledge of candidate school principals about the education technologies, international educational programs, English as a foreign language, and developmental psychology in these programs. There are many studies in the literature suggesting the digital leadership and technological knowledge of the school principals to establish and implement technology in their school and become technology leaders to increase the technology literacy and teaching effectiveness of teachers [29, 30]. School principal preparation programs should address technology leadership so that school principals can be better prepared to implement technology in their schools effectively [31].

Implementing an international curriculum in a school helps students to understand the priorities, characteristics, environmental, health, safety, economic, and political issues of other nations and to gain international mindedness. International mindedness is defined as “the openness and curiosity toward people of the world and other cultures and an effort to reach a deep level of understanding of the complexity and diversity of human interactions.” There are many preschools implementing international curricula in Turkey. If the candidate school principals are trained about international education programs, they will find an opportunity to be recruited in an international preschool [32, 33], and also they can foster the academic growth of their students from other countries.

In the globalizing world, the importance given to communication has gradually exceeded national borders. For various reasons such as doing trade, developing tourism, being aware of innovations in the field of education and science, it has become a necessity to learn at least one foreign language for all citizens of the world in order to benefit from the changes and developments in other countries by establishing international relations [34]. English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. The English language is becoming increasingly important as a means of communication and interaction between different cultures. School principals who speak English can support and supervise teachers of English language learners effectively, increase their communication with students and their families from different cultures in their schools.

Developmental psychology examines the stages of physical, mental, and social development that occur in prenatal, infancy, childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age. The thought, emotion, and behavior changes that individuals experience throughout their lives and the hereditary or environmental factors that affect these stages are among the main topics of developmental psychology. Training of school principal candidates about developmental psychology will be a factor that facilitates their communication with students, teachers, and parents, understanding their problems and finding solutions to these problems.

5. Further suggestions

On the basis of results of this research, the following suggestions can be made:

• Researchers in other countries can adapt this study to their own country context to find out school principal qualification requirements of the preschools and evaluate the competencies of the school principals, principal assistants, and also the principal candidate teachers based on the expectations of preschools.

• The researchers can do studies with the instructors of educational faculties to determine how to infuse the topic of developing soft skills of graduates into learning programs and education management curricula.

• The Ministry of Education and the universities can add technology, international education programs, English, developmental psychology courses to the curricula of Education management certificate programs and Education Administration postgraduate programs to meet the principal qualification requirements of schools.

Conflict of interest

“The authors declare no conflict of interest.”