Designing professional development for principals in a context of change: the case of Abu Dhabi

Abstract

Schools in Abu Dhabi are going through a period of transformation and reform. The Abu Dhabi Education Council commenced a professional development plan for principals to enhance their capabilities to manage and initiate change in light of the reforms. This study was conducted to explore principals’ perspectives on professional development received. The research focused on anticipated areas of improvement as far as professional development design. Findings identify areas of improvement in terms of design related to content and process. The research employed a qualitative exploratory case-study approach. Semi-structured interviews, as tools for data collection, were contextualized within the framework of policies and decrees relevant to principal professional development. Interviews with 16 principals in different educational settings form the main source of data collection and analysis. Recommendations presented in this paper support the need for a more proactive stance in designing professional development that supports school principals to implement change.