Analysis of School Administrator Perceptions of the Professional Development Appraisal System to Improve Leadership Capacity

Having an effective principal leading every school is critical to ensuring schools’ effectiveness (Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2003). It is well documented that there is a misalignment between assistant principal training and their future role as principal (Austin & Brown, 1970; Bloom & Krovets; 2001, Bartlett, 2011; Celikten, 2001; Hogue, 1999; Koru, 1993). Results from this study will help prepare administrators for these tasks and encourage principals to involve their assistants in all aspects of leading the school. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast assistant principals’ and principals’ perceptions about the purpose and practice of the Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS) process. The focus of this study is to determine differences in assistant principals’ and principals’ perceptions of PDAS as an effective instrument and the implications for enhancing leadership training of assistant principals for their future role as principals. The findings from this study indicate that the pre-service training, induction and on the job training for assistant principals are inadequate for their future role as campus instructional leader. The need for improved teacher appraiser training and recalibration was also noted. Additionally, the research revealed that the efficacy of the PDAS tool is largely dependent on the practices of the appraiser. Recommendations include: ongoing mentors to guide, prepare and empower assistant principals; in-box activities for assistant principals to develop leadership skills; training for principals in the area of leadership development to allow for a less constricted view of campus leadership for assistants; job-embedded, planned opportunities to experience full leadership; training for principals on the best mentoring and grooming practices to empower assistant principals; intentional, strategic human resources planning to build assistant principals’ leadership capacity; job-embedded development on how to shape campus culture, conduct transformational leadership, facilitate improvement and be a steward of ongoing learning; extended internship experiences for administrators-in-training; more specific teacher appraiser re-certification, appraiser calibration, teacher conferencing collaboration and appraiser refresher requirements for quality implementation of the process; additional training on the purpose of and proper implementation of the PDAS system and the use of a variety of teacher effectiveness measures.