How Far Do Master’s Degrees In Education Contribute To The Success Of School Principals In Alberta? And How Might These Programs Be Improved?

Kowalchyk, W (2017) How Far Do Master’s Degrees In Education Contribute To The Success Of School Principals In Alberta? And How Might These Programs Be Improved? Doctor of Education thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

The role of the school principal has changed significantly over the years, from school managers to instructional leaders (Blase, Blase and Phillips 2012). The principal’s roles and responsibilities have garnered political attention as policies and regulations are set in place in order to achieve success (Brundrett, 2001). For example, the United States and its centrally driven ‘No Child Left Behind’ policy made significant demands on all schools and school principals. Most training programmes began in the 19th century, with contemporary programmes continuing the work initiated in the 1960s in leading US universities (Brundrett, 2001). How far programmes such as Master’s of Education degrees have kept up with the new realities of the modern principal is an important question (Hallinger, 2013).   Since M.Ed. degrees are considered by many school districts as qualifications for principal positions, my research investigation has focused on how they contribute to principals’ success in the Canadian province of Alberta. The aim of the study is to determine what the contribution of M.Ed. degree study is to school principal success. The objective is to identify the ways in which M.Ed.’s can be changed to improve their effectiveness in developing good leaders.             The research study will blend two methodologies. Firstly, there is a documentary analysis of the masters programmes taken by Alberta principals, while a consideration of the application requirements of school boards will open the study and identify the main pillars of principal efficacy and success looked for in Alberta as well as the M.Ed. programmes offered (whether online, on-the-ground, or a blend). Secondly a qualitative interview base of research will develop a depth of understanding in how successful M.Ed. programmes are for school principals and provide a range of information from which to draw from the documentary analysis which identifies M.Ed. programmes as a requirement.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctor of Education)
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	23 Aug 2017 10:34
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 07:02
DOI:	10.17638/03008122
Supervisors:	Qualter, A
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3008122