- Reference: EDU2014-53175-P
- Category: Project of the National Plan for Research, Development and Innovation (R + D + i)
- PI’s: Marita Sánchez-Moreno and Julián López-Yáñez
- Duration: from 2015, until 2017
The aim of this project is to develop a training program for school directors and university managers based on the analysis of their practice and coaching. More specifically, and based on the hypothesis that training programs that incorporate the analysis of practice and coaching promote a better adjustment of the professional performance of managers to the needs of their institutions, it is expected to achieve an improvement in competencies such as educational leaders of the participants in the program.
The program includes as a substantial element a diagnostic instrument called “Inventory of Competencies for School Management” (CPSM in its acronym in English), which will be subjected to an experimental pilot test that will determine its value in terms of internal consistency, reliability, comparison with complementary instruments, construct validity, predictive validity, social validity, design validity and economy. Additionally, the project will analyze the degree to which both devices – inventory and training program – jointly achieve the objectives that are proposed in terms of learning and improvement of managerial practice. This will be carried out through an investigation based on questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, observation and analytical records of the participants.
The research team participated in the design and piloting of the initial versions of both the training program and the diagnostic instrument that serves as the basis, within the framework of a project financed by the Lifelong Learning Program, Comenius Multilateral and developed by an international consortium of ten research groups, including ours. The aim of this project is to elaborate improved versions of both devices based on the lessons learned in the aforementioned international project, as well as to extend its implementation to a greater number of groups in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia. The project includes the participation of a total of 90 managers in training and 15 trainers. Based on the results, our team will propose a definitive design of the aforementioned devices that will be ready to be transferred to our educational system.
Specifically, the main beneficiaries of the results will be the Spanish educational administrations and more specifically the Teacher Centers and other bodies in charge of the continuous training of school leaders.
On the other hand, the main scientific impact expected is a significant advance in knowledge about the design of educational leader training programs. This knowledge will be discussed within the framework of the international network of research groups formed under the international project mentioned above. The direct participation in the project as evaluators and external advisors of three members of this network raises a clear guarantee of internationalization of the results of the project.
