Designing a Model of Professional Competence of Managers Based on the Development of Creativity and Innovation in Primary Schools

Perpose: 

The aim of this study was to design a model of professional competence of principals based on the development of creativity and innovation in primary schools.

The method of the present study was a combination of exploratory type in which the qualitative method was performed using the underlying theory and the quantitative method was performed using the structural equation model. The statistical population of the study was in the quantitative part of all primary school principals in Tehran in the academic year 2019-20 and in the qualitative part of all experts in the field of education in Tehran. Sampling in the quantitative part using stratified stratified sampling method 196 managers of 22 districts of Tehran were selected and in the qualitative part 17 people were selected using purposive sampling with emphasis on the principle of theoretical saturation. The research tools in the qualitative part were in-depth semi-structured interviews with 5 questions and in the quantitative part of the researcher-made questionnaire to assess the components of manager’s professional competence. Since the content of the questionnaire shows the components that have the highest coefficient of importance, according to the approval of the questions by experts, the validity of the content of the questionnaire has been confirmed. The total alpha coefficient of the design questionnaire identifying the pattern of professional competence of principals based on the development of creativity and innovation in primary schools is 0.937 or 94% that the tool used has a good reliability. Data were collected in the qualitative section by grounded theory method and then analyzed by testing structural equation modeling using Smart PLS software.

The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the components of motivation, management, technology, attitude-behavioral, cognitive-skill components and indicators of professional competence of principals are based on the development of creativity and innovation in primary schools. Also, the model fit indices that were performed using the structural equation model showed that the research data had a suitable fit with the model of professional competence of principals based on the development of creativity and innovation in primary schools.

Based on the results of the research, attracting and employing competent managers, especially in the critical elementary school, requires the creation of a human resources system in which meritocracy prevails.