The model of self-improvement of principals of primary schools in Isfahan city

 With the increasing complexities of the 21st century and the numerous challenges of organizations, business, training programs, and the development of managers' capabilities at different levels of management, it is considered the most important and valuable goal of organizations (Tokzadeh and Ansari, 2014). With the growth of technology and the changes that have occurred, managers are always faced with new realities and conditions, to coordinate with them, they need to acquire special knowledge and expertise, and it is one of the useful and effective methods to develop the abilities of managers, is an improvement (Ludgard et al., 2016). According to Williams (2008), organizations that are capable of improving their managers will continue to improve and succeed (Moradi et al., 2020). The self-improvement of managers is so important and vital that it cannot be considered as a specific activity separate from daily work or simply focusing on knowledge based on current internal methods (Tabar and Zamani, 2019). Considering the decisive role of educational systems in the economic, social, and cultural improvement of society, the self-improvement of educational managers in schools, which is one of the main factors of the educational system, can lead to the improvement and progress of society. However, the necessary components in self-improvement management in the form of a conceptual model among the educational managers of Iranian society have not been determined, and until it is not determined, it is not possible to use Western models that are not completely compatible with our country. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to analyze the self-improvement of elementary school principals in the city of Isfahan, and the researcher is trying to answer the question, what is the analysis of the self-improvement of elementary school principals in the city of Isfahan?

This research is of a quantitative-qualitative type, and semi-structured interviews were used to identify, dimensions, indicators, and components and also analyze them. The statistical population of this research in the qualitative part is 20 scientific experts and experimental experts, including university professors and directors of education departments in Isfahan city, and 12 people were selected as a sample in a targeted way. To collect data in the qualitative phase, an open-ended questionnaire was used to record the information obtained from the interview process, and in the quantitative section, using the results of the qualitative phase, a researcher-made questionnaire in the 5-value range was used. For qualitative data analysis, the thematic analysis method was used and for quantitative data analysis, Pearson correlation test, Friedman ranking, and structural equation model were used using LISREL8 software.

After content analysis of texts and interviews with experts and open, central, and selective coding, the final codes were: improving educational management skills, improving executive management skills, improving human resources management skills, improving financial resources management skills, improving skills Motivating and supporting and improving supervisory management skills. The final codes that had the highest frequency in response to the interview questions were: improving educational management skills with a frequency of 12, improving executive management skills with a frequency of 9, improving human resources management skills with a frequency of 10, improving financial resources management skills with a frequency of 10. 8, promotion of motivational and support skills with a frequency of 11, and promotion of supervisory management skills with a frequency of 9. Therefore, based on these final codes, a researcher-made questionnaire was designed to analyze the research hypotheses and provided to the samples. Finally, according to the structural model of the research, it can be stated that all the effective factors of the self-improvement pattern of principals of Isfahan elementary schools can predict the principals' self-improvement. As a result, it can be said that the research model has sufficient fit.

Today, management development as one of the strategic programs has been the focus of many countries in recent decades. One of the goals of managers' development is to improve their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Self-improvement is the conscious development of skills, self-initiation, direction, and control of leadership by managers over a long period. The results of the research data analysis showed that according to the values of the path coefficient and the coefficient of significance between the effective factors and the variable of self-improvement of principals, the effective factors can predict the self-improvement of elementary school principals in Isfahan city. Also, this result is consistent with the research results of El Abidine (2021), Gotlib and Yamini (2021), Klein and Schwanenberg (2022), Yu and Lee (2015), Kokbi and Nematpour (1400), Siadat and Taji (2018) and Salimi (2016). It is aligned. Therefore, according to this result, it should be said that school administrators are responsible for the success of their educational environment, and their self-improvement is necessary to ensure that they can manage effectively. The results and analysis of the research showed that six variables (educational management skills, executive management skills, human resources management skills, financial resources management skills, motivational and support skills, and supervisory management skills) effective in this self-improvement were identified and prioritized in terms of samples. According to the results of the research, it is suggested that the principals of elementary schools in Isfahan be diligent in acquiring the six skills mentioned in this research in promoting self-improvement, facilitate the problems of their educational environment by saving appropriate costs and prioritizing finances, and provide the necessary motivation for the self-improvement of their school teachers by self-improvement. Finally, it is suggested that the education managers of Isfahan City implement effective strategies in improving educational, motivational, and support skills through supervision and leadership.