Identifying and Prioritizing the Indicators of Educational Management of Sama Schools in Tehran Province

 In recent years, the role of education in enhancing efficiency, productivity, and sustainable development has become more important than ever before. Education and the training of the human workforce are essential pillars in a country's sustainable development, and attention to quality in educational management in schools and colleges is considered fundamental and vital, with a significant impact on the nation's destiny. Educational management indicators play a crucial role in improving the quality of education. These indicators assist school administrators in evaluating and enhancing the performance of educational institutions. Performance assessment, quality improvement in education, resource management, motivation enhancement, and stakeholder satisfaction are among the primary objectives of educational management indicators. The presence of more than one hundred Sama schools in the country demonstrates the significance of educational management in these institutions. This research aims to identify, present, and prioritize these indicators concerning the educational management of Sama schools in Tehran Province, with the goal of enhancing and improving the quality of educational activities.

 The research method, in terms of purpose and application, falls within the category of mixed research (quantitative and qualitative). The qualitative part of the study included experts in the field of education and research from universities and policymakers in the planning of Sama schools in Tehran. In order to select the samples and determine this group of experts, purposive non-random sampling was used, with a total of 14 individuals. The second group, the statistical population of this research, included all teachers, managers, and educational and research experts of Sama schools in Tehran, totaling 734 individuals. From this population, 273 individuals were selected as participants using stratified random sampling. The data collection tools consisted of a Delphi method in the qualitative section and a researcher-developed questionnaire based on a 5-point scale in the quantitative section. The validity and reliability of the research were confirmed. For data analysis, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using the SmartPLS3 software.

 The initial qualitative model of educational management with 5 dimensions and 33 components was analyzed. Ultimately, the dimensions and components related to interaction with the environment (utilizing environmental conditions to achieve educational goals, creating or providing a suitable environment for educational activities), the realm of relationships (developing individuals' communication skills, fostering collaboration between the educational staff and learners), defining the elements of the educational process (creating spaces for apprenticeship and monitoring task performance, organizing and coordinating educational plans, aligning individual talents with societal needs, outlining the educational vision), defining the elements of change in the educational institution (controlling and evaluating educational plans, skill development, integrating theory and experience in the field of education, coordinating educational plans), and the domain of staff (synchronizing educators and professors with new professional development methods, mobilizing human resources for educational activities, controlling and evaluating active human resources in the education sector, fostering unity among active human resources in the education sector) were identified in order of priority. These are defined as the elements of the educational process, the staff domain, interaction with the environment, the realm of relationships, and the elements of change in the educational institution, respectively.

 The quality of education in Sama Schools holds significant importance, and achieving educational management indicators can play a crucial role in enhancing the quality and productivity of these educational institutions. In this study, educational management indicators in these schools were examined using a mixed-methods approach, incorporating expert opinions and statistical methods. The results have led to the development of an initial qualitative model of educational management with 5 dimensions and 33 components, which can shed light on the critical aspects of educational management.For a more detailed comparison of these findings with prior research, it should be noted that the proposed changes in educational management within the institution are aligned with the concepts of organizational cooperation and economic development (Adams et al., 2017). The components obtained in this dimension include: controlling and evaluating educational plans, skill development, integrating theory and experience in the field of education, and aligning educational plans with the findings of previous research.Furthermore, the results obtained in areas such as improving the academic level of educational centers, industry and labor market connections, academic responsibility, communication and interaction with learners (building confidence), skill enhancement, allocation and increase of research resources (exploration and invention), and ultimately organizational commitments align with the findings presented by Moezzi, Mohammadi, Delavar, and Mohammadi Davoodi (2018). The final effectiveness model indicators and the implementation mechanisms of the model, as well as the key effectiveness components encompassing the comprehensive employee training system, are also compatible with the results introduced by Razmi and colleagues (2019). Extracting indicators related to environmental factors, customer orientation, technological facilities, and leadership insight in terms of effectiveness and efficiency in management aligns with the research by Najafi Hezari Jebi and Koopaei (2017), Berman et al. (2018), and the interaction with the environment, including the two indicators of using environmental conditions to achieve educational goals and creating or providing a suitable environment for educational activities, is consistent with Westa's study (2019). The definition of the components of the educational process is based on content analysis conducted by the researcher, representing an innovation in this study. Its subset indicators, including educational project planning (Samadi, 2018), setting educational goals, resource procurement and allocation (Ali, 2017; Saitis and Saitis, 2018; Westa, 2019), and the execution of educational plans and programs (Alvani et al., 2018), are in line with previous research. In the realm of relationships in educational management, components related to developing individuals' communication abilities (Fokina et al., 2016) and fostering collaboration between the educational staff and course participants (Sadeqi et al., 2018; Kalir-Mik, 2019) are compatible.Regarding personnel-related aspects of educational management, components such as synchronizing educators and instructors with new professional development methods (Adams et al., 2017), motivating human resources for educational activities (Pafko, 2016), controlling and evaluating active human resources in the education sector (Samadi, 2018; Yuselliani et al., 2018), and creating unity among active human resources in the education sector (Westa, 2019) are in alignment with prior research. Based on the results obtained, recommendations include creating spaces for apprenticeship and monitoring of work quality, organizing and coordinating educational plans, aligning individual talents with societal needs, outlining an educational vision, assisting in the execution of educational processes, acquiring resources for educational goal achievement, resource allocation for educational objectives, control and evaluation of educational plans, guiding and supervising educational plans, and implementing educational programs to foster the development of individuals' talents.