Analyzing the Role Model of Principals in the Creation of the Hidden Curriculum of Secondary Schools: A Mixed-Method Study

The main goal of this research was to analyze the role of schools' principals in the formation of the hidden curriculum of secondary schools in Tabriz. The research was carried out through mixed method research (qualitative and quantitative) of exploratory type. The research community was formed by academic experts and professors in the field of education, curriculum development, and public education and principals of successful schools. In the qualitative phase, the opinions of various experts were collected through the grounded theory method (by using semi-structured interview) and analyzed and classified through coding steps. Based on the theoretical saturation criterion, 17 participants were selected in a purposive way in the qualitative phase and in the quantitative phase 356 experts, school principals and educational assistants of schools. Data was collected by semi-structured interview and analyzed by structural equation method with smartpls4 software. As a result, 103 indicators, 24 components and 6 dimensions were obtained, which were presented in the form of a paradigm model. In the quantitative phase, a survey research method and a researcher-made questionnaire tool were used. Also, in the quantitative section, using the structural equation method, it was determined that among the obtained components, the effort participation component with a coefficient of (0.912) is the first priority and the rules and regulations component with a coefficient of (0.619) is the last priority. The main result and suggestion of the research is that more and special attention should be given to the components that were placed in the first priorities.