Determining and developing technical leadership competencies of vocational and technical secondary school administrators

The purpose of the present research was to determine the level of technical leadership competencies of vocational and technical secondary school administrators, and then to investigate what kind of administrator/principal preparation program is needed to develop these competencies. To this end, it was investigated whether there was a significant difference between perceptions of school administrators and teachers regarding sub-dimensions of technical leadership competencies in terms of seniority, managerial experience and administrators' teaching branches. Furthermore, the researcher attempted to determine school administrators and teachers' opinions about practices related to technical leadership competencies and development of these competencies. Mixed methods research design comprising both quantitative and qualitative research methods was employed. The population of the research consisted of school administrators and teachers working at vocational and technical secondary schools in Gaziantep province. Criterion-based sampling which is one of purposive sampling techniques was used in selection of the sample. The sample was comprised of 22 vocational and technical secondary schools. The study group of the qualitative strand consisted of 18 school administrators and 30 teachers chosen from schools in which the quantitative strand was conducted. Criterion sampling and maximum variation sampling techniques were used in selection of the study group for the qualitative strand of the research. Quantitative data were collected via "Vocational and Technical Secondary School Administrators' Technical Leadership Competencies Scale (TLCS)" developed by the researcher. Qualitative data were collected using a semi-structured interview form which was developed to determine vocational and technical secondary school administrators and teachers' opinions and an open-ended data collection tool determining opinions of experts in the field of educational administration. Quantitative data were analyzed using non-parametric analysis techniques, while qualitative data were investigated using content analysis method. Research findings indicated that (1) vocational and technical secondary school administrators exhibit technical competencies at "sometimes" level in pedagogical and social competencies sub-dimension, and at "usually" level in managerial and vocational competencies sub-dimension. (2) Teachers' opinions regarding technical leadership competencies differed significantly according to seniority, managerial experience and administrators' teaching branches. (3) School administrators' opinions regarding their technical competencies did not differ significantly according to seniority, managerial experience and administrators' teaching branches. (4) There were both similarities and differences between opinions of school administrators and teachers in schools where technical leadership competencies were at "low" and "high" levels. (5) Training/preparation programs are needed to develop school administrators' technical leadership competencies. (6) Experts in the field of educational administration had positive opinions about leadership/administrator preparation programs which aim at developing technical leadership competencies of school administrators. Key Words: Vocational and Technical, Technical Leadership, Technical Leadership Competencies