Management development in education: fact or fiction – some preliminary findings

Abstract

Whether behaviour dimensions in a management context can be changed by means of training programmes is a debatable issue. Little if any research has been done in this regard and, in the education setting, it appears no research at all has been done. Against this background the first experimental research project of its kind was launched in South Africa. The research design made provision for an experimental and a control group, both consisting of an equal number of secondary school principals. As a first step, both groups were exposed to a recognised assessment centre (ACEL) during which certain management dimensions were evaluated. The second step was to put the experimental group through a management training programme followed by the third step, namely, a second assessment for both groups. According to the statistical results, two behaviour dimensions of the experimental group showed a significant difference before and after the training programme, whilst no significant difference was recorded for the control group. This research project does not claim that management dimensions of educational leaders can be changed by means of training. The work should rather be regarded as a pilot study and the first empirical attempt of this kind in the field of education management. The findings are therefore preliminary and can only be verified by a longitudinal study.


(South African Journal of Education: 2002 22(2): 132-135)