Exploring the training of school principals as educational leaders in Mexico

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate novice principals’ pre-role training in educational leadership. The research was originally intended as a mixed-methods approach; an online questionnaire was applied for data collection to answer the research question: Are public secondary school principals trained to be successful leaders when they undertake this role in Mexico? The questionnaire explored principals’ pre-role formal and informal training, their sense of readiness and the main challenges undertaking the position. It reached 29 responses ( n = 29), this very small sample is not representative, but provides insights for examining larger trends in school leaders’ training/preparation in Mexico. Most participants of this study did not have formal pre-appointment training in educational leadership. This seems to be related to Mexican recruitment processes for principalship, where leadership instruction is not required. Informal pre-role training/preparation was more reported to be helpful by participants. Their leadership was limited mainly by challenges related to administrative tasks. The study suggests the need to analyse and improve the Mexican recruitment process for principals, addressing pre-role training and job induction. If larger-scale studies corroborate this scenario, more detailed recommendations would be developed.