Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions of School Principals: Perspectives from Kisumu County, Kenya

Abstract

This paper is a part of a larger international comparative study entitled "Institutional Dimensions of Professional Knowledge: Processes and Implication for School Leaders across Educational Contexts”. This study explored the influence of institutional factors on Kenyan and Canadian school principals’ constructions of knowledge and practice related to the principalship. A secondary purpose of the study was to develop a theory on the processes that school principals use to link institutional imperatives to their constructions of knowledge and practice. The study uses a constructivist grounded theory approach within a qualitative design. 7 principals from Kisumu County, Kenya and 5 principals from Ontario, Canada participated in the study. This paper outlines constructions of knowledge, skills, and dispositions related to school principalship by participants from Kenya. Results show that in the process of constructing knowledge for the principalship, individuals drew upon their experiences and formal knowledge gained during teacher training programs. Results also show that individuals in positions of school leadership/principalship were expected to be knowledgeable in teaching, curriculum, financial management, psychology, management, laws and regulations. Further, these knowledge ideas were based on constitutive and regulative rules, on assumptions that they are widely shared, and on individual constructions of contextual educational imperatives.