A reflection on the problems of primary schools’ novice Findings of a mixed-methods study principals

The current mixed-methods study has investigated the problems of primary schools’ novice principals in the city of Karaj. In the qualitative section of this study, using purposeful and snow-ball sampling method, 42 experts were selected and interviewed. Following content analysis of the interviews, 66 problems in terms of 5 dimensions including “psychological problems”, “interpersonal problems”, “problems due to lack of skills and expertise in school management in general,” “problems due to lack of skills and expertise in teaching” and “Problems due to lack of support “ were identified.
In the quantitative section of this study, a questionnaire was developed on the basis of the results of the qualitative section. This questionnaire was completed by 163 novice principals. The data was analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Chi-square and Friedman tests. The result of CFA showed that the measurement model of latent variable has good fit with observed data.  The results of Chi-square test showed that in each of problems, there is a significant difference between observed and expected frequencies. Also, the Friedman test significantly ranked the problems of each dimension. Some problems including concerns with authority delegation, low ability in effective interaction, low experience in financial management, low information about new methods in educational evaluation, and little support from parents and external society are highly ranked in each dimension. The results of quantitative section of this study confirmed the results of qualitative section. In general, the results of this study emphasize the importance of identifying the problems and coaching the novice principals.