Abstract:

There is a history of more than two decades of development of the idea of school heads preparation and development in Polish educational system. The main focus of this development was and, unfortunately still is, the content of such preparation and the methodology of teaching or training during such courses. Different proposals that have been applied during the last decades have usually introduced knowledge and skills necessary because of legal or technological developments. At the same time, the main idea of professional preparation and training of future and in-service heads remained the same.

The author argues that what is missing is thinking about professional development of leadership/managerial competencies as a developmental process that has to be planned and organized as a long process of development in different roles played in school/s and that formal courses and training can only support this process.

The paper presents small research that was focused on that issue. A group of participants of post-graduate courses on educational management (legally required from those who want to become school heads in the Polish system) were asked about their paths to the decision to take part in such courses and about their former development in the area of leadership/managerial competencies in their professional career. The results of this study are then the basis for some conclusions and practical recommendations for the system of school heads preparation and professional development.

Keywords:

Educational leadership, leadership professional development, leadership training.