Abstract:

The authors of the paper believe that the quality of secondary education depends considerably on the level of the soft skills of the school leaders. To make sure that those soft skills are in place, they need to be evaluated. In accordance with the degree of the Russian Government on the basic principles of the national system of the professional development of educators (2020), and the Professional Standard of a school principal (2021) the personnel reserve should be developed basing on the results of the professional certification, which includes an independent assessment of managerial competencies. The evaluation of the hard skills became possible owing to the professional standard introduction, and now the research objective was to develop a system for the evaluation of the soft skills.

So, the research group presents on the competence model of a school principal of today, his professional and personal competences, with a particular emphasis on the evaluation of the job-relevant soft skills within the regular professional assessment and certification of school principals. The vitality of the research results from the actual need in the assessment of the education management personnel on the municipal, regional and, even, federal levels, with the background idea to build up the structured personnel reserve, and to possibly urge the professional mobility of the school administrators. In this context, the certification, selection, recruitment and employment of the school administrators are to be conceptualized and introduced into the national quality assurance practice.

Those processes are relevant for all spheres of professional activity, i.e. the public sector, industry, business, etc.; and education is not merely no exception here, but, rather, a leader in the need of the relevant soft skills. An error in appointing a ‘wrong’ school principal because of the inertia of the education system - with its complicated personal biases and deviated assessment procedures - may not be revealed in due time, and that will entail a greater long-term damage than in most industries. The competence assessment technologies employed in business do not quite fit education. The research revealed that the personnel assessment infrastructure is underdeveloped at all levels of education administration.

In the research, the ‘Iceberg Model of Competence’ elaborated by L.M. and S.M. Spencers was used that involves the assessment of the knowledge and the personal characteristics associated with the mental qualities, attitudes, behavior, self-concept, etc. Also, the content analysis of the education personnel assessment practices that are used in different Russia’s regions was carried out. So, ‘Assessment Center’, ‘360-Degree Assessment’, testing and interviewing have been identified as the key assessment methods.

Thus, the outcomes of this research reduce the risk of appointing a manager with his/her undersufficient management potential. Reasonable professional assessment also paves the way to the identification of the adequate methods of the professional development of school leaders. A relevant model has been offered; it includes the most effective practices, and organizational, social and economic mechanisms for the use of the school personnel assessment results. And there is a strong belief that the materials of this paper may be of use not only for the national education quality assurance, but for the benefit of the international education community.

Keywords:

Competence evaluation, professional assessment, school principal, soft skills, competence model, education personnel reserve, principal appointment.