Professional development of school principals – how do experienced school leaders make sense of their professional learning?

Abstract

A growing body of research has emphasised the importance of school leadership for quality improvement in schools, which reinforces the importance of school leaders’ continuous professional development in working life. However, less is known about the professional development of experienced principals. Against this background, the purpose of this study is to examine experienced school leaders’ sense-making of their professional learning in relation to their professional development. Drawing on sense-making theory, a qualitative case study design was adopted, and data consisted of semi-structured interviews, and course evaluations. Qualitative content analysis was performed using the Atlas 6.2 software tool. The findings showed that important sense-making for the principals related to the value of continuous professional learning and interactions with professional peers, and professional learning implications. This qualitative Swedish study can be seen as a contribution to experienced principals’ professional learning, as the professional development of experienced principals is under-researched.