Aspiring Principals’ Programme
The Aspiring Principals’ Programme (APP) was designed to adequately prepare individuals for the task of the principalship prior to their being in post. This initiative was developed against the background that despite studies on the critical role of school leadership and student success, Jamaica continues to promote to the principalship, individuals who are good classroom teachers without first providing them with the requisite preparation. The APP now serves as an opportunity to attract talent, identify high quality applicants and ensure a ready supply of well-trained applicants.
Importantly, the APP is delivered in partnership with the University of the West Indies. This represents a significant shift towards a partnership approach between a Ministry agency and a local University to jointly prepare a new generation of school leaders in Jamaica, for Jamaican schools. The APP is delivered at the post-graduate level. It addresses complex organizational theories, theories of leadership, and the practical nature of the principalship. Participants access in a face to face setting, four critical modules.
These modules are:
- Transformational Leadership;
- Instructional Leadership;
- Community Leadership; and
- Organizational Leadership.
After engagement with the modules, participants engage in a Field Experience, in which they gather data on the institution to which they are attached and then use the theories and concepts, as well as address organizational issue.
A portfolio is submitted with documented evidence of the implementation of their strategies. After portfolio submission, participants are asked to present their work to an expert panel of organizational leaders and theorists. Participants are questioned to ascertain the rigor of their approach and their personal development throughout the process. Upon successful completion, with the passage of the Professional Qualification for the Principalship (PQP), the APP will become part of the national qualification framework for school leadership.
