This study aimed to explore the leadership roles of deputy principals in promoting teacher professional learning in Turkish lower secondary schools. Utilising a qualitative research approach, data were gathered from 10 deputy principals via semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings suggest that deputy principals enhance teacher professional learning by identifying teachers’ professional needs, providing personalised technological support, offering emotional and professional encouragement, providing resources and support, demonstrating best practices, and encouraging reflective practices. Deputy principals also play an important role in fostering collaborative relationships among teachers and engaging with the broader school community, creating a supportive environment conducive to professional learning. We discuss implications for policy and practice.
AbrahamsenH (2018) Redesigning the role of deputy heads in Norwegian schools–tensions between control and autonomy?International Journal of Leadership in Education21(3): 327–343.
2.
AbrahamsenHNAasM (2023) Deputy heads—leadership and power in change?International Journal of Leadership in Education: 1–19. doi:10.1080/13603124.2023.2258108.
3.
AkarH (2018) The relationships between quality of work life, school alienation, burnout, affective commitment and organizational citizenship: A study on teachers. European Journal of Educational Research7(2): 169–180.
4.
BentleyECasonK (2019) Tailor-made professional development to nurture preservice and early career teachers. English Leadership Quarterly41(3): 14–18.
5.
BeyciogluKOzerNUgurluCT (2012) The facets of job satisfaction among vice-principals in elementary schools. Journal of Management Development31(7): 636–647.
6.
BorkoHJacobsJKoellnerK (2010) Contemporary approaches to teacher professional development. International Encyclopedia of Education7(2): 548–556.
7.
BraunVClarkeV (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology3(2): 77–101.
8.
BukoskiBELewisTCCarpenterBW, Berry MS and Sanders KN (2015) The complexities of realizing community: Assistant principals as community leaders in persistently low-achieving schools. Leadership and Policy in Schools14(4): 411–436.
9.
ÇevenGErEÖngelG (2023) ‘Be a warrior, not a worrier…’: The resilience of vice principals at Turkish schools. Leadership and Policy in Schools24(2): 243–255.
10.
ChitambaNJitaL (2023) Instructional leadership practices: Exploring deputy principal’s instructional leadership practices–A Zimbabwean case study. South African Journal of Education43(4): 1–12.
11.
CorbinJStraussA (1990) Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative Sociology13(1): 3–21.
12.
DayCGuQSammonsP (2016) The impact of leadership on student outcomes: How successful school leaders use transformational and instructional strategies to make a difference. Educational Administration Quarterly52(2): 221–258.
13.
deMarraisK (2004) Qualitative interview studies: Learning through experience. In: deMarraisKLapanS (eds) Foundations for Research: Methods of Inquiry in Education and the Social Sciences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp.51–68.
14.
DesimoneLM (2009) Improving impact studies of teachers’ professional development: Toward better conceptualizations and measures. Educational Researcher38(3): 181–199.
15.
Drago-SeversonE (2012) New opportunities for principal leadership: Shaping school climates for enhanced teacher development. Teachers College Record114(3): 1–44.
ElfarargyHIrbyBJSingerEA, Lara-Alecio R, Tong F and Pugliese E (2022) Teachers’ perceptions of instructional coaches’ practices in professional learning communities. Sage Open12(3): 1–12.
18.
FeredayJMuir-CochraneE (2006) Demonstrating rigor using thematic analysis: A hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development. International Journal of Qualitative Methods5(1): 80–92.
19.
GarveyCMJonesR (2021) Is there a place for theoretical frameworks in qualitative research?International Journal of Qualitative Methods20: 1–7.
20.
GreenfieldWDMarshallCReedDB (1986) Experience in the vice principalship: Preparation for leading schools?Journal of Educational Administration24(1): 107–121.
21.
GümüşSBellibaşMŞ (2020) The relationship between professional development and school principals’ leadership practices: The mediating role of self-efficacy. International Journal of Educational Management34(7): 1155–1170.
22.
HallingerP (2003) Leading educational change: Reflections on the practice of instructional and transformational leadership. Cambridge Journal of Education33(3): 329–352.
23.
HallingerPLiuSPiyamanP (2019) Does principal leadership make a difference in teacher professional learning? A comparative study China and Thailand. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education49(3): 341–357.
24.
HallingerPMurphyJF (1985) Assessing the instructional management behavior of principals. The Elementary School Journal86(2): 217–247.
25.
HanushekEA (2014) Boosting teacher effectiveness. In FinnCEJrSousaR (Eds.), What Lies Ahead for America’s Children and Their Schools (pp. 23–35). Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press.
HarveyMJ (1994) The deputy principalship: Retrospect and prospect. International Journal of Educational Management8(3): 15–25.
28.
HoJKangT (2024) Shaping the leadership configuration of principals and vice-principals: The principal socialising agent. Educational Management Administration & Leadership52(4): 780–797.
29.
HoJShaariIKangT (2023) Vice-principals as leaders: Role ambiguity and role conflicts faced by vice-principals in Singapore. Educational Management Administration & Leadership51(3): 575–593.
30.
JansenCdu PlessisA (2023) The role of deputy principals: Perspectives of South African primary school principals and their deputies. Educational Management Administration & Leadership51(1): 157–175.
31.
KaracabeyMFBellibaşMŞAdamsD (2022) Principal leadership and teacher professional learning in Turkish schools: Examining the mediating effects of collective teacher efficacy and teacher trust. Educational Studies48(2): 253–272.
32.
KhumaloJBVan der VyverCP (2020) Critical skills for deputy principals in South African secondary schools. South African Journal of Education40(3): 1–10.
33.
KwanP (2009) The vice-principal experience as a preparation for the principalship. Journal of Educational Administration47(2): 191–205.
34.
KwanPWalkerA (2008) Vice-principalship in Hong Kong: Aspirations, competencies, and satisfaction. School Effectiveness and School Improvement19(1): 73–97.
35.
LeafAOdhiamboG (2017) The deputy principal instructional leadership role and professional learning: Perceptions of secondary principals, deputies and teachers. Journal of Educational Administration55(1): 33–48.
36.
LeithwoodK (1994) Leadership for school restructuring. Educational Administration Quarterly30(4): 498–518.
LimLPollockK (2019) Secondary principals’ perspectives on the impact of work intensification on the secondary vice-principal role. Leading and Managing25(2): 80–98.
39.
LincolnYGubaEG (1985) Naturalistic Inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
40.
LiuSHallingerPFengD (2016) Supporting the professional learning of teachers in China: Does principal leadership make a difference?Teaching and Teacher Education59: 79–91.
41.
MarksHMPrintySM (2003) Principal leadership and school performance: An integration of transformational and instructional leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly39(3): 370–397.
42.
MerriamSBTisdellEJ (2016) Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation (4th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
43.
MilesMBHubermanAMSaldañaJ (2014) Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
44.
MilitelloMFusarelliBCMattinglyA andWarren T (2015) “We do what we're told”: How current assistant principals practice leadership and how they wish they could. Journal of School Leadership25(2): 194–222.
MuijsDHarrisA (2003) Assistant and deputy heads: Key leadership issues and challenges. Management in Education17(1): 6–8.
49.
OpferVDPedderD (2011) Conceptualizing teacher professional learning. Review of Educational Research81(3): 376–407.
50.
PetridesLJimesCKaraglaniA (2014) Assistant principal leadership development: A narrative capture study. Journal of Educational Administration52(2): 173–192.
51.
PunchK (2014) Introduction to social research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
52.
RoulstonKChoiM (2018) Qualitative interviews. In: FlickU (ed) The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Collection. London, UK: Sage, pp.233–249.
53.
SearbyLBrowne-FerrignoTWangCH (2017) Assistant principals: Their readiness as instructional leaders. Leadership and Policy in Schools16(3): 397–430.
54.
ShentonAK (2004) Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for Information22(2): 63–75.
55.
ShoreKWalshawM (2018) Assistant/deputy principals: What are their perceptions of their role?International Journal of Leadership in Education21(3): 310–326.
56.
SpillaneJP (2005) Distributed leadership. The Educational Forum69(2): 143–150.
57.
TranNHHallingerPTruongT (2018) The heart of school improvement: A multi-site case study of leadership for teacher learning in Vietnam. School Leadership and Management38(1): 80–101.
