Professional development in the field of human resource management of heads and specialists of the innovative organizations

This paper reports on research that was undertaken to determine the problems experienced by deputy principals in secondary schools, and the extent to which these problems were experienced. Although some research was conducted on the deputy principalship, no research treats the problems that deputy principals experience upon appointment comprehensively. An understanding of the problems experienced by secondary school deputy principals is a necessary precursor of an induction program to address the problems. A quantitative approach which was underpinned by the post-positivist paradigm was adopted. In order to determine the extent to which the problems were experienced, a survey was conducted among one hundred and fifty seven secondary school deputy principals in the North West Province. The participants came from a diverse context of rural, township and urban schools. The deputy principals who participated in the study included those who were newly appointed (one to three years of service) and those who were experienced (more than three years of service). Data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics such as frequencies, means and percentages. There were no significant differences in the responses of both newly-appointed and experienced deputy principals. The results revealed that deputy principals experienced administrative, financial management, work pressure, personal and physical resources problems. In an attempt to address the problems identified, a context-specific induction program is recommended. The induction program should be an on-going program of professional development and should preferably include specific aims, action steps to be taken to achieve the aims that are set and measures to evaluate progress.

This research aimed to examine the role of leadership in the school environment and leadership’s contribution to the effectiveness of teachers’ professional development in the public secondary education of Athens to improve the learning process and school quality. More specifically, this study highlights the school principal's contribution as a leader in teachers’ professional development. The choice of leadership style (education, administrative, transformational, ethical, participatory, and contingent) positively impacts teachers’ professional development. Data were collected from 180 teachers of the public secondary education of Athens, involving lower secondary schools, upper secondary vocational and general schools, excluding private and other types of schools. SPSS software was used to perform quantitative analysis of the collected data. The results showed no statistically significant correlation between teachers’ gender, skills, characteristics, and abilities. However, it was observed that there is a statistically significant correlation between age, tolerance, and rejection of educational techniques on teaching practice. The evidence from this study confirmed a direct impact of the school principal’s training on teachers’ professional development. Finally, it was concluded that the school principal – the leader should work as a learning manager to lead teachers in professional development and as a learning manager and an inspiration for lifelong learning.

Sustainability and green practices are in the frontline of issues organizations globally are concerned about because of the consequences of climate change and its challenges. The objective and key question of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between knowledge of green human resource management (HRM) practices and its implementation within the organizations. The study followed a methodology of triangulated empirical research approach with a combined method of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Human resource practitioners from human resource divisions in higher education institutions in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, formed the population surveyed. Interview schedule and questionnaires were instruments used in data collection. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data collected from interviews. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 was used to analyze quantitative data collected. About half of HR practitioners indicated minimal awareness of the concept ‘green HRM’, but reflected moderate knowledge and understanding of green HRM activities. Overall, the findings revealed a moderate application of green HRM principles in HRM activities in the institutions. There was no policy framework in the form of green HRM policies to drive green activities within the HR divisions and institutionally. Findings also revealed that there is a relationship between knowledge of green HRM activities and its implementation within the organization. Also, a strong correlation was found to exist between green HRM policies and implementation of green HRM activities in the organization. This then led the researcher to recommend that organizations who aspire to go green, be resource efficient and sustainable will need to have green HRM policies in place, they will also need to ensure that training and awareness workshops on green HRM are conducted to skill and equip all stakeholders involved.