The role of successful secondary school principals: the San Salvador case

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to analyze the role of successful secondary school principals in El Salvador, that is, to value their performance and good management practices in the institution they represented.
The type of study was ex post facto (Montero and León, 2007), with a cross-sectional design.
A perception questionnaire was applied to five groups of participants, including the assessment of the principals themselves and the perspective of their success according to the teachers, administrative staff, students and educational advisors from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
The research was conducted in the 14 departments of El Salvador, with a sample of 291 schools.
The main results show that all departments have an average / positive perception of the curriculum; principals and teachers are dissatisfied with the [low] access to technology that the centers have, however, the administrative staff and students show an average satisfaction with the access and the resources at their disposal; also, the assessment systems implemented by the principals are perceived as an opportunity for improvement.