International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences, 2(5) May 2013, Pages: 156-160

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International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences

ISSN
2306-7276

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Comparing Professional Skills of Principals and Teachers of

Smart Schools with Ordinary Schools
Mahmoud Samadi Largani 1, Kamyan Khazaee 2, Fatemeh Atefi Nashroudali 3
1

Department of management, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran.

Department of management, Chaloos Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chaloos, Iran.
3
Department of management, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran.
2

AR TIC LE INF O

AB STR AC T

Keywords:

This research is aimed at comparing professional skills of principals and teachers of smart schools
with ordinary ones. The research statistical sample is principals and teachers of 20 smart schools
and 20 ordinary schools in Guilan province that were selected based on available samples
sampling. Two questionnaires, Assessment of Principals Professional Skills and Assessment of
Teachers Professional Skills, were used in order to gather data, and t-test was used for analyzing
data. Results have shown that there is a difference between professional skills of principals and
teachers of smart and ordinary schools, and professional skills of principals and teachers of smart
schools are at a higher level. Furthermore, research findings indicate that there is no difference
between professional skills of principals of smart schools and ordinary ones at primary and middle
school educations. But, there is a difference at secondary school educations and principals
professional skills of smart schools are at a higher level. Moreover, there is no difference between
teachers professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at primary program of studies. But,
there is a difference at middle and secondary school educations and teachers professional skills of
smart schools are at a higher level.

Principals professional skills

teachers professional skills
smart schools
ordinary schools

2013 Int. j. econ. manag. soc. sci. All rights reserved for TI Journals.

1.

Introduction

Educational organizations are among the most dynamic organizations, mainly due to dealing with the human development. Changing and
development are also the significant characteristic of the current age. For compatibility of organizations with global changes and
developments, and their maintenance, progress of skills and the required knowledge [1] is necessary for the personnel. According to
Fenwick and Pierce [7], a new manager is the manager of an organization being complicated. Nowadays, it is expected from managers to
create a group relationship among the personnel members, improve teachers progress, improve students performance on standardized tests
and make the effective relationships of the society. Teachers take advantage from the development of professional skills and perform the
best actions. Chapman believes [5] that students academic achievement is significantly higher in schools with teachers who reported a
higher level of professional behavior. The key features of the professional behavior include trust and confidence, appropriate environment,
personal and professional respect, assigning the decision making, no fear of taking risks, listening, protecting, high expectations,
encouragement, and admiration.
The research results which were conducted by Bizzell [4] show that principals professional development is rarely in progress and is often
dependent to their job. In his research about the indices of professional development abilities of the advanced technology faculty professors,
Chung [6] believes that professors value their ability to teach and develop their job with sufficient educational experiences. They can easily
cope with conflicts and contradictions and understand their students needs.
Generally, this research attempts to study the comparison of principals and teachers professional skills in smart schools. The key question
of this article is that whether principals and teachers professional skills in smart schools are different from ordinary schools. And the
following hypotheses are made about the above research question:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

There is a difference between principals professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones.
There is a difference between teachers professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones.
There is a difference between principals professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at primary program of studies.
There is a difference between principals professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at middle school education.
There is a difference between principals professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at secondary school education.
There is a difference between teachers professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at primary program of studies.
There is a difference between teachers professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at middle school education.
There is a difference between teachers professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at secondary school education.

* Corresponding author.
Email address: f_atefi_2013@yahoo.com

Comparing Professional Skills of Principals and Teachers of Smart Schools with Ordinary Schools

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Internat ional Jour nal of Economy, Mana ge ment and Social Sciences , 2(5) May 2013

2.

Methodology

Type of Research: The type of the current research is descriptive, casual-comparative, and is in the area of applied research.
Statistical Population and Sample: The statistical population of the research is all the principals and teachers of smart and ordinary
schools in three educational programs of studies in seven educational districts of Guilan province. The sample size in this research has been
obtained by the available samples sampling. Finally, 20 schools in the group of smart schools and 20 ones in the group of ordinary schools
(with a distinction among three educational programs of studies) were selected.
Research Tools: Two questionnaires of principals and teachers professional skills assessment were used to gather data in this research.
Questionnaire of Principals Professional skills: The 21st century school administrator skills questionnaire of the National Association of
Secondary School Principals [8] was used which measures principals professional skills in schools according to the following four skills:
(1) educational-leadership skill, (2) resolving complex problems skill, (3) communication skill, and (4) others and self-development skill.
This questionnaire estimates the above skills in terms of 67 multiple choice items questions. The reliability of this questionnaire is 0.963
using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.
Questionnaire of Teachers Professional Skills: This questionnaire was used by the researcher Ghorbannia in his post graduate program
of studies thesis in 2010, of which the original questionnaire was derived from the book educational leadership and supervision compiled
by Niknami [2]. The questionnaire of teachers professional Skills includes 26 questions in terms of five choice items. The reliability of this
questionnaire using Cronbachs alpha coefficient was reported 0.98 by Ghorbannia (2010).
Method of Data analysis: The method of data analysis in this research is done using descriptive and inferential statistics. In inferential
statistics, t-test is used for comparing the average of two groups in order to analyze the investigation of the research hypotheses. This test is
used for the kind of designs in which two groups are used in a variable measured in interval scale. The required software in this research is
SPSS.

3.

Research Data Analysis

The First Original Hypothesis: There is a difference between school principals professional skills in smart schools and ordinary ones.
In this hypothesis we are dealing with one variable, principals professional skills which are measured in the interval scale, and since we
aimed to study the difference of these two variables between smart and ordinary schools, we use t-test. The results of t-test are shown in
table 1.
Table 1: The results of t-test for the first original hypothesis
Group
Principals of Smart Schools
Principals of Ordinary Schools
Difference

Average
199.46
194.69
4.77

Standard Deviation
16.82
23.25
----

Standard Error
1.29
1.78
----

T338
2.167

P
0.031

According to the tables data, the calculated t (t338 = 2.167) is significantly 5% larger than the tables t. Therefore, the null hypothesis is
rejected and we can conclude with the certainty of 95% that there is a difference between principals professional skills in smart schools
and ordinary ones, and principals professional skills in smart schools are at a higher level.
The Second Original Hypothesis: There is difference between teachers professional skills in smart schools and ordinary ones.
In this hypothesis we are dealing with one variable, teachers professional skills which are measured in the interval scale, and since we
aimed to study the difference of these two variables between smart and ordinary schools, we use t-test. The results of t-test are shown in
table 2.
Table 2: The results of t-test for the second original hypothesis
Group
Teachers of Smart Schools
Teachers of Ordinary Schools
Difference

Average
103.55
98.88
4.67

Standard Deviation
13.71
12.17
----

Standard Error
1.05
0.93
----

T338
3.325

P
0.001

According to the tables data, the calculated t (t338 = 3.325) is significantly 5% larger than the tables t. Therefore, the null hypothesis is
rejected and we can conclude with the certainty of 95% that there is a difference between teachers professional skills in smart schools and
ordinary ones, and principals professional skills in smart schools are at a higher level.
The First Special Hypothesis: There is a difference between principals professional skills of smart and ordinary schools at primary
program of studies.

Mahmoud Samadi Largani et al.

158

Inter nat ional Journal of Economy, Manage ment and Social Scie nces , 2(5) May 2013

In this hypothesis we are dealing with one variable, principals professional skills which are measured in the interval scale, and since we
aimed to study the difference of these two variables between the group of smart and ordinary schools at primary program of studies, we use
t-test. The results of t-test are shown in table 3.
Table 3: The results of t-test for the first special hypothesis
Group
Principals of Smart Schools
Principals of Ordinary Schools
Difference

Average
191.50
192.43
-.93

Standard Deviation
18.02
23.23
----

Standard Error
3.29
4.24
----

T58
-.174

P
0.863

According to the tables data, the calculated t (t58 = -.174) is significantly 5% less than the tables t. Therefore, the null hypothesis is
confirmed and we can conclude with the certainty of 95% that there is no difference between principals professional skills in smart schools
and ordinary ones at primary program of studies.
The Second Special Hypothesis: There is a difference between principals professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at middle
school educations.
In this hypothesis we are dealing with one variable, principals professional skills which are measured in the interval scale, and since we
aimed to study the difference of these two variables between the group of smart and ordinary schools at middle school education, we use ttest. The results of t-test are shown in table 4.
Table 4: The results of t-test for the second special hypothesis
Group
Principals of Smart Schools
Principals of Ordinary Schools
Difference

Average
198.38
195.58
2.80

Standard Deviation
15.60
25.21
----

Standard Error
2.01
3.25
----

T118
0.731

P
0.466

According to the tables data, the calculated t (t118 = 0.731) is significantly 5% less than the tables t. Therefore, the null hypothesis is
confirmed and we can conclude with the certainty of 95% that there is no difference between principals professional skills in smart schools
and ordinary ones at middle school educations.
The Third Special Hypothesis: There is a difference between principals professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at
secondary school education.
In this hypothesis we are dealing with one variable, principals professional skills which are measured in the interval scale, and since we
aimed to study the difference of these two variables between the group of smart and ordinary schools at secondary school education, we use
t-test. The results of t-test are shown in table 5.
Table 5: The results of t-test for the third special hypothesis
Group
Principals of Smart Schools
Principals of Ordinary Schools
Difference

Average
203.25
194.86
8.38

Standard Deviation
16.27
21.93
----

Standard Error
1.81
2.45
----

T158
2.747

P
0.007

According to the tables data, the calculated t (t158 = 2.747) is significantly 5% larger than the tables t. Therefore, the null hypothesis is
rejected and we can conclude with the certainty of 95% that there is a difference between principals professional skills in smart schools
and ordinary ones at secondary school educations, and principals professional skills in smart schools at secondary school educations are at
a higher level.
The fourth Special Hypothesis: There is a difference between teachers professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at primary
program of studies. In this hypothesis we are dealing with one variable, teachers professional skills which are measured in the interval
scale, and since we aimed to study the difference of these two variables between the group of smart and ordinary schools at primary
program of studies, we use t-test. The results of t-test are shown in table 6.
Table 6: The results of T-test for the fourth special hypothesis
Group
Teachers of Smart Schools
Teachers of Ordinary Schools
Difference

Average
103.40
101.03
2.36

Standard Deviation
9.29
13.65
----

Standard Error
1.69
2.49
----

T58
0.785

P
0.436

Comparing Professional Skills of Principals and Teachers of Smart Schools with Ordinary Schools

159

Internat ional Jour nal of Economy, Mana ge ment and Social Sciences , 2(5) May 2013

According to the tables data, the calculated t (t58 = 0.785) is significantly 5% less than the tables t. Therefore, the null hypothesis is
confirmed and we can conclude with the certainty of 95% that there is no difference between teachers professional skills in smart schools
and ordinary ones at primary program of studies.
The Fifth Special Hypothesis: There is a difference between teachers professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at middle
school educations.
In this hypothesis we are dealing with one variable, teachers professional skills which are measured in the interval scale, and since we
aimed to study the difference of these two variables between the group of smart and ordinary schools at middle school educations, we use
T-test. The results of T-test are shown in table 7.
Table 7: The results of T-test for the fifth special hypothesis
Group
Teachers of Smart Schools
Teachers of Ordinary Schools
Difference

Average
106.32
100.42
5.90

Standard Deviation
19.00
10.58
----

Standard Error
2.45
1.36
----

T118
2.100

P
0.038

According to the tables data, the calculated t (t118 = 2.100) is significantly 5% larger than the tables t. Therefore, the null hypothesis is
rejected and we can conclude with the certainty of 95% that there is a difference between teachers professional skills in smart schools and
ordinary ones at middle school educations, and teachers professional skills in smart schools at middle school educations are at a higher
level.
The Sixth Special Hypothesis : There is a difference between teachers professional skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at secondary
school educations.
In this hypothesis we are dealing with one variable, teachers professional skills which are measured in the interval scale, and since we
aimed to study the difference of these two variables between the group of smart and ordinary schools at secondary school educations, we
use T-test. The results of t-test are shown in table 8.
Table 8: The results of T-test for the sixth special hypothesis
Group
Teachers of Smart Schools
Teachers of Ordinary Schools
Difference

Average
101.54
96.91
4.62

Standard Deviation
9.52
12.55
----

Standard Error
1.06
1.40
----

T158
2.625

P
0.010

According to the tables data, the calculated t (t158 = 2.625) is significantly 5% larger than the tables t. Therefore, the null hypothesis is
rejected and we can conclude with the certainty of 95% that there is a difference between teachers professional skills in smart schools and
ordinary ones at secondary school educations, and teachers professional skills in smart schools at secondary school educations are at a
higher level.

4.

Discussion and Conclusion

The up-to-date Professional skills of teachers and principals is a concept that nowadays has got an increasing importance by the change
of societies from traditional societies to knowledge-based ones. According to the research results, there is a difference between professional
skills of principals and teachers in smart schools and ordinary ones, and professional skills of principals and teachers in smart schools are at
a higher level. Other results of the research indicate that there is no difference between principals professional skills in smart schools and
ordinary ones at primary program of studies and middle school educations. But, there is a difference at secondary school educations, and
principals professional skills of smart schools are at a higher level. Furthermore, there is no difference between teachers professional
skills of smart schools and ordinary ones at primary program of studies. But, there is a difference at middle and secondary school
educations, and teachers professional skills in smart schools are at a higher level. A research which is consistent with the results of this
research was conducted by Yasini [3] and he believes that there is a significant difference between the type of school and the amount of
teachers managerial competence. In a research conducted by Chung [6] about indices able to distinguish the professional development of
the Advanced Technology Facultys professors from other faculties professors, he believes that Human Sciences Faculties professors
value their teaching ability and job development with sufficient educational experiences. They can easily cope with conflicts and
contradictions and understand their students needs. Effective professional skills of school teachers and principals have been paid attention
by Samon (1995), including professional leadership which creates consensus and unity of purpose, shared vision and coherent performance.
Generally, the research findings indicate the fact that for maximizing the effective performance of school, especially for the academic
achievement of students, we should pay attention continuously and have a fresh view toward progress of skills and development of
professional skills of principals and teachers as pioneers of changes in schools.

Mahmoud Samadi Largani et al.

160

Inter nat ional Journal of Economy, Manage ment and Social Scie nces , 2(5) May 2013

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