The Namibian education system was affected by a number of changes and
challenges. These changes and challenges emanated from new political, financial
and socio-economic trends in Namibia and the global village. Due to their strategic
positions as educational leaders-cum-managers, principals were expected to lead
and manage schools to overcome the challenges and meet increasing expectations
of varied stakeholders. However, many secondary school principals especially
those in rural areas could not cope with the changes and challenges. Rural
secondary school principals did not have what it takes to manage and lead their
schools effectively and efficiently. This study investigated the professional
development of Namibian secondary school principals with special focus on rural
secondary school principals in the Omusati Region, a region in north central of
Namibia. Specifically, the study attempted to answer the following questions:
What are the core professional development needs of secondary school principals?
What do secondary school principals do in order to meet their professional
development needs? What help is available for them in order to develop? What
suggestions can be made for improving in-service professional development of
secondary school principals?
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It was an in-depth study. The sample comprised of seven information-rich
respondents: three secondary school principals from the Omusati Region and four
professional developers of principals. The research instruments were interviews,
non-participant observations, and documentary analysis. The results show that the
main challenge of the principals who partook in the study was the effective
management and leadership of human resources.
There was no structured programme designed for serving secondary school
principals. The principals that partook in the study did not undergo pre-service
professional development for principalship, and did not receive induction when
they were first time principals. Their common development approaches were selfdevelopment
and informal people-assisted development, although some formal
people-assisted development also took place. Most of the formal professional
development of the principals focused on the acquisition of knowledge and skills.
The area of actions and behaviours was the least catered for.
This study made a number of suggestions and recommendations. Two them are:
principals should be provided with an enabling learning environment, and the
professional development of principals should focus more on learning how to put
into practice what they learn. Finally, the study suggested a model for developing
the principals who participated in this study and other principals whose contexts
are similar to those of the three principals.