Headteachers and principals play a crucial role in influencing both the academic outcomes and the overall school environment. Several decades of research show that effective headteachers and principals can significantly improve staff morale, reducing teacher turnover and absenteeism and creating a stable learning environment that positively impacts student learning and behavioral performance at both primary and secondary levels.
Headteachers play an integral role in ensuring that schools are resilient enough to adapt to challenges — they bring leadership and passion to their jobs and use their influence to rally parents and community support to manage complex needs such as school reconstruction or textbook provision following climate disasters, as well as to influence the school community in adapting innovations in inclusive education, social-emotional learning, nutrition and health to ensure the broader wellbeing of both students and staff.
Given the breadth of their influence, we believe headteachers and principals must be thoughtfully engaged from the very start in the design and roll-out of any new initiative. Here are headteachers from three different countries and projects sharing their achievements and how they help ensure long-term educational success.
What do you do to support teachers in your school?
“To enable teachers to work effectively, I prioritize supporting their creative ideas. I believe in providing them with freedom of expression, time for self-improvement, and both material and moral encouragement. Creating a positive atmosphere and nurturing trusting relationships among staff are also key goals for me.” K. Kuchkarov, School Principal, School #24, Sayhunobod District, Syrdaryo Region, Uzbekistan All Children Succeeding Activity
“With my years of experience, I strive to ensure that my staff are valued as individuals first and foremost. To help newly arrived teachers integrate into the team, we maintain a tradition of mentorship that continuously supports their development.” M. Abdullayev, School Principal, School #7, Guliston District, Syrdaryo Region, Uzbekistan All Children Succeeding Activity
“For school education to be effective, it’s essential that teachers feel satisfied with their work. They need to arrive at school with a calm mind. When teachers aren’t preoccupied with their personal issues during class, they can deliver quality education. We are committed to fostering a healthy team environment.” H. Askarova, Deputy Principal, School #7, Guliston District, Syrdaryo Region, Uzbekistan All Children Succeeding Activity
“Teacher orientation and guidance is part of the training given to teachers. The [Somalia Bar ama Baro] introduced teacher guides. The teachers were giving several training sessions on how to achieve lesson outcome goals. The teachers learned key priorities in classroom management, lesson preparations, class and student interactions and provided a way for teachers to do self-assessments on how effective their teachings are.
Those teachers’ guides and trainings improved teachers’ confidence. We encouraged teachers to do self-evaluations on whether or not their lesson preparations improved, how their explanations improved and how confident they sounded in the class.” Dr. Ahmed Hassan Abdirahman, Headteacher, Sheikh Primary and Secondary School, Baidoa, Somalia Bar ama Baro Activity
“I work to provide ongoing support to achieve the desired goals inside and outside the classroom through:
- Participating in developing educational plans and means that can serve them in all possible ways.
- Providing moral and material support to advance the teaching-learning process.
- Caring for the classroom environment in terms of cleanliness, lighting, ventilation, heating and providing a supportive environment for both teachers and students.
- Following up on teachers’ work and efforts with our students’ parents to solve students’ problems and challenges and build a positive relationship in cooperation with the educational counselor.” Principal Haifa’ Tayfour, Ebbin Secondary School, Ajloun Governorate, Jordan Technical Assistance Program
How do you feel about changes and new initiatives in schools? How do you implement these changes?
“We welcome new initiatives in education because innovation leads to growth and development. The advancement of inclusive education is essential for changing societal perceptions. The positive feedback we receive shows that the entire school team collaborates to support students with disabilities, and I’m ready to contribute to this development.” Akhmedova Marhabo, Deputy Principal, School #13, Gulistan District, Syrdaryo Region, Uzbekistan All Children Succeeding Activity
“These initiatives and interventions support the educational process in general. Therefore, the school administration works to provide everything that facilitates their implementation according to our capabilities, such as providing headphones, following up on the implementation of the interventions with the teachers, and encouraging them to fulfill all the intervention needs.” Principal Abeer Al-Nuaimi, Khalda Secondary School, Amman Governorate, Jordan Technical Assistance Program
How do you value teacher voices in your school?
“We actively listen to our teachers’ feedback, collaborating with method association leaders to ensure decisions are implemented effectively. As the school director, my priority is to maintain open communication with my staff, providing support in all situations. I work closely with my team, understanding their challenges in training sessions and daily activities.” Mubarakhon Bakhramova, School Principal, School #84, Davlatabad District, Namangan Region, Uzbekistan All Children Succeeding Activity
“By asking for and considering their opinions on educational issues, such as problems with students’ achievement, the lack of sufficient means to further enhance the educational process, and the lack of cooperation from parents with the school administration. To address these and other issues, I hold meetings with teachers to identify the challenges and problems they and the students face, conduct training courses using the school’s internal resources for students and teachers to address the challenges facing the educational process, organize school field trips so that students can see what they are studying in real life in an enjoyable atmosphere, and hold meetings and gatherings with parents to discuss and solve any problems.” Principal Haifa’ Tayfour, Ebbin Secondary School, Ajloun Governorate, Jordan Technical Assistance Program
