Identifying the Training Needs of Directors of the Education Office (Boys) in the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia in Light of Directors' Duties

Abstract

Training, which is one of the administration main tools, must be designed on  the basis of the training needs of the target group. If training of educational leaders is at the forefront of many educational policies, determining the training needs of directors of the Education Office in the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in light of the duties assigned to them, becomes an urgent requirement in order to design appropriate training programs for them.

This study aims at identifying the training needs of directors of  the Education Office (boys) in the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia relating to their administrative and supervisory duties, duties related to the schools, their employees, the local community, and finally duties related to educational supervisors in the office.

To achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers used the descriptive approach, and designed a questionnaire consisting of (49) items covering the three themes of the study. The tool was applied to the entire study population, totaling (158) directors.

The most prominent findings of the study include: the needs of the theme “Training needs related to the administrative and supervisory duties of directors of the Education Office” are the most urgent in the field of education. The training need “Following-up the educational learning process in the schools of the Office” is the most important training need from the point of view of directors of the Education Office. The least important in their opinion is “To be able to criticize curricula and courses.” “Spreading the spirit of cooperation among office staff” is the most urgent need within the theme of 'training needs related to the administrative and supervisory duties of directors of the Education Office'. As for the theme “Training needs related to the duties of office directors related to schools, their employees, and the local community”, the most urgent need is "the follow-up of the educational learning process in the schools of the Office”. Regarding the theme of “Training needs related to the duties of directors of the Office with regard to educational supervisors”, the most urgent need is "integrated understanding of the process of educational supervision".

One of the recommendations of the study is to identify the training needs when designing the training programs for male directors of the Education Office, as well as female directors of the Education Office (Girls).