Objective: The aim of the present study was to validate the professional development model for elementary school principals, with an emphasis on the heutagogy approach.
Methods: This research was applied in terms of purpose and employed a cross-sectional survey design in terms of methodology. The statistical population included all elementary school principals (first and second cycles) and education administrators of the 19 districts of Tehran, totaling 2,500 individuals. Of these, 114 were district administrators and the remaining 2,386 were elementary school principals. A multistage proportionate stratified sampling method was used. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire. To ensure accurate measurement of the research constructs, the questionnaire’s validity was examined through face validity and content validity. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The questionnaire was administered to a pilot sample, and the data were analyzed using SPSS software. The overall Cronbach’s alpha of the questionnaire was 0.89. To evaluate the fit of the conceptual model extracted from the qualitative phase and confirm the factorial structure of the questionnaire, confirmatory factor analysis was employed.
Results: The results showed that, out of the 118 identified indicators, 117 indicators, along with all 25 components and 6 main dimensions, were confirmed, and only one indicator was removed. Moreover, the significance coefficients obtained from the confirmatory factor analysis fell outside the range of ±1.96, indicating that the relationships between the indicators and the model constructs were statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.
Conclusions: Based on the findings, the professional development model for elementary school principals, with an emphasis on the heutagogy approach, has favorable scientific and statistical validity.