School Leadership
2.1. Leadership standards and roles
2.2. Selection and working conditions
2.3. Leadership preparation and training
3. Teachers, parents and students
3.1. School management committees and boards
4.1. Autonomy of school leaders
4.2. Assessment and accountability of school leaders
4.3. Teacher assessment by school leaders
1. Terminology
According to the 1995 Law on Education (amended in 2015), schools are managed by the director (տնօրենը) and the head rector (ռեկտորը (պետը)). The 2009 Law on General Education also uses the term director.
2. School principals
2.1. Leadership standards and roles
Competency standards and leadership frameworks and guidelines
The 2009 Law on General Education details the role of the school director in Article 12. The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Decision No. 76, Certification of the Director of the State Public School (hereforth referred to as Decision No. 76, 05.12.2022) lists the professional capabilities of the director as a framework of knowledge, employment, and responsibility which contributes to the effective fulfillment of the development programme of the institution.
Roles
Setting expectations/objectives: According to the 2009 Law on General Education, the director of a state educational institution prepares a development plan for the educational institution to the board for approval. They also report on the results of external and internal yearly evaluations. Decision No. 76 requires directors to plan for the development of the school and the school year. They know the requirements for the plan and develop it according to the ideas, needs, and opportunities of the state’s education policy, community, and beneficiary groups. The plan also aligns with the institution’s infrastructure, human resources, and potential. The director is “able to draw up the work plan of the educational activities of the academic year in accordance with the development plan, the state standard of general education, the standard of the subject, the requirements of the subject programme, the number of hours allocated to the subject by the curriculum and the evaluation methodology.” The director has control over the objectives, measurements, and programmes.
Developing teaching and learning: According to Decision No. 76 some responsibilities of the director include managing resources and time; managing the educational environment, providing equal learning conditions for all students; and promoting the integration of information communication technologies (ICTs) in the educational environment. ICT may be used for remote management or the implementation of planned work and accountability. The director evaluates the school’s progress with the data collected and can share the results with specific indicators that are understandable to all stakeholders.
Promoting collaboration: The director supports the work of consultative bodies such as the school council, parents council, and student council. The 2009 Law on General Education also states that teachers are obliged to cooperate with parents in matters of organization of children's education and family education. Decision No. 76, which details the professional capabilities of the school director calls for the director to be able to “create a healthy morale-psychological atmosphere of mutual respect and support between colleagues, pedagogical workers of the educational institution, students and their parents (legal representatives).” The evaluation scale in the decree shows that director must cooperate and form effective relationships with the school board, the community, education management bodies, and beneficiary organizations.
Supporting staff development: The 2009 Law on General Education states that the director manages the pedagogical council. Decision No. 76 states that directors of educational institutions are required to know strategies and methods for self-development and professional development of educational workers; assuming responsibility for professional development. Furthermore, the director is able to objectively assess the professional development needs of himself and the pedagogical workers of the educational institution. The director ensures the participation of pedagogical workers of the educational institution in the existing and remote courses and training promoting professional development according to their needs.
Acting in accordance with the ethical principles of the profession: Part of the professional capabilities in Decision No. 76 includes having knowledge of and maintaining professional welfare and democratic values. The evaluation criteria include assessing the director’s ability to uphold the values of democracy, justice, and diversity in their work. The director should also actively promote social justice.
Others: School directors in Armenia have the ability to participate in education policy discussions and present recommendations for the purpose of improving the current educational policy.
2.2. Selection and working conditions
Degree requirements and prior teaching experience
The 2009 Law on General Education states that directors of a state educational institution must be trained and have received the right certificate which qualifies them to manage an educational institution. The applicant must also have a higher education degree and at least seven years of total work experience during the last ten years. According to Article 26 of the law, a schoolteacher can be a person who has received an appropriate pedagogical qualification (bachelor's, master's, certified specialist's educational degree) or has a higher education and at least 5 years of pedagogical (or teaching) work experience in the last ten years. Teachers are re-certified once every 5 years.
Appointment decision
Decree N 181-Ն of the Government of the Republic of Armenia on “Announcement of the competition for the vacant position of the state educational institution, formation of the professional committee, activity, appointment and appeal of the director on approval of the procedure” dated on February 9, 2023.According to the 1995 Law on Education (amended in 2015), the director/rector is appointed by election and dismissed according to the educational institution’s charter. The 2009 Law on General Education further specifies that the director is elected by the board of the state educational institution according to a competitive procedure. The management board of the school adopts a decision to announce a competition for the vacant position of the director within 3 working days. The Council organizes and conducts a competition for the vacant position of director within a maximum period of three months. Applicants submit their required documents including their certificate of the right to manage the educational institution and their school development plan. After the development plan presented by the candidate is published on the school's official website, within 3 working days, a discussion is organized with the participation of the candidate, the pedagogical council (in the presence of more than half of the total number of members) and the members of the general meeting of parents. As a result of the discussion, a closed vote is held in the pedagogical and parental councils. The director is elected by open vote, with a majority vote of the total number of council members.
Employment equity measures
No information was found.
Working conditions
The 1995 Law on Education (amended in 2015) specifies that a director or rector of a state educational institution can not simultaneously hold another state position or perform other paid work, except for academic and creative work. Article 50 of the law states that wages for the administrative and educational (professor-language) components of state schools may not be below the average wage for employees working in high mountainous areas financial institutions. According to the 2009 Law on General Education, school directors sign an employment contract with the school council for a period of five years. The same law states that teachers have the right to create or join organizations or trade unions for the purpose of protecting their interests. Directors must be recertified every five years. During the recertification, a complete evaluation of the director’s work is conducted. The employment contract may be renewed, but no longer than the candidate’s 65th birthday. According to the new financing procedure in 2023, the salary of school principals has increased to 329,800 drams on average.
2.3. Leadership preparation and training
Pre-service training
The 2009 Law on General Education states that the procedures for teacher certification, training, and awarding of a category are established by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, and the procedure for forming the list of guaranteed organizations training teachers subject to certification is established by the authorized body of the state administration of education. The law also details the training and certification steps for aspiring school directors. First, the authorized body of the state administration of education recognizes the mandatory documents of which the applicant must have. Then the applicant must take the initiative to organize the necessary training, after which they must take an examination through testing and interview. Once they have passed, the aspiring school director may receive the certification of the right to manage an educational institution for a period of five years. The training is organized twice a year. The aim of the training is to form and strengthen the aspiring school director’s knowledge and practical abilities regarding the legal, managerial, pedagogical, psychological, and teaching methodology in the field of education.
Induction and in-service training
According to the 1995 Law on Education (amended in 2015), the state provides continuous training to all teachers. The 2009 Law on General Education states that educational workers are obliged to consistently improve their subject and professional knowledge and skills, to carry out creative and research works; as well as cooperate with colleagues in order to exchange experience and increase the efficiency of professional activities.
3. Teachers, parents and students
3.1. School management committees and boards
The management of state educational institutions is carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and the charter of the state educational institution. The 1995 Law on Education (amended in 2015) describes the board of the educational institution as one of the governing bodies of educational institutions. The management of the current activities of the state educational institution is carried out by the executive body of the educational institution - the director and the coordinator of the administrative and economic part. The management of the administrative and economic process in the state educational institution is carried out by the coordinator of the educational institution or the legal entity delegated by the authorized body. In order to effectively organize the educational activities of the state educational institution, consultative bodies are formed: pedagogical, parental, student councils, subject-methodical associations.
The 2009 Law on General Education states that each state educational institution has a collegial management body referred to as the council (խորհուրդ). Responsibilities of the board include: electing the school director; approving the organizational structure of the educational institution, including internal disciplinary rules; approving the development plan of the institution; approving staff members; managing the funding for the school and submitting budgets to the state authorized body; supervising the implementation fof the development plan; and more. The members are mandated to participate in meetings, properly fulfil the duties defined by law, and carry out assignments and decisions of the council.
The Minister of Education and Science has also established a procedure for the election of the board of "State Public Educational Institutions" of the Republic of Armenia. According to these procedures, the school council consists of 7 members, who are nominated. These members are nominated by the teachers’ council and parent councils. There are also representatives from the local administration and the governor or the head of the community. Candidates nominated to the board of the institution must have secondary professional or higher education. The director of the institution cannot be part of the board of the given institution.
3.2. Middle leaders
There are four ranks of teacher certification according to the 2009 Law on General Education which teachers can be promoted to after a certain number of years of training. Teachers may obtain the second degree two years after receiving the first; obtain the third degree three years after obtaining the second; and obtain the fourth degree four years after receiving the third. Teachers in a higher qualification category receive additional payment. According to the 2013 Ministry of Education and Science Characteristics of the Teacher Qualification System of a Public Educational Institution, teachers must also collect characteristics to be promoted. The higher the certification, the more characteristics the teacher must have. A fourth-degree certified teacher has all the characteristics. Those being: 1) mastery level of the teacher; 2) having a student who has been awarded in international Olympiads in the last three years; 3) conducting a training course in organizations or having memorandums with the ministry; 4) managing professional counselling on the national educational environment forum or remote training teachers in the distance learning system; 5) in the last three years have either authored or co-authored a scientific article, pedagogical article, a textbook, or teaching manual; 6) evaluated at “excellent” for the last three years; 7) received the highest rank or title in the field or received recognition from the president, ministry, or prime minister; 8) recognition as a trainer and conducting training in a European Schools Cooperation programme or having a European quality certificate.
3.3. Parents
The 2009 Law on General Education calls for the formation of parent councils. Of which, the formation and powers are defined by the charter of the educational institution. The law also gives parents the rights to participate in the administration of the school, participate in the implementation and evaluation of public programmes, and participate in the internal evaluation of the school.
3.4. Students
The 2009 Law on General Education calls for the formation of student councils. Of which, the formation and powers are defined by the charter of the educational institution. Furthermore, the members of the student council of the educational institution may participate in the management of the educational institution with their right to vote. Students have the right to participate in the administration of the school.
4. Governance
4.1. Autonomy of school leaders
The school director, according to the 2009 Law on General Education, submits the educational institution's financial and economic report and the request for budget funding for the next year for the board's consideration. They prepare the cost estimate of the educational institution and submits it to the state authorized body after the board has approved it. The law also states that teachers can “choose and apply teaching methods and means that ensure high quality of the educational process, using textbooks and teaching materials, manuals and methods of assessing students' knowledge, skills and abilities guaranteed by the authorized body of the state education administration.”
Decree No. 76’s evaluation scale calls for directors to develop a curriculum consistent with the goals and problems of the development programme.
4.2. Assessment and accountability of school leaders
Decision No. 76 outlines the evaluation methodology for directors of educational institutions. According to this decree, the process of certification of the director of the educational institution is carried out based on the following documents: 1) the educational institution’s development programme; 2) annual plans of educational activities of the educational institution, after the last appointment of the director, for all years of office; 3) analysis of the results of in-school supervision provided for in the annual plan of educational activities of the educational institution, after the last appointment of the director,for all years of office; 4) annual reports on the implementation of the development plan and conclusions issued by the management board; 5) information about the results of inspections, external evaluations, and monitoring conducted at the school; and 6) information about the results of additional and alternative programmes implemented in the school. These documents are evaluated according to the following components: 1) activity of the institution; 2) analysis of the situation. 3) definition of goals and objectives. 4) a schedule of activities and measures ensuring the implementation of defined goals and objectives; 5) responsible persons. 6) results evaluation criteria. 7) risks. 8) means and material and technical accessories necessary for the organization of the process.
The evaluation is conducted by a professional committee and an examining organization. If the results of the evaluation are rated as “satisfactory” the director may be offered professional improvement opportunities guaranteed by the Ministry. If half of the evaluation has been declared “ineffective” the director will lose his position at the expiration of his term.
4.3. Teacher assessment by school leaders
The director is responsible for submitting work profiles of their teachers to the certification commission alongside the credits collected and other supporting documents. This occurs one month before the teacher is to be re-certified. The work profile includes information such as the teacher’s biographical data, professional and pedagogical knowledge and abilities, as well as the director’s assessment of the teacher’s work. If the teacher does not meet the standards for recertification, the director shall dismiss the teacher and fill the position. Decision No. 76 states that the director can carry out in-school control, monitor the work of all pedagogical workers, and evaluate their work efficiency. The evaluation scale includes measuring the director's skill in developing evaluation and accounting systems to monitor the quality of employee work and the progress of learners. According to latest amendments in Decision No. 76 the teacher participates in training for voluntary certification according to the need assessed by the director.
This profile was reviewed by Lusine Basentsyan, General Specialist of the General Education and Extracurricular programs’ Development and Implementation Division of the General Education Department.
