Download - qendra per arsim demokratik

Osman BULESHKAJOpen interviews vs. interviews held for the ‘sake of having them done”Participants in this study shared their personal stories when being interviewed forthe position. These stories result with three sub-themes: when being interviewed,regulations on this process, and when interviewing others.The interviewParticipants’ experiences of being interviewed were diverse. Responses varied fromthose who qualify interviews as short and very useless and only two that enjoyedthem thoroughly. Participants remembered useless question they were asked,interview panellists and they qualifications, which many times were lower that thecandidates, and the whole process sometimes being done just because they had togo through it. All participants, however, were successful in their interviews. Thefact that they were successful might have had an impact on their interpretation.About regulations on this processThe procedure to appoint the panel members and interview applicants for schoolprincipals is regulated by Law and an Administrative Instruction (AI). The panelincluded one representative from MEST, one from IU and one from the MEDoffice. There is also a teacher and a parent representative from the school council, butthey do not have the right to vote. Participants reported that non-voting members oftenget manipulated, even though they don’t have the right to vote. Membership on thepanel and interview process will change once the newly developed regulation is signed.When interviewing othersIn order to compare and contrast the participant perception when being interviewedand when interviewing others, a few questions were raised during the interviewprocess. All participating school principals had interviewed teachers only. Becauseof their personal experiences, they indicated how careful they tried to be when askingquestions related to classroom teaching that affects school leadership and schoolimprovement. An important, and shared, opinion was that interviewees should betrained on how to interview candidates for school principals. Unfortunately, this isnot yet happening in Kosovo.Demand driven professional developmentSince the end of the conflict in Kosovo, in June 1999, a number of internationaland local partners were involved in providing opportunities for professionaldevelopment for educational leaders in Kosovo. Perceptions of the participantsabout these supply driven initiatives and programs can be separated into three subthemes:most useful so far, opportunities for further professional development, andAlbanian Journal of Educational Studies 34