Leadership in Georgia secondary career technical programs: Perceptions of tasks and professional development opportunities.

摘要

The purpose of this study was to identify certain work-related characteristics of local career technical leaders in the state of Georgia and identify how these career technical leaders perceive their job roles, responsibilities, and professional development opportunities. This multiple methods research focused on describing certain work-related characteristics and demographic information, including gender, ethnicity, educational certification, previous work experience, previous leadership experience, and job titles. The study also collected perceptions of existing and future professional learning activities for local career technical leaders.;Results revealed a diverse group of local career technical leaders with the exception of ethnicity. Data indicate that local career technical leaders perform a large number of tasks that are interrelated. The study revealed that current workshops focus on funding issues related to state and federal career technical legislation. Respondents in the survey provided perceptions of the effectiveness of existing professional learning activities and suggested topics and strategies for future professional learning activities.;Three research instruments collected data from 81 local career technical directors in Georgia. Seventy-three leaders responded to an online survey. Five leaders participated in interviews with the researcher. Three local leaders were observed for one day. The three instruments produced rich data that were coded and analyzed to determine categories. The categories and triangulation of data produced conclusions around the research questions of the study.