PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR ACADEMIC TRAINING FOR THE HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS OF THEIR ROLE

The principal manages many employees, including teachers and other certified staff. Therefore, they need to receive specialized training toward this end. Unfortunately, previous research has shown that many principals do not receive this training and education. This study explores principals perceptions of the academic training they received. Specifically, the study examines their thoughts and opinions regarding how well they were trained for their roles human capital management functions. This study utilized a mixed-method survey research design to obtain information from a sample of PK-12 school principals. The researchers employed a 25-item online questionnaire to assess the principals perceptions of the principal preparation programs they participated in before initiating their principalship. This questionnaire included open- and close-ended questions to evaluate their perceptions and thoughts. One-Way ANOVA was used to analyze Likert-style data and explore the perceptions of completing a human resource capital management course. A thematic qualitative analysis was also used to identify and analyze themes within qualitative data. The findings revealed that respondents shared the same desire to complete a human capital management course, principals with varying degrees of experience perceived their masters degree in educational leadership as preparing them for the post of principal in the same way, and principals must believe they have the relevant knowledge and skillsto help them perceive that they are operating as efficient and effective human capital managers.