Identification and Prioritization of Factors Affecting the Psychological Capital of Secondary School Principals in Abdanan County
Keywords:
Psychological capital, prioritization, school principals, Abdanan cityAbstract
This study aimed to identify and prioritize the factors affecting the psychological capital of secondary school principals in Abdanan County. This applied-developmental study employed an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design. In the qualitative phase, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 30 experts in education and educational management, selected through purposive and theoretical sampling. The interview data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. The qualitative findings were subsequently used to develop a structured questionnaire for the quantitative phase. The questionnaire was administered to educational administrators and personnel in Abdanan County, and valid data obtained from 50 respondents were analyzed using the nonparametric Friedman test. The qualitative analysis yielded 174 statements, 39 subcategories, and 12 main factors affecting principals’ psychological capital: organizational knowledge, religiosity, relationships with colleagues, personality, ethics, research and development, emotions, psychological well-being, support, environment, outlook on life, and self-perception. The Friedman test indicated a statistically significant difference among the rankings of these factors (χ²=40.95, p=0.025). Organizational knowledge received the highest priority, followed by religiosity, ethics, psychological well-being, relationships with colleagues, environment, research and development, personality, emotions, self-perception, support, and outlook on life, respectively. The psychological capital of school principals is a multidimensional construct influenced by individual, emotional, relational, organizational, environmental, and value-based resources. The leading position of organizational knowledge suggests that knowledge updating, professional development, in-service education, experience sharing, and collaborative learning should constitute the core of principal-development policies. Programs designed to strengthen professional ethics, psychological well-being, constructive workplace relationships, and organizational support may further enhance principals’ hope, self-efficacy, optimism, and resilience. Accordingly, educational authorities should consider the identified priority structure when designing interventions and allocating resources for the development of school principals’ psychological capital.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Fozieh Khoshnood, Faramarz Malekian, Elham kaviani, Alireza Ghasemi (Author)
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