EFFECTIVE MECHANISMS FOR DEVELOPING THE PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE OF DEPUTY DIRECTORS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF UZBEKISTAN

Abstract

The quality of general secondary education increasingly depends not only on teachers’ instructional performance but also on the professional competence of school leaders who coordinate, monitor, and improve the teaching-learning process. In this regard, deputy directors for academic affairs occupy a strategically important position, as they connect national education policy, school-level management, teacher professional development, curriculum implementation, lesson observation, assessment, and data-based decision-making. This article examines effective mechanisms for developing the professional competence of deputy directors in secondary schools. The study is based on a qualitative conceptual analysis of international research on school leadership, continuous professional development, instructional leadership, and competence-based management, with particular attention to the reform context of Uzbekistan. The findings show that the professional growth of deputy directors becomes effective when it is organized as a systematic and continuous process rather than as occasional training. The article proposes a model consisting of diagnostic needs assessment, individual professional development planning, modular training, mentoring and coaching, school-based practice, professional learning communities, digital monitoring, reflective portfolios, and performance-based feedback. These mechanisms can strengthen managerial, pedagogical, analytical, communicative, digital, and reflective competencies of deputy directors. The article concludes that developing deputy directors’ professional competence is a key condition for improving school governance, supporting teachers, and ensuring sustainable educational quality.