School Excellence: Principals’ Perceptions

It was generally believed that the education system of Pakistan, in general, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in particular, was in shambles. Barring a few exceptions, the schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa direly needed improvement. Turning schools into Centres of Excellence required identification of factors that promoted effectiveness and excellence. The study was carried out to identify factors promoting excellence in schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The population of the study included all the boys’ high Schools of Peshawar city. The sample comprised 30 principals/headmasters of boys’ high schools (26 from private sector and 4 from public sector). The tool of the study was an opinionnaire, which was fielded to principals/headmasters of both sectors. The opinionnaire contained items and statements of multi-dimensional nature. The data analysis was given both quantitative and qualitative treatment. In order to be logical and scientific in approach the analysis was further made meaningful with the application of statistical measures. The outcome of the study revealed a number of factors that could help convert a school into a centre of excellence. Keywords: Excellence, Effective, Public and private schools, Opinionnaire, Factor