From Professional Standards to Position-Based Competencies: Developing and Validating a Competency Framework for Lower-Secondary School Principals in Vietnam

School principals are often seen as the managers of a building, the people who sign the forms and keep the lights on. But in reality, their job has grown into something much more complex. They are now expected to be the architects of how students learn, the coaches for teachers, the bridge to families, and the leaders of change in a world that is moving faster than ever. In many places, including Vietnam, the rules for what a principal should know and do are written down in broad, official standards. These documents say a principal must be ethical, a good leader, and a skilled manager. However, a broad rulebook does not always explain exactly what a principal needs to do on a Tuesday morning in a specific school, or how to handle the unique challenges of a lower-secondary school where teenagers are navigating a new, competency-focused curriculum. The gap between a general rule and the daily reality of the job is where this research begins.

A team of researchers from Vinh University in Vietnam set out to close that gap. They wanted to move beyond the general rulebook and create a specific map of the skills needed for the actual job of a lower-secondary school principal. Instead of just listing abstract qualities like "good leadership," they started by looking at the job itself: the specific duties, the responsibilities, and the daily work required to run a school in the current educational climate. They asked a simple but difficult question: if you break down the principal's job into its real-world parts, what specific skills does a person need to do it well? To answer this, they developed a new framework based on the actual position, not just on theory, and then tested it to see if it held up in the real world.

The researchers focused on three provinces in central Vietnam, an area with a mix of city schools, rural communities, and mountainous regions. They knew that a principal in a bustling city might face different challenges than one in a remote village, yet they needed to find the common skills that every principal in this role must possess. To build their map, they first studied official documents and job descriptions to understand the core functions of the principal's role. They then brought in a group of experts to review their ideas, ensuring that the skills they identified were actually relevant to the job. Once they had a draft list of skills, they put it to the test. They surveyed 600 people from 60 different schools, including the principals themselves, their assistants, team leaders, teachers, and other staff members. By asking many different people to rate how well principals were performing in these specific areas, the researchers gathered a wide range of perspectives rather than relying on a single opinion.

The result of this work is a clear, five-part framework that describes what a principal in this role actually needs to do. The first part is "professional qualities," which covers the ethical and legal foundation of the job, like fairness and following the rules. The second is "school governance," which involves planning, managing resources, and improving how teaching and learning happen. The third is "building an educational environment," meaning creating a safe, positive, and disciplined space where students can thrive. The fourth is "relations with families and society," which is about connecting the school to the community and working with parents. The fifth and final part is "digital and professional integration," a newer area that covers using technology for management, making decisions based on data, and keeping up with professional learning.

When the researchers looked at the scores from their survey, a clear picture emerged. The principals were rated highest on their professional qualities, with an average score of 4.13 out of 5. This suggests that the people in these roles are very strong on ethics, fairness, and following the law. They were also rated well on school governance and building a good school environment, both scoring 3.89. However, the lowest scores were found in the area of digital and professional integration, which averaged 3.59. This was not a failure of the principals, but rather a sign of where the job is changing faster than the skills have developed. While principals were comfortable using basic digital tools for daily tasks, they were less confident in using data to make big decisions, leading digital changes in their schools, or using technology to learn from experts around the world.

The study also revealed a subtle but important difference in how principals handle their relationships with the outside world. They were very good at the routine side of things, such as talking to parents and answering their questions. But they were less strong at the broader side of the job, which involves finding new partners in the community and gathering extra resources to help the school. This pattern held true across the different regions, though the way it played out varied. In poorer or mountainous areas, the "community" work often meant building trust and mobilizing local support to keep students in school. In wealthier areas, it looked more like forming professional partnerships and networking. The framework showed that while the core skills are the same for everyone, the way they are used depends heavily on the local situation.

What makes this research valuable is that it does not just list what a principal should be; it shows how to translate a broad job description into a practical set of skills that can be measured and improved. The researchers found that the five-part structure they created was solid and reliable, meaning it consistently measured the same things across different schools. They also found that the skills are distinct from one another; being good at ethics does not automatically mean you are good at digital leadership. This distinction is crucial because it means that training programs cannot just be generic. Instead, they need to target specific areas where principals are struggling, such as using data to improve teaching or leading a school through digital changes.

The study suggests that the role of a principal is shifting from a manager who keeps things running smoothly to a leader who must constantly adapt and learn. The fact that digital skills and data-driven decision-making scored the lowest indicates that these are the areas where the most growth is needed. It is not that the current principals are failing; it is that the job has changed, and the tools to do it are evolving. The researchers emphasize that this framework is a tool for development, not a test to pass or fail. It helps schools and education systems understand exactly what support a principal needs to succeed in their specific context. By starting with the actual work of the job rather than a general theory, the researchers have provided a way to build better leaders for the future, ensuring that the people guiding our schools are equipped with the right skills for the world they are leading into.