Representation of school principals' experiences of quality education policy

The education system and the basic activities in which it is formed, i.e. the training of human resources and capital, are the basis of sustainable development; Therefore, the quantity and quality of this education plays an important and vital role in the welfare and prosperity of nations. Schools, as the technical units of the educational system, have the most important task in this field. However, the tasks that managers have to do and the tasks that are assigned to them are very diverse and diverse. Therefore, managers must have a range of skills, especially political skills, in order to be able to make serious decisions in specific situations. Because policy-making is an undeniable issue in relation to the work of managers, the present study was conducted with the method of narrative research with the aim of representing managers' experiences of policy-making in the direction of quality improvement and with an interpretive approach. Episodic interviews were used to collect data. Participants in the study were school principals in Sanandaj and sampling was purposeful. After interviewing 15 people, the data were categorized and analyzed inductively based on thematic analysis. The analysis showed that the political, social, economic, cultural, human, technological or professional and legal factors, in turn, can influence the policy-making process.
Economy as one of the effective factors in the field of education and improving its quality has always been one of the main indicators of development and excellence of education and the main criterion for the development and improvement of policy in education and development. Analysis of information related to economic factors indicates that economic factors play a decisive role in policy making. In fact, economic factor has been one of the criteria for the development and improvement of educational activities. The lack of educational per capita, parents’ reluctance to helping the school, Insufficient teachers' salaries, and consequently teachers' lack of motivation to continue their educational activities, lack of proper educational facilities, existence of dilapidated buildings and the lack of attention to educational infrastructure, are among the indicators that motivate principals to activities. All of these provide quality education or prevent them from working in this field.
Legal factors refer to those factors that are related to the structure and administrative regulations and organizational duties and roles. Analysis of data on legal factors shows that the existence of obvious discrimination between school principals, teachers and, to a lesser extent, students, affects principals' performance in improving the quality and development of appropriate policies in education. Public school principals often point to discrimination and partisanship in the administration, and find this to be a motivating factor. Certainly, the existence of incorrect and inappropriate policies reduces the efficiency of any organization. Despite the inner desire of the principal or teacher, discrimination in the selection, encouragement, and promotion of the organization, etc., causes that they do not make an effort to implement their positive ideas and thoughts to develop the quality of education and are even less active. Also, the inability of principals in choosing their teachers for school is another legal problem. This, in turn, creates a conflict between the needs of schools and the demands of higher authorities, which in the long run reduces the quality and increases the dissatisfaction of school principals and teachers.
Political factors refer to the adoption of appropriate policies by managers to implement laws, programs, and communiqués with the aim of achieving better quality. Analysis of data about political factors shows that the existence of useful and constructive interaction and communication between executive factors in the school and setting school goals in the direction of rules and regulations communicated to schools can be among the political factors. When all the executive agents in the school can work together and enforce the rules and regulations, the policy-making in these schools will be better and the quality of education will be improved. Principals who can coordinate laws, regulations, and sometimes contradictory communications, and align teachers and other school agents in line with the main purpose of the school, and by creating constructive and appropriate interaction with different sectors of education provide the ground for internal and external coherence, the quality of education will be affected, and schools will improve qualitatively.
Social factors refer to social contexts that provide appropriate policies for quality development in schools and establish the necessary balance between the environment and educational activities. Analysis of information on social factors shows that one of the important factors in the social mismatch between education and the environment is the lack of attention to the needs of the labor market. Schools, as suppliers of skilled and capable manpower in the industrial and social fields, need to keep pace with the needs of the labor market and cultivate a workforce that is commensurate with their needs and wants, which is one of the important aspects of policy-making. Another social factor is related to the mismatch of subjects with students' abilities and talents. When students' social and individual abilities are not taken into account in keeping with environmental and social activities, the subjects will not be in line with these abilities. Consequently, school trainings will not be effective in practice. Cultural factors refer to those factors that are related to the values, norms, and managerial attitudes related to quality and its development in schools. Analysis of information on cultural factors shows that the lack of proper culture in the field of education and ignorance of many people in the school community is one of the major problems in reducing quality and inappropriate policies in the field of education development. Parental illiteracy, lack of useful education for them, lack of communication between home and school, inconsistency of home and school values, fading of high religious values ​​and inappropriate innovations have caused school principals to discuss appropriate and up-to-date policies with problems. Therefore, principals need to focus on the quality development of school education (while maintaining positive relationships with society and the environment and family) and provide moral and cultural context for students, who in the future will lead and develop culture.