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Principal’s Qualification Program Part 1 (Queen’s, Winter 2025, Online)

January 20, 2025 to April 4, 2025

  • Category: Online, PQP
  • Region: Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, GTA, Northern Ontario, Outside Ontario, Southern Ontario
  • Topic: Teacher Leadership
  • Grades: Intermediate (grades 7-10), JK-SK, Junior (grades 4-6), Primary (grades 1-3), Senior (grades 11-12)

Course Description

Principals play a critical leadership role in the education system. Principals cultivate school cultures with a vision of purpose and possibility by inspiring and motivating stakeholders. As a school leader, you are key to making a difference for the students in your care.

The Principal’s Qualification Program, Part I, is designed for experienced teachers interested in the next step of their leadership journey. Framed within an anti-oppression foundation and through a stance of collaboration, inquiry and research, you’ll be immersed in the core leadership capacities to develop the foundational knowledge and skillsets needed for innovative and systemic thinking. In this engaging and supportive course, you will advance your administrative leadership skills by

  • discerning your personal values that guide you as a leader and build a shared vision
  • building strong, asset-based relationships with stakeholders that foster a climate of equity, diversity, inclusion, and excellence
  • investigating the legislation and evaluating frameworks that address systemic barriers and promote informed professional judgement
  • integrating research insights and practical strategies to nurture collective efficacy and action
  • aligning resources with priorities to maximize operational efficiency and develop strategies that recognize and remove barriers for all learners
  • creating professional learning networks through collaboration and roundtable discussions

Asynchronous Learning 

100 hours of self-directed learning (with an additional 1 hour for progress updates), including the independent work on assignments and culminating tasks, independent study, research, journal entries and ePortfolio submissions

Collaboration 

  • 6 hours of synchronous learning (live webinars)
  • 8 hours in collaborative tasks with peers
  • 10 hours responding to discussion posts

Mentor 

At the start of the course, candidates will select a mentor who will agree to work with them throughout the duration of the Leadership Practicum. The mentor is an OCT certified, fully qualified, experienced, and practicing principal or vice-principal.

Leadership Practicum Proposal 

At the end of this course, you’ll design a leadership practicum proposal based on your pedagogical inquiry, integrate your learning with the Ontario Leadership Framework’s domains, and demonstrate your capacity as a critically reflective leader.

Candidates will develop a leadership practicum proposal before being recommended to the Ontario College of Teachers for PQP, Part 1.

Preparing for the Leadership Practicum

The course culminating task for PQP, Part 1 is the Leadership Practicum Proposal, and the course culminating task for PQP, Part 2 is the actualization of the Leadership Practicum. You can read more about the Leadership Practicum on CONT 756: Principal Qualification Part 2 page.

While candidates may begin their Leadership Practicum before starting PQP, Part 2, it is not advisable to fully complete their Leadership Practicum before the start of the course. PQP Part 2 is designed and approved by OCT to provide candidates with the required knowledge and skills to actualize, adapt, and assess the effectiveness of their Leadership Practicum. At the same time, they work with their mentor and PQP Part 2 instructor.

For more information and clarifications, contact our office at [email protected].

What You Will Learn and Do

In this course you’ll have the opportunity to

  • inform and enhance your leadership capacity by making critical connections between personal purpose and the duties of the principal
  • foster effective intrapersonal and interpersonal skillsets to master the challenges of educational leadership
  • transform potential into practice while challenging systemic barriers so as to positively impact students and contribute to a just and equitable society
  • employ the legal requirements of the principal when solving problems, making ethical decisions and cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that prioritizes student achievement and wellness
  • design data collection, management and analysis strategies necessary for making sound decisions for school improvement planning
  • coach and support a variety of stakeholders to align practices at the classroom, school, board and provincial level