Abstract:

This research aims to examine the primary school principals’ opinions with respect to the Teaching Profession Law. The study has been carried out by means of the phenomenological research, one of the qualitative research methods. Interviews have been conducted with school principals working at different primary schools using the interview form developed by the researchers. The study group of the research consists of 14 school principals working at different primary schools in Kovancılar and Karakoçan districts of Elazığ province in 2022-2023. Research data has been collected through a semi-structured interview form. The collected data has been analysed using the content analysis method. The school principals’ opinions regarding the Teaching Profession Law are grouped under three themes: the scope of the law, its shortcomings, its contribution to the competence and competency of teachers, and suggestions. As a result of the research, it has been found that some school principals favour the Teaching Profession Law due to considerable improvements it has introduced to service conditions and personnel rights, while some school principals criticize the law for not making any improvements or developments in career adjustments and personnel and social rights. While the school principals think that increasing salaries through professional career stages will have a positive contribution, it may also cause conflicts and discrimination between teachers, parents and school administrators, which will lead to a negative situation. The school principals have stated that it would be appropriate to make some arrangements in terms of service conditions in the Teaching Profession Law.

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