The development of critical skills for deputy principals is a matter which deserves attention, owing to the critical role which deputy principals are expected to play in school management. However, this area of research is neglected and has received limited attention in the literature that focuses on school leadership development. In this vein, the critical skills needed by deputy principals should be identified in order to suggest measures or programmes to develop the skills. Moreover, the role of deputy principals in school management and leadership brings expectations which need to be met through effective performance. In order for deputy principals to perform their duties as expected, they need proper skills and professional development. The purpose of the study reported on here was to identify and establish the extent of the need of critical skills for deputy principals in secondary schools. In order to achieve the aim of the study, a quantitative survey was adopted to collect the data. The paradigm used was the post-positivist paradigm. The participants in the study were 157 secondary school deputy principals from one province in South Africa. Data were gathered using a standardised questionnaire and analysed by means of descriptive statistical techniques, including frequencies, means and percentages. The results reveal that deputy principals in the studied sample needed positional-awareness or role-awareness, technical, socialisation and self-awareness skills in order to perform their duties effectively. We recommend a preparation programme, mentoring and ongoing professional development to develop these skills for deputy principals in order to empower them to contribute to the attainment of quality education. Keywords: critical skills; deputy principals; mentoring; professional development; school management team; secondary schools; South Africa

中文翻译：

---

南非中学副校长的关键技能

由于期望副校长在学校管理中发挥关键作用，因此培养副校长的关键技能是值得关注的问题。然而，这一研究领域被忽视，在关注学校领导力发展的文献中受到的关注有限。在这方面，应确定副校长所需的关键技能，以便提出发展技能的措施或计划。此外，副校长在学校管理和领导中的角色带来了需要通过有效表现来满足的期望。为了让副校长按预期履行职责，他们需要适当的技能和专业发展。此处报告的研究的目的是确定和确定中学副校长对关键技能的需求程度。为达到研究目的，采用定量调查收集数据。所使用的范式是后实证主义范式。该研究的参与者是来自南非一个省的 157 名中学副校长。使用标准化问卷收集数据，并通过描述性统计技术进行分析，包括频率、平均值和百分比。结果表明，研究样本中的副校长需要具有位置意识或角色意识、技术、社交和自我意识技能才能有效地履行职责。我们推荐一个准备计划，指导和持续的专业发展，以培养副校长的这些技能，使他们能够为获得优质教育做出贡献。关键词：关键技能；副校长；辅导；专业发展；学校管理团队；中学; 南非