The roles of the school principals in the professional development of teachers for 21st century Education

Abstract In this empirical paper, we explore the school principals’ roles in developing teachers for 21st century education, particularly in integrating information and communication technology (ICT) for the enhancement of teaching and learning in schools. The Department of Education entrusted school principals with the vital role of defining the direction and growth of the schools. As a result, teachers rely extensively on school principals to give guidance and influence their professional development, particularly the development of 21st century education. The interpretive paradigm underpinned this article while semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Theories of Professional Development for Teachers are applied in this study. Professional development as continuous learning focused upon the sum total of formal and informal learning pursued and experienced by the teacher in a compelling learning environment under conditions of complexity and dynamic change. Teacher training and in-service professional development are key to effective teaching. The study sample consisted of two schools. Two participants were purposefully chosen from each school. The findings suggest that although school principals do not have an active role in developing teachers, their passive role through support, interaction, and financial support impacts how teachers respond to partaking in professional development programs.


Introduction
What does it mean to be a teacher in the 21 st century?First, according to Cox (2019), 21 st century teachers must be adaptive; they should be able to evolve their teaching style with the everchanging world, adapt to the internet changes brought about by technology, and incorporate them into their teaching.Secondly, they should be able to collaborate and work in a team with other teachers to grow professionally.Thirdly, 21 st -century teachers should be able to think critically and be forward thinkers that prepare learners for future opportunities.Lastly, Cox (2019) continues to state that 21 st century teachers should be advocates for their profession and the education of learners.This study argues that teachers of the 21 st century are required to possess different skills and competencies different from the teachers of the 20 th century concerning their role in teaching and learning.Likewise, school principals, need to be aware and equip themselves with the relevant 21 st century skills in order to guide teachers towards relevant 21 st century teacher professional development education towards the improvement of student learning and teaching approaches for 21 st century education.
Teachers rely on the guidance of the school principals to pave the way for them in curriculum development and intergrading technology in teaching and learning; as a result, well-developed principals with 21 st -century skills are needed to equip the teachers with the necessary skills.Moreover, with the outbreak of covid 19, public schools struggled with introducing online learning in schools; therefore, what role do the school principals play in assisting teachers in preparing for the relevant 21 st -century skills to enable their teaching during the covid pandemic through blended learning?However, the majority of school principals feel that they are not professionally advancing with the knowledge of technology or digital skills (Fisher & Waller, 2013).Therefore, this might be one of the reasons why there is less published literature on the role of the school principal in the professional development of teachers because the principals are also not professionally developed with 21 st century digital skills.As suggested by Raman et al. (2019).Furtherresearch on the professional development of principals in the 21 st century is recommended.Despite the studies that have shown the quality of principals and their role in the 21 st century, research on technology leadership is underrepresented in the existing literature (Fisher & Waller, 2013).As a result, the research seeks to determine the role of school principals in aiding teachers with the most recent technological advances, as well as how school principals contribute to the process of teacher professional development in the 21 st century.
The body of this manuscript is divided into five sections which include literature, theoretical framework, research design and methodology, data analysis, presentation of findings, conclusion and recommendations.

Literature review
This section will review the literature related to this article.

Teacher professional development programs
The term 21 st century education is defined as the education that sets learners up to succeed in a world where more than half of the jobs they'll have over their careers don't even exist yet (Joynes et al., 2019).In this study, 21 st century education should be understood as the education that responds to the economic, technological, and societal shifts that are happening at an everincreasing pace.21 st century learning is typically used to describe the types of competencies needed to thrive in today's complex and interconnected global landscape.Examples of these skills include digital literacy, cultural competence, inventiveness, emotional awareness, entrepreneurship, critical thinking, and problem-solving (Metiri, 2013), Partnership for 21st Century Learning, (2013), If one wonders how and when did 21 st century started and end, the 21 st century is the present century according to the Gregorian calendar.It began on 1 January 2001 and will last until 31 December 2100, though common usage mistakenly believes 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2099 to hold this distinction.Technologically 21 st century is different from the 20 th century mostly by changes brought about by the Digital Revolution of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s (Joynes, Rossignoli, & Amonoo-Kuofi, 2019).
Finally, the term 21 st century education can be defined well under four categories: Firstly, 21stcentury education is the mode of education that use ICT to support, enhance, and optimise the delivery of information.Secondly, 21st-century education describes unique personal skills, including critical and problem-solving skills, creativity, and self-development.Thirdly, it is social skills which involve cultural and global awareness, being well-spoken, and possessing leadership skills.Lastly, information and knowledge meaning as being a lifelong learner (Joynes, Rossignoli, & Amonoo-Kuofi (2019).Kim et al. (2019) argue that the developing competencies known as 21 st century education are gaining popularity as a strategy for boosting classroom teaching quality.According to Fisher and Waller (2013), integrating technology in the classroom can nurture 21 st century abilities and provide practical tools for learning; nevertheless, the effectiveness of technology in the classroom relies on how successfully the teacher uses it to enhance education, thus, the study argues that teachers must receive professional development training on 21 st century education.Unfortunately, Fisher and Waller (2013) continue to say teachers cannot effectively integrate technology due to multiple barriers that inhibit technology integration; one of the mentioned barriers is the lack of professional development support from school districts and principals.This is why the study contends that the school principals' roles in developing teachers for 21st century education must be explored, particularly in integrating ICT for the enhancement of teaching and learning in schools.
According to Dlamini and Mbatha (2018), TPD strategies are established, developed, and executed to provide teachers with the vision to prepare themselves to teach in internet-blended learning settings properly.These professional development programs need to cater to the needs of the teachers, precisely their individual classroom needs, on the use of technology in the classroom.Although Philipsen et al. (2018) argue that there are few published pieces of literature on the professional development of teachers for online, blended learning and classroom changes encountered by teachers since the evolution to incorporate technology in their teaching.Therefore, there is a need for the latest published literature on 21st-century education and the development of teachers.Furthermore, according to Philipsen et al. (2018), the skills required to teach in a faceto-face classroom differ from those required for teaching in an online or blended environment.As a result, being a good teacher in a face-to-face environment does not mean that you will perform successfully in an inclusive technology classroom because of the skills and competencies required in these different teaching and learning environments.
Additionally, Dlamini and Mbatha (2018) argued that professional development programs are not a one-day event but a process and a continuous system that unfolds throughout the teacher's career.Therefore, when teachers embark on these, they should understand that it is a life-long journey that requires patience and has no end.Philipsen et al. (2018) emphasize that these programs should be an ongoing process that continuously gives teachers another chance in the future to access them to see their progress and additional questions, discussions, and work from colleagues, even though they have completed that program.Philipsen et al. (2018) further add that the systematic approach will also help the participants to go through the Professional Development step by step, which will help them to focus more on their learning and be lifelong learners.As a result, they can continuously improve their skills and strategies over time.
There are various characteristics of a successful professional development program as proposed by (Bayar, 2014).Firstly, professional development programs to be effective have to be designed to confer to the current needs of the teachers and what they encounter in their daily teaching practice.Secondly, professional development programs have to be conducted based on the specific individual classroom needs because every school is different; teachers have to relate to the content delivered and link it with their individual experiences in their classroom.In addition, teachers in higher-or lower-achieving schools have different professional development needs because teachers from public and lower-quintile schools have different needs from those of private and well-developed schools.Thirdly, another significant component of a successful professional development program is a designed structure that enables the teachers to participate actively in the activities.Fourthly, in most cases, professional development programs are offered in short courses; as a result, they lack the depth necessary to have a long-lasting influence on teaching skills.Lastly, trainers that deliver the content are not well equipped; as a result, they limit the general efficacy of the program.
Arguably, this study suggests that because school principals hire teachers, they have the responsibility of mentoring them and aiding them with the necessary 21 st century education skills to improve learning and teaching in schools.
However, most notably, in the entire process, it should be remembered that the teacher should also be willing to partake in professional development (Bozkus & Tastan, 2016).Therefore, this is where the influence of the school principal becomes vital because, through their conversations during staff meetings and one-on-one meetings, the school principals can share their knowledge in this and encourage teachers to attend.Paul (2020) agrees that principals' unique organizational position gives them numerous opportunities to communicate with teachers about the goal, structure, and effects of teacher professional development.The below section discusses the interaction between the school principal and teachers for their professional development.

Principal-teacher interaction for the professional development of teachers
According to Bilge and Aslanargun (2017), school principals are responsible for enforcing progressive and advanced school activities by prioritising learner achievement and teacher effectiveness.They are also responsible for implementing and ensuring structures that lead teachers to set professional development goals for themselves.In summary, it means that school principals have to create a positive and conducive teaching and learning environment for teachers to thrive.Therefore, among the principal's responsibilities is encouraging and supporting teachers' professional development (Bilgen, 2013).
Interpersonal relationships between the schools' principals and teachers can positively impact the professional development of teachers (Szeto & Cheng, 2018).Additionally, school principals are the critical support and guidance structures for teachers.Gülbahar (2020) argues that communication between the school principal and the teachers is a fundamental contributing factor to the positive and effective working relationship between the stakeholders and the schools' progress and the value of education.Hughes et al. (2017) concurred that the principal's effective strategy for enhancing support and maintaining a positive school culture is communication because that is the only way barriers can be conquered and achieved.For this reason, it will create a tight bond of trust, resulting in teacher leadership with the same vision for the school.Moreover, Hughes et al. (2017) note that a collaborative principal-teacher relationship is vital and must include open forums, discussions, meetings, and reviews to evaluate the needs of the school, teachers, and students.Consistent classroom feedback and support from the school principal could accelerate teachers' professional development and educational goals.
The school principals and teachers must possess the same vision and mission because they carry a big responsibility that depends on each other to transform schools into safe environments that allow students' growth for the 21 st century (Gulbahar & Sivaci, 2018).As a result, a positive relationship between the school principals and the teachers positively impacts the schools' successful running because they can all sit together and plan the development of the schools.Hence the study aimed to explore principals' roles in the Professional Development of Teachers for 21st Century Education to maximise school performance.

Theoretical framework
This study is underpinned by the Theories of Professional Development for Teachers of Business Bliss Consultants FZE (2018).Business Bliss Consultants FZE is a group of researchers based in United States of Arabs.Fullan's (1995) collection of professional teacher development concepts were employed.Through various professional teacher development theories, Fullan (1995) developed a theory known as Theories of Professional Development for Teachers (TPDT).It is important to note in this study that the TPDT originated from the work of various theorists which include: (Fullan, 1995;Gilbert, 2007;Hattie & Clinton, 2008;Healy & Welchert, 1990;Ingersoll, 2003;Rhodes et al., 2004;Schön, 1983Schön, , 1987;;Smyth, 1989;Wilson et al., 2017;Yeomans & Sampson, 1994).
According to Business Bliss Consultants FZE (2018), the aspects of TPDT includes six ( 6) key areas of professional teacher development: continuous learning, the use of tools and technology as learning instruments, mentoring, personal practices, active reflection, and reflective thoughts.The essence of TPDT is that professional development is continuous learning focused upon the sum total of formal and informal learning pursued and experienced by the teachers in a compelling environment under conditions of complexity and dynamic change (Fullan, 1995).
TPDT involves learning through active reflection which involves combining theory and practice, thought and action through this communication and dialogue of thinking teachers become more skilled (Schön, 1983).Furthermore, (Schön, 1987) stated that another aspect of TPDT is reflective thought, which is a chain of thought that comprises more than just a succession of thoughts.Teachers should be able to improve and begin better ways of working if they critically reflect on our practice by changing/incorporating new tactics into our teaching practice.Being actively reflective requires working together to identify concerns and adopting skills to handle problems through experiences, bringing in change or adapting to it.Gilbert (2007) talks about the new and different ways of thinking that are now important in the 21 st century.Prestige (2010) found the use of tools and technology as learning instruments such as online forums and networks, blogs could lead to learning and gaining knowledge in a community.Also engaging in online study and distance learning for teachers is a great way to develop their skills and knowledge.
Mentoring held legitimacy as a professional learning strategy and at the same time appeared to offer a cost "solution" in training and development for teachers which is evitable in today's world (Healy & Welchert, 1990;Yeomans & Sampson, 1994).Therefore, TPDT is significant in this study because it focuses on numerous components of professional development that school principals may utilise to steer teachers toward professional teacher development programs that integrate 21 st century education for the enhancement of teaching and learning in schools.
Finally, school principals should continuously consider new methods to enhance teacher professional development in order to guide and assist teachers as they adapt to the ever-changing environment of the 21 st century digital age.This research contends that the job of the principals is to continuously reflect through a reflective cycle, thinking about new methods to enhance learning and teaching through 21 st century education to improve classroom teaching and learning.Diagram 1 of the reflective cycle below model was modified from Wink's (2000) work and used in this study to assist school principals with a reflective model to guide teachers towards 21 st century education teacher development cycle (Figure 1).In summary, effective TPDT is defined as intensive, creating learning opportunities, identifying one's own and others' learning needs, evaluating one's own, observational, and peer-review skills, accessing mentoring, engaging in reflection, professional dialogue, and feedback, and fostering strong working relationships among teachers.

Research design
This study aims to investigate the role of school principals in aiding teachers with the most recent technological advances, as well as how school principals contribute to the process of teacher professional development in the 21 st century.To achieve this goal, we opted to use a qualitative data analysis generation process.The study is located within the interpretive paradigm.Interpretive research is fundamentally concerned with meaning and it seeks to understand social members' descriptions and understanding of the situations (Denscombe, 2010; Hammarberg, Kirkman & De Lacey, 2016).Within this paradigm, a qualitative method was used which is semistructured interviews.
Research design offers the overall formation for the procedures the researcher will follow to collect the data and the structure to analyze the data and write a report on the researched phenomenon (Shanti & Shashi, 2017).This study considered a number of ethical considerations.To gather data, an ethical clearance was granted.Participants' confidentiality, anonymity, and privacy were all safeguarded.Both schools gave permission.In this study, the following criteria for determining data quality were used: authenticity, trustworthiness, and believability.Validity is concerned with the correctness of the questions asked when collecting data and the explanations provided.(Mertens, 2015).This article used a semi-structured interview method with various teacher participants to maximize the validity and reliability of the research findings from various participants.

Research instruments
Using a qualitative methodology provides the researcher with the tools that allow for a deeper understanding of the phenomenon being studied through verbal data collected (Creswell et al., 2015).The chosen research instrument for this study is semi-structured interviews.Data received from Head of Departments (HoDs) was used to triangulate data received from school principals.

Sampling plan and its descriptions
According to Sharma (2017), sampling is a procedure employed by a researcher to systematically select a relatively minor number of representative items or individuals from a pre-defined population to serve as subjects (data sources) for observation or study.This study explores the school principals' roles in teachers' professional development for 21st-century education.As a result of the judgment to get that data to answer the questions, the school principals and the HoDs are the most suitable population.
The study employed convenience sampling to select the participating schools.Convenience sampling is a type of nonprobability sampling where members of the target population that meet specific practical criteria, such as easy accessibility, geographical proximity, availability at a given time, or the willingness to participate, are included in the study (Etikan et al., 2016).Therefore, the chosen participants were from the two schools in the surrounding area of Bloemfontein for easy accessibility.
As a result, the total number of participants in this study was four (04).Both schools were given fictitious names, with one school from a private school called City of Roses High and the other from a public school called Naval Mountain High.

Data analysis
According to Creswell et al. (2019), analysing data includes understanding the data gathered through texts, recordings, and images.This procedure involves looking deeper into the data to create meaning and answer the phenomenon under study.
In this study, data acquired from participants was transcribed and classified in themes based on meaning through encoding; hence, the data were analysed based on the themes that emerged from replies and how the researcher perceived the responses.The researcher employed inductive reasoning, thinking, and theorising, which differs from organized, mechanical, and technical techniques, to draw conclusions from actual evidence on social life.(Maluleke, 2019).The transcribing and data processing were carried out in accordance with the phenomenological phases specified by Maluleke (2019).

Data presentation, analysis and Discussion
In this section, we presented and discussed data collected from two participating schools with an aim to explore the school principals' role in teachers' professional development for 21 st century education.The data was collected from one public school and one private school, which will also help us understand how school principals from these different schools play their role in teachers' development.Two themes were used to discuss the data collected using pseudonyms for the school principals and the HoDs.
Therefore, the main research question (What is the role of the school principal in the professional development of teachers for 21 st century education?) is answered using the following questions: (a) What is the role of the school principal in supporting teachers' development for 21 st -century education?
(b) Which are the existing Teacher Professional Development Programs that are made available to teachers?

Theme 1: the role of the school principals in the development of teachers
According to Fatih (2020), school principals oversee the work requirements of teachers and other staff members.Additionally, to completing financial drafts and administrative duties, principals serve as liaisons amongst teachers, educational policy, and other school members.As a result, the principal's attitude and commitment toward professional development can boost teachers' attitudes towards professional development and increase their chances of attending.Furthermore, the school principal is a leader and the employer of the teachers who foresees everyone's duty, and a mentor teacher's lookup impacts the teachers' development at his/her school.During a semi-structured interview, principals were asked, "How would you describe your role as the school principal for the professional development of teachers, especially for 21 st century education?" The first principal from City of Roses High responded: The second principal from the public school (Naval Mountain High) responded by saying: P2-Public: "As a school principal, I have a duty, I must perform when it comes to the development of teachers because as a school principal, I am an accounting officer on the roles and the duties and the performance of teachers.I have to ensure that teachers implement the curriculum.We are leaning towards the era that requires teachers to be lifelong learners, and this is also the principal's responsibility to ensure that there is constant professional development on the side of the teachers.Now internally as a school principal I need to have a Professional Development Growth Plan which will address the issues that the teachers at my school have and how myself and the SMT can come in and offer professional development and if we do not have the resources internally, it is then my responsibility to source out external bodies and introduce teachers to different programs, I have to go out and seek that information and come back and present it to the teachers, also I need to ensure that teachers do attend these programs by empowering them and motivating them, if ever as the school I see that internally as a team we can't or do not have the resources and the skills to assist that particular teacher and maybe the district office as well has a shortage of staff from the experts they can send to us, it is then my responsibility to inform the SGB and the parents that there the school will be needing a certain amount of funds to outsource and seek external Bodies to come in and develop the teachers, train them with the technology skills they lack.Therefore, the SGB and I will make the funds available, which, as a whole, summarises my responsibility for developing teachers." The principal participants displayed a great awareness about their roles to support teachers in general but the support for teacher professional development for 21 st century education was lacking.The principal from Naval Mountain High argued that he supports teachers with development by making funds available to teachers.According to P1-Private from the City of Roses High, before assuming the role in the professional development of teachers, it is vital to know the needs and gaps of the teachers and learners before determining what needs to be done for teachers at the school.From the statement, the first role of the principal requires knowing the teachers' needs and how they align with the needs of the learners.Hence, he needs to assess the school and then decide on the professional development workshop the teachers will require later.Paul (2020) argues that principals support their teachers by ensuring that the professional development resources they provide match the needs of both teachers and learners.
Additionally, the Head of Departments from both schools were asked the same question to triangulate the information from school principals, "

According to your experience and information from working with the teachers and the school principal, what is the role of the school principal in the professional development of teachers in your school?"
The HoD from the private school (City of Roses High) responded by saying: H1-Private: "obviously, what our principal do is try and empower the departmental heads as well, and when you look at the structure of our school, we have departmental heads responsible for various grades of teachers, and they would gradually move along within different grades, so the main thing here is obviously is to communicate and encourage teachers to be life-long learners and develop themselves, unlike many others, fortunately, our school has the budget allocated separately to pay out different external facilitators to come in and develop the teachers, so if we receive anything from the teachers that they would like to attend, our school principal will have to grant permission to the teachers, so if there are subject-specific courses that are presented and the teachers express the desire to attend these courses, then we will have to make an allowance for them, the school principal will have to communicate with the SMT.We make payments for the teachers to go and attend those workshops; the school principal will have to release the funds and pay the respective departments that will train our teachers." The HoD from the public school responded by saying: H2-Public: " as the principal of the school, his role is to encourage and motivate the teacher, make them see the light for benefits of professional development, at times you find a teacher that says, instead of going externally for professional development, they prefer that the LFs or the subject specialist come into the school.Therefore, the HoD of that particular subject and the subject specialist will assist with the development.As a result, the school principal has to contact the district and request assistance.We have had a situation where we could not send all the teachers for training because of a lack of enough funds.However, the principal and the SMT decided to send at least two teachers to train at this conference on the latest technology trends.Come back to the school, and we can have an internal workshop where those two teachers train the rest; the principal had to make the funds available."

Discussion
According to the school principals, their role in the development of teachers is passive and not active.After all, they offer support through conversations and finances because they do not have a role in developing the teachers alone.However, they participate in planning for the teacher's development programs, the primary role of the school principal, mentioned by all the participants, is the financial support role.The school principal is responsible for making the financial decisions for teacher development programs.One principal said, "As a school principal, I have a duty, I must perform when it comes to the development of teachers because as a school principal, I am an accounting officer on the roles and the duties and the performance of teachers"."My biggest role is making the funds available, sourcing the money, and making money available to teachers to pay for their development".This decision includes talking to the school governing body and notifying parents regarding the need for fees to pay these programs.If the school does not have enough funds, the principal is responsible for outsourcing these funds through donations, sale day at school, market day, and casual day.Although the availability of the funds is the responsibility of the school principal, these funds do not just pay for the program.This was revealed when the principal lamented, "It is then my responsibility to inform the SGB and the parents that the school will be needing a certain amount of funds to outsource and seek external Bodies to come in and develop the teachers, train them with the technology skills they lack.Therefore, the SGB and I will make the funds available, which, as a whole, summarises my responsibility for developing teachers."Nevertheless, they addressed additional individual requirements for teachers to participate in conferences.
According to Paul (2020), among the different types of financial support for teachers are stipends for consultants and funding for conferences, travel, substitute teachers, materials, graduate school tuition, and program budgets.
Secondly, the school principal had the duty of evaluating the school to identify discrepancies between teachers and learners.These discoveries aided the school principal in determining the necessary resources for professional development initiatives that would provide the teachers with suitable support, information, and training.Paul (2020) confirms that ensuring that opportunities and resources for professional development align with the needs of teachers and learners is one way that principals can support their teachers.
Lastly, teachers regarded principals as foundations of professional information and expertise.Teachers need to know that the principal will be available to offer professional, psychological, and emotional support as they stretch their pedagogical abilities (İ ̇lğan, 2013).Hence, in alignment with the statements made by the Heads of Departments (HoDs) and the Principals, the duty of the school principal entails inspiring, empowering, and motivating teachers to participate in these professional workshops.The HoD added, "As the principal of the school, his role is to encourage and motivate the teacher, make them see the light for benefits of professional development".For example, in the past, when the school principal showed positive energy and provided information that made the teachers understand and see the need for them to grow professionally, they attended with no hesitation.This was because their leader and employer also valued these programs for their professional development and offered support to them.The above HoD statement was in line with TPDT, which purported that mentoring held legitimacy as a professional learning strategy and, at the same time, appeared to offer a cost-effective solution in training and development for teachers, which is inevitable in today's world.

Theme 2: existing Teacher professional development programs
The four participants are asked, "According to your knowledge and experience so far, what are the available Teacher Professional Development Programs that are made available for teachers to partake in?".In addition, these participants were asked to elaborate more on what these programs offer and to understand if their professional development activities cover 21st-century skills, particularly technology integration in schools.
The first principal from the private school (City of Roses High) responded: P1-Private: "One association that I know for sure offers the development of teachers and does cover workshops and activities on the 21st-century skills of teachers is SACE (South African Councill for Educators).Of course, these depend on the requirements of the teacher; if the teacher needs assistance on the use of a certain program or wants assistance on which subject topics to cover with Blended learning and incorporate technology, and how a particular chapter or topic can be best taught using which teaching media, so then the teacher will be in consultation with the relevant facilitator from SACE, some of these programs are what we do as a school, sending out teachers around to different school in and outside South Africa to the best schools just so learn different trends of technology, come back and report, then as a school we decide what we can do that information." The second principal from the public school (Naval Mountain High) responded by saying: P2-Public: " we have the professional body called SACE, which requires teachers to consistently develop and accumulate points for their development.These points are important to the principal to know how teachers are doing.In addition, we get assistance from the district by sending subject specialists to train our teachers internally as a principal.I also have one called Professional Development Growth Plan that happens every quarter for mathematics teachers." The HoD from the private school (City of Roses High) responded by saying: H1-Private: "SACE does offer professional development workshops for teachers, but, since COVID came, Teams has become a major player, teachers can attend webinars online, and the Departmental Subject Advisors, for instance, also has the mandate to develop teachers continuously, sometimes we partner with Private companies, send teachers for two days conferences, sometimes varsities as well does offer these conferences, and we can register our teachers, give them funds to go and attend."

Discussion
According to Van Driel et al. (2012), teacher professional development programs include various activities in which teachers partake, for instance, meetings, workshops and conferences, classroom observations, engagement, boot camps, and research projects, to mention a few.Therefore, according to the participants, the most dominant, consistent, and reliant body for teachers' professional development programs is SACE.Another participant from a Private school went on to say that SACE covered individual teacher requirements by focusing solely on the needs of the teachers.One HoD stated, "We have specific workshop programs with SACE because SACE offers teacher training, and another is called Content training".Additionally, the HoD from the Private school added that he was confident with the professional development programs offered by SACE, especially for the 21 st century blended skills and training teachers on the latest technology trends in the classroom.The school principal, P2-Public, and the HoD also mentioned SACE as one of the leading bodies for developing teachers, the principal added on having a quarterly internal professional development program with his school.Furthermore, the principal also mentioned that currently there is a body for mathematics teachers to get professional development for 21 st century education skills in teaching Mathematics in the classroom through technology.This was confirmed by the principal when he stated, "In addition, we get assistance from the district by sending subject specialists to train our teachers internally as a principal.I also have one called Professional Development Growth Plan that happens every quarter for mathematics teachers".
In addition, the HoD also mentioned that the district office does send experts to schools to offer training to the teachers, and one of the programs that teachers partake in is called Content Training, offered by the district office on request for teachers' professional development.
As mentioned by the participants, the Department of Education does assist the school with professional development programs using Subject Specialists and learning Facilitators, and also funding SACE to offer professional development for teachers.
However, the overall summary of the roles of the school principal was that they were passive rather than active because they were not equipped to offer professional development themselves directly.According to (RSA DoE Republic of South Africa Department of Education, 2015), the DBE, district officials, school principals, HoDs, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), subject-based professional teacher associations, and teacher unions are responsible for teacher professional development in schools.The major obligation ultimately rests with the teachers.However, according to this study, school principals should also guide and mentor teachers on appropriate teacher professional development programs to provide teachers with 21 st century education and improve learning and teaching in schools.
When comparing the school principal at Naval Mountain High Public School and the school principal at City of Roses Private High School professional development of teachers.Although, according to the findings, there was no significant difference in their roles, the City of Roses High had more funds to seek out external bodies to develop the teachers.The school could afford to send out teachers worldwide for a tour while visiting the best schools to gather information on the latest technology trends in the classroom.As a result, the school principal from City of Roses High did not have much to do besides leasing, sourcing the funds, and encouraging and empowering the teachers during the staff meetings.
The school principal at Naval Mountain High had extra responsibilities because the school did not have enough funds to constantly outsource external facilitators.This was because it was a government school and it relied on the funds provided by the government to run the school.Consequently, the school principal maintained regular communication with the district office whenever teacher development programs were required.The school principal also had additional roles as an accounting officer in ensuring that the teachers were registered with SACE for their professional development journey and was responsible for internally and continuously assessing the teachers and offering them training on their classroom requirements.The school principals and HoDs from both schools have affirmed the importance of effective communication, interaction, and trust between principals and teachers.One principal argued, "So the main thing here is obviously to communicate and encourage teachers to be life-long learners and develop themselves, unlike many others, fortunately, our school has the budget allocated separately to pay out different external facilitators to come in and develop the teachers".As a result, they could share their knowledge and information on how important the teacher professional development program was for the benefit of the learners' education.Principals create conditions that enable staff to develop so that the school can achieve its goals more effectively (Paul, 2020).In addition, TPDT theory attests to the study findings because TPDT involves learning through active reflection which involves combining theory and practice, thought and action through communication and dialogue of thinking teachers become more skilled (Schön, 1983).Furthermore, (Schön, 1987) stated that another aspect of TPDT is reflective thought, which is a chain of thought that comprises more than just a succession of thoughts.Being actively reflective requires working together to identify concerns and adopting skills to handle problems through experiences, bringing in change or adapting to it.Most important TPDT links well with the findings of Gilbert (2007) who talks about the new and different ways of thinking that are now important in the 21 st century.Prestige (2010) found the use of tools and technology as learning instruments such as online forums and networks, blogs could lead to learning and gaining knowledge in a community.Also engaging in online study and distance learning for teachers is a great way to develop their skills and knowledge.
The role of the school principal according to the DoE, the principals are responsible for motivating teachers to engage in professional development programs and create an environment that promotes learning in school.Secondly, school principals are to guide the teachers by informing them about professional development programs and support teachers by allocating resources, logistics, and timetabling.
Lastly, the RSA DoE (2015), has entrusted SACE with organizing and initiating Type 1, 2, and 3 Professional Development Activities within the SACE system.Teachers must attend at least eight relevant sessions annually to claim 10 points.

Conclusion
This study delved into the responsibilities of school principals in fostering the development of teachers for the 21st century, particularly in integrating technology to enhance teaching and learning in educational institutions.The research aims to provide valuable insights for policymakers by highlighting the gaps in teacher professional development programs.It also indirectly addresses the importance of equipping school principals with the necessary leadership skills to effectively fulfil their role in advancing 21 st century education.It is essential for school principals to possess the relevant knowledge and abilities related to teacher professional development to excel in this capacity.Further research on the professional development of principals in the 21 st century is recommended to respond to teacher professional development needs expeditiously.

The
HoD from the public school (Naval Mountain High) responded by saying: H2-Public: "We have specific workshop programs with SACE because SACE offers teacher training, and another is called Content training.Thereby the document, when you look at it, is written Content training, which will depend on what specifically the teacher needs development with." P1-Private: "Firstly, I believe that as the school principal, my role is to determine which training courses I will do with my staff.What can I do in-house, internally?What will I need to get outside from external facilitators to come in and assist with training the teachers?After I have determined that, before I can even get there, I need to assess my school to see what I want and need to develop with the teachers.Prioritize what I can do internally before seeking outside assistance.All this is done through the teachers' meetings with their HoD for specific subjects, and then they report back to me.After knowing which gaps to fill with training, my biggest role is making the funds available, sourcing the money, and making money available to teachers to pay for their development".