School leadership styles among educators in Abu Dhabi

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Litz ◽  
Qusay Abu Juma ◽  
Kevin S. Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Styles ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Private School ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Government School ◽  
Administrative Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lead Teachers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on an examination of the perceptions of two principals and two lead teachers regarding their own leadership styles, including how they define and perform their roles as leaders. Design/methodology/approach – The research employed a case study design whereby two principals and two lead teachers (one of each from a government school (GS) and a private school in Abu Dhabi UAE) were interviewed over the course of one semester. Findings – Results suggest that the two principals viewed themselves as succeeding in six domains – school climate, school leadership, personnel management, administration and school management, student management, and relationships with parents and the community – but that they desired to improve with regard to curriculum development and professional and in-service development. The two lead teachers primarily defined their leadership roles as providing assistance to others and modeling best practice and flexibility, and considered themselves bridges between other teachers and the administration, as well as task facilitators and task achievers. Originality/value – The paper reveals that both principals and teachers in Abu Dhabi engage in a number of activities consistent with much of the literature on effective school leadership styles. However, the findings also shed light on several marked differences between private and GSs in the Emirate, a lack of genuine collaboration between principals and teachers, and possible constraints on school leadership caused by top-down administrative practices.

Mapping four leadership styles in Japan: how has the role of the principal been shaped by policies?

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-207
Author(s):  
Hirokazu Yokota
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Leadership Styles ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
Educational Administration ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Western View ◽  
Role Of The Principal

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how internationally recognized styles of transactional, instructional, transformational and distributed leadership have emerged in the Japanese education system. Design/methodology/approach National legislation and policy documents in Japan since 1945 were collected by searching for the word “principal” or “head of school.” Then, four types are excluded: those that are unique only to one school type, do not explicitly deal with the role of the principal, are in subordinate laws prescribing contents that essentially overlap with those in superordinate statutes and define procedural roles of the principal. As a result, 17 legal provisions and 35 policy documents remained, each of which was analyzed by using four leadership styles. Findings Despite an increasing focus on instructional, transformational and distributed styles, Japan has not comprehensively articulated attributes and abilities expected of the principal. Additionally, a movement away from instructional leadership in the 2000s contrasts with the recent emphasis on “educational leadership.” Moreover, transformational leadership has centered on the school–family–community collaboration and the expansion of principal autonomy, and distributed leadership has taken the forms of new positions that support the principal, both of which were influenced by the decentralization movement. Research limitations/implications It points to the susceptibility of the role of the principal in Japan and western countries alike to broader structural reforms but with different implications and distinct timing of the advent of leadership styles among them. Additionally, Japan has adopted a modified approach to distributed leadership style, which is somewhat similar to delegation, to make a compromise between the emergent theory and the centrality of the principal in the school hierarchy. Furthermore, instructional leadership seems to be a “late bloomer” in Japan because of its practice-based nature and unsuitability to daily realities of the principal. Originality/value As an arguably unprecedented attempt to apply leadership styles to legislation and policy documents, this study builds a foundation for understanding how school leadership is shaped by education policies. Moreover, while making connections to the western view, it creates a paradigm for future studies of school leadership in Japan and in the field of comparative educational administration.

Gender, school leadership and teachers’ motivations

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1395-1410
Author(s):  
Asmahan Massry-Herzallah ◽  
Khalid Arar
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Styles ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Leadership Style ◽  
Education System ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Teacher Relationships ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Arab Education

Purpose The research investigates perceptions of teachers in the Arab education system in Israel concerning the effect of their principal’s leadership and gender on their motivation. Relying on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions as an analytic tool to understand the Arab school, the purpose of this paper is to answer the following research questions: first, how do the teachers perceive the leadership style and gender of their principal and what influence do these perceptions have on their motivation? Second, what are the influences of the different dimensions of culture described by Hofstede on the teachers’ motivation? Design/methodology/approach To answer these questions, 18 teachers from different schools in the Arab education system (10 female and 8 male) were interviewed. Findings The research revealed three themes which describe the teachers’ perceptions of their principals’ leadership styles with consideration of the principals’ gender: the principals’ involvement and sharing of school operations and decision making with the teachers; the extent of autonomy given to teachers; and establishment of principal–teacher relationships. Originality/value The paper concludes with implications of these leadership styles for teachers’ motivation for work, and suggestions are given to improve Arab principals’ practices and thus to enhance teachers’ motivation.

Developing a government strategy to meet international standards of food safety across the hospitality industry

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariam Al Yousuf ◽  
Eunice Taylor ◽  
Joanne Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Depth Analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify international best practice regarding food safety management across the food chain, with particular reference to hospitality businesses. It looks at the role of government strategy in the pursuit of a flexible approach that can be adapted and adopted by a diverse range of businesses. It is the first article in a Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes theme issue, presenting a comprehensive government strategy for improving food safety management standards across the hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach – A summary of key literature is presented alongside an in-depth analysis of international guidance for governments attempting to promote the uptake of hazard analysis critical control point-based food safety management systems. It is set within the context of recent Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority initiatives. Findings – The management of food safety across all sectors of the food industry and prevention of food-borne diseases represent a major challenge worldwide. International guidance for governments has been produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), but few governments have the resources to implement this effectively. Within Abu Dhabi, a four-year project was launched to support the hospitality sector in meeting international best practice standards, following guidance from FAO and extensive international benchmarking. Originality/value – This article brings together a theoretical and practical discussion of how the government can facilitate international food safety standards within the hospitality industry, with a unique insight into a practical application of strategy development and implementation at government level. It will be of value to practitioners, researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders involved in the food industry.

Examining US principal perception of multiple leadership styles used to practice shared instructional leadership

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Urick
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Leadership Styles ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Restructuring ◽  
Effective School ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Principal Perception ◽  
Shared Instructional Leadership ◽  
Building Community ◽  
Nationally Representative

Purpose – Decades of research on different leadership styles shows that effective school leadership is the degree of influence or synergy between teachers and principals around the core business of schools, instruction. While various styles, such as transformational, instructional, shared instructional, point to the similar measures of high organizational quality, the inconsistency in how these styles are defined and relate make it unclear how principals systematically improve schools. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study used the 1999-2000 schools and staffing survey, n=8,524 of US principals, since it includes a nationally representative sample of administrators who responded to a comprehensive set of leadership measures around a time of school restructuring reforms. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to identify different styles, and to measure the extent of their relationship. These factors were used to test a theory about why principals practice each of these styles to a different degree based on levels of shared instructional leadership. Findings – Based on the theoretical framework, principals should have a similar high influence over resources, safety and facilities regardless of degree of shared instructional leadership since these tasks address foundational school needs. However, principal and teacher influence over these resources differed across levels of shared instructional leadership more than principal-directed tasks of facilitating a mission, supervising instruction and building community. Originality/value – Differences in the practice of styles by shared instructional leadership did not fit changing, higher ordered needs as theorized instead seemed to vary by a hierarchy of control, the way in which principals shared influence with teachers.

Knowing the status

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Al Kaabi ◽  
Alyazi Al Mazrouei ◽  
Salma Al Hamadi ◽  
Mariam Al Yousuf ◽  
Eunice Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Safety Standards ◽  
Road Map ◽  
The Status

Purpose – This paper aims to provide an overview of the methods used, and results found, during an in-depth investigation into the status of food safety management systems in eight types of Abu Dhabi businesses. It is the second article in a Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes theme issue presenting a comprehensive government strategy for improving food safety management standards across the hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach – The research process gathered quantitative and qualitative data from industry visits, surveys, interviews, document analysis, focus groups and stakeholder workshops. Findings – Standards varied across the industry, with distinct characteristics and patterns across the eight groups. Systems were most likely to be found to be in place within hotels. However, there were some issues with validation, documentation and particularly certification. In other sectors, there were lower levels of food safety management with some additional specific challenges. The baseline data identified, along with regulatory requirements based on international best practice, provided a detailed road map for outcomes to be achieved in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Originality/value – The article brings together a theoretical and practical discussion of food safety standards within the hospitality industry, with a unique insight into a practical application in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It will be of value to practitioners, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders involved in the food industry.

scholarly journals Variation in Leadership Styles Based on Gender and School System in Baltistan Region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol VI (II) ◽  
pp. 162-173
Author(s):  
Kamal Ud Din ◽  
Zaheer Abbas ◽  
Musarrat Habib
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Leadership Styles ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Private School ◽  
School System ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Situational Leadership ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Gilgit Baltistan

Previous studies show divided views on how female-school-leadership styles differ from their male counterparts in both public and private schools. This survey designed research employed a structured questionnaire to collect data from one hundred (120) headteachers (63 male, 57 female) about their leadership styles practices from elementary schools of the Baltistan region. Schools were selected through stratified (public/private) random sampling from the four districts of Baltistan. Both descriptive and inferential statistical tools were used to analyze data. A statistically significant difference between male (M= 3.131, SD = .896) and females (Mean = 3.667, SD=.922) was found with respect to situational leadership only. Public schools principals practiced more autocratic styles as compared to private school principals. Female school principals were more democratic in both private as well as public schools than male principals. Situational leadership styles were more in practice across gender and the school system.

Do school leaders in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi predominantly practice a transformational, transactional, or laissez-faire style of leadership?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Aldhaheri
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Leadership Styles ◽  
Leadership Style ◽  
Private Schools ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Laissez Faire

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the predominant leadership style of school leaders in Abu Dhabi. The leadership style deployed by a school leader affects the performance of the school and its pupils. Methods for identifying the leadership style of school leaders in the UAE have varied, and it is difficult to conclude what the predominant leadership style is. Some studies have sought only to identify a specific leadership style, whilst others have focussed on a particular school type. Changes and improvements cannot be made without an understanding of the baseline leadership style. Design/methodology/approach The 36-item multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ)5x questionnaire (Bass and Avolio, 2004) is used to quantitatively understand the full range of school leaders’ leadership styles, with 167 respondents from across both public and private schools. Findings School leaders predominantly exhibited transformational leadership, practising transactional leadership less frequently and rarely using laissez-faire leadership. This is a positive finding for schools in the UAE; transformational leadership has been shown to result in improved subordinate and organisational performance. Differences between school leaders in public and private schools were tested and are discussed. Dimension reduction techniques were used to assess the structure of the 36-item MLQ5x but did not provide results that met minimum requirements for acceptability. Possible reasons for this are discussed. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first to fully explore and baseline an understanding of the predominant leadership style amongst school leaders in the UAE, identifying the full range of leadership styles – transformation, transactional and laissez-faire – in both public and private schools.

Are school leaders culturally intelligent? Validation of the cultural intelligence (CQ) scale in the UAE

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Al Dhaheri
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Private School ◽  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Response Scale ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strongly Agree

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report results of testing and validation of the cultural intelligence (CQ) Scale in a new location, the culturally diverse United Arab Emirates (UAE) and in a new sector: public and private school leaders. Design/methodology/approach This study surveys 167 school leaders from public and private schools in the UAE using the 20-item version of the CQ Scale, which uses a seven-point Likert response scale of strongly agree to strongly disagree. An examination of the dimensionality of the 20 items was conducted using both principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Demographics were also gathered. Findings Results from testing and validation of the scale indicated a high level of CQ among school leaders in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. An examination of the dimensionality of the 20 items showed them to fall into the same structure of four sub-components as conceptually conceived: knowledge, strategy, motivation and behaviour. The mean scores for the four components of CQ in this study indicate high CQ amongst Abu Dhabi school leaders, although the knowledge dimension measured slightly lower. The results confirm previous research that found CQ to be higher in culturally diverse settings, which, according to socio-demographic details gathered in the study applies to the UAE. Originality/value This is the first known study to test the Cultural Intelligence Scale in UAE schools. It answers the call from the CQ Scale developers to validate the scale in diverse contexts.

scholarly journals Measuring school leaders' adaptability in the UAE: development of a scale to measure leadership adaptability

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Aldhaheri
Keyword(s):  
Dimension Reduction ◽  
Private School ◽  
Quantitative Measurement ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Measurement Instrument ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Three Dimension ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThis paper presents a quantitative measurement instrument for Leadership Adaptability.Design/methodology/approachQualitative themes are examined, grouped and developed into 13 quantitative statements of Leadership Adaptability. A robust analysis is conducted to understand the relationships and underlying dimensions in the statements. Three types of dimension reduction techniques are employed: principal components analysis and two types of exploratory factor analysis. The instrument is tested in the form of a survey for the first time with public and private school leaders in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (n = 167).FindingsThe quantitative Leadership Adaptability scale is validated by applying robust tests of dimensionality, validity and reliability. The three dimension reduction tests identified that the 13 statements are measuring a single dimension of Leadership Adaptability, and should therefore be treated as a single homogeneous scale. Reliability analyses further confirmed the results of the dimension reduction results, with a high score for Cronbach's alpha of 0.953, classified as an “excellent” level of reliability. Discriminant validity tests of the 13 statements, analysed alongside the 20-item Cultural Intelligence Scale, further confirmed the statements as being a distinct scale. Applying the instrument to Abu Dhabi school leaders showed they have high levels of adaptability.Originality/valueThis paper presents the first known quantitative measurement instrument for understanding Leadership Adaptability. This instrument addresses a need by developing a quantitative tool for researchers studying Leadership Adaptability, and it can be used to facilitate further exploration of this topic.

Seeking authenticity in school leadership: the interplay between personal values and leadership styles

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonios Kafa ◽  
Petros Pashiardis
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Styles ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Authentic Leadership ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Leadership Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Espoused Values ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Combination Of Methods

PurposeThis paper is derived from a thorough and systematic study, contributing to further understanding of the perception of authentic leadership in the context of Cyprus, by involving school principals' both espoused values and values in action coupled with their leadership styles.Design/methodology/approachData were drawn from a combination of methods, both quantitative (235 questionnaires) and qualitative (5 case studies), thus facilitating a more reliable and valid exploration of school principals' espoused values and values in action coupled with their leadership styles.FindingsSchool principals' values in action may be filtered by particular factors, which affect them, when they try to promote their espoused values during their leadership practice. In general, the findings indicated that practicing authentic leadership might be, in fact, impeded by specific factors connected to the broader context in which school principals operate.Research limitations/implicationsIt is not possible to draw concrete conclusions on relation between the espoused values and values in action, as only five school principals took part during the second research phase. However, in this study, the quantitative (first phase) and qualitative (second phase) research were combined in order to produce a general picture, with regards to the practice of authentic leadership.Originality/valueThe study of values has received an extensive research interest lately. In this study, it was approached collectively and cohesively by taking into consideration the differentiation between espoused values and values in action.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document