ERIC Number: EJ1138876
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jul
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1741-1432
EISSN: N/A
Transformational Leadership in the Educational System of the United Arab Emirates
Litz, David; Scott, Shelleyann
Educational Management Administration & Leadership, v45 n4 p566-587 Jul 2017
Globally, there is increasing pressure on schools to enact change, and the literature indicates that transformational leadership is positively associated with school leaders' effectiveness at implementing positive reforms. Here, we report on a study conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) within the current context of intense educational restructuring in the K-12 system. The purpose was to investigate whether school principals in the UAE practise transformational leadership, and whether they and their teachers perceived principals' leadership styles differently to their western counterparts. This study adopted a mixed methodology, and revealed variation in perceptions between principals and teachers related to whether principals were practising transformational leadership. However, when analysed using Hofstede's cultural framework, this variation may be related to cultural differences between the western orientation of the leadership model adapted by Emirati principals and the Islamic orientation of the population. Therefore, a new model of transformational leadership is proposed, based on a paradigm that may be more appropriate for Middle Eastern/Islamic contexts. This "Modified Transformational Model" may be useful to those leaders who wish to adopt transformational leadership with cultural accommodations.
Descriptors: Transformational Leadership, Cultural Differences, Islam, Principals, Foreign Countries, Leadership Styles, Administrator Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, Models, Elementary Secondary Education, Educational Change, Graduate Students, Mixed Methods Research, Online Surveys, Measures (Individuals), Semi Structured Interviews, Guidelines, English (Second Language), Language of Instruction, Student Diversity, Educational History
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Arab Emirates
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Leadership Practices Inventory
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A