JREPT: Vol 6 No 2

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https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/2492

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    Editorial
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-12) David, Soloman; Abukari, Abdulai
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    Exploring School Leadership and Teachers’ Perspectives on the Effectiveness of Classroom Observation on Tracking Curriculum Implementation: A Case Study in a Private School in Abu Dhabi
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-12) Hossni, Mohamed; Abouelanein, Ahmed ElSayed
    Curriculum is the core component of education development with a direct impact on learners’ knowledge, skills, and competencies. There are many approaches to evaluating the implementation process of the curriculum, and classroom observation is an effective tool as it reflects what happens inside classrooms. This qualitative case study was designed as a response to a current issue in a private international school in Abu Dhabi that lacked an appraisal policy, and the observation report was the only evaluation tool for teachers’ overall performance. Given this, the study aimed to explore the effectiveness of classroom observation as a tool to track the quality of curriculum delivery from the perspectives of heads of departments and teachers. For this to be achieved, the study utilised three instruments: semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and qualitative content analysis. The study's findings highlighted key characteristics of effective classroom observation, emphasising deliberate alignment with curriculum goals and the need for a comprehensive understanding of educational activities. The research also identified qualities in current observation rubrics, emphasising the importance of addressing inconsistencies across departments for reliable and valid assessments. Additionally, teacher and school leadership perspectives revealed the influence of experience and pedagogical beliefs, emphasising the need for professional development to enhance professionalism and support positive views of observations.
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    Exploring the Role of School Leaders in Enhancing Staff Wellbeing for School Improvement: A Case Study in a Private School in Dubai
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-12) Abdulkareem, Nehal
    Staff wellbeing has been identified as a crucial factor in improving school performance and student outcomes. However, school leaders often face challenges in promoting staff wellbeing, especially in the fast-paced and demanding environment of private schools in Dubai. There is a need for research that investigates the strategies and approaches used by school leaders to enhance staff wellbeing and how these efforts translate into school improvement. Therefore, this study aims to critically evaluate the effectiveness of the staff wellbeing initiatives implemented by school leaders in a private school in Dubai and their contribution to school improvement. The research consults the Full Range of Leadership Theory (FLRT) to identify which specific leadership approaches are associated with higher levels of employee wellbeing and positive organizational outcomes. The study utilized a qualitative approach to address the research question, two open-ended questionnaires were administered to the school leaders and a sample of twenty teachers to enhance external validity. The research findings emphasize how crucial leadership is for teachers’ wellbeing and the success of staff being programs in schools. Teachers stress the value of leaders who appreciate their ideas and encourage collaboration through shared goals and open communication. A sense of ownership in decision-making has an impact on teacher engagement while being left out leads to emotions. Teachers generally have a view of development, but some are dissatisfied when their wellbeing is low. The speed at which changes happen in schools significantly affects teacher wellbeing highlighting the importance of a controlled and gradual approach. The research highlights the need for leadership that considers both staff needs and broader challenges. It also advocates for collaboration, meaningful professional development, and responsive feedback to improve teacher wellbeing and overall school improvement. The study's limitations include contextual specificity and time constraints. In conclusion, the study emphasizes the need for ongoing support and professional development for school leaders to enhance their leadership skills and abilities to effectively promote staff wellbeing. Investing in leadership training programs and creating platforms for sharing best practices can empower school leaders to create positive work environments that foster staff wellbeing, job satisfaction, and, consequently, school improvement. Future studies could expand the scope of research by replicating the study in additional private schools within the UAE. This would allow for an exploration of how the findings may differ or be consistent across diverse contexts.
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    Fostering Innovation and Creativity in the UAE Educational System: Examining the Role of Educational Leaders in High Schools
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-12) Almarzooqi, Alya; Abukari, Abdulai
    Fostering creativity and innovation in secondary education is considered as a crucial element for students’ holistic development. However, evidence shows that there is limited research and understanding as far as the relationship between principal leadership styles and the development of creativity and innovation within the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is concerned. To contribute to this important area, the paper focuses on assessing the role of education leaders in developing innovation and creativity in the UAE secondary education system. The study is based on a systematic review of fourteen scholarly sources related to educational leadership within the UAE's secondary school system. By collecting and analyzing relevant research from both survey-based and semi-structured interviews studies, the paper looks to identify traces of influence and potential influence of educational leadership on creativity, innovation, teacher performance, and student outcomes. The findings show that, while no research specifically considered the impact of educational leadership on creativity and innovation, several research papers discussed mediating factors. School leaders were cognizant of what innovation in schools meant and particularly acknowledged the creative problem-solving facet of innovation, however, only about half of school leaders facilitated the implementation of UAE policy on innovation in their schools. The review also found that managerial support for creativity was likely to promote creativity and innovation in teaching and in learning, thus improving teacher performance and student learning outcomes to some extent. The transformational leadership came up as a potential leadership style that could promote innovation and creativity in secondary schools despite the gross misunderstanding of the approach by some school leaders. The paper also identified a number of barriers hindering educational leaders from implementing innovative and creative practices and some suggestions on how these might be mitigated. While the findings are quite useful, the paper has some limitations; especially related to the lack of primary data to understand the role of school leaders in fostering innovation and creativity.
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    The Impact of School Leaders’ Feedback in Enhancing Teachers’ Performance towards School Improvement: A Single Case Study among Teachers in a Private School in Dubai
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-12) Zrien, Zeina; David, Solomon Arulraj
    The constructive feedback provided by school leaders is considered a powerful tool that enhances teachers’ motivation, engagement, and performance towards school improvement. This study aims to understand the influence of feedback provided by school leaders on teachers' professional growth and overall performance within the context of school improvement. The research is a single case study allowing an in-depth understanding of the participants' perspectives and experiences. It involved two sets of qualitative questionnaires to collect data from school leaders and subject teachers respectively. The data was then analysed to identify the influence of school leaders’ feedback on teachers’ performance towards school improvement. The main addressed research question is ‘What is the influence of school leaders’ feedback in shaping teachers’ job towards school improvement?’. The findings of the current study prove that school leaders' feedback improves the quality of teaching instructions, fosters a loyal culture among staff members, develops teachers as leaders in their positions, and enhances school performance through better students’ academic achievements. The implications of this study would offer educational leaders’ and practitioners’ valuable insights for improving feedback practices and promoting continuous professional growth among teachers. The foremost limitation of the current study is the inability to generalize the research outcomes being a single case study with a limited sample size and research time framework. Therefore, for future studies it is recommended that the investigation could be implemented in different settings to compare findings and generalize suggestions. It has been concluded that effective feedback imparted by school leaders upon teachers’ observation is a critical factor in school improvement process.
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    The Role and Impact of Educational Leadership in Change Management to Improve the Quality of Education in a Private School in Dubai
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-12) Abusenenh, Mohammad Abdallah; David, Solomon Arulraj
    The fast-paced nature of the world calls for constant change to evolve, especially in education, which leads to the crucial role of educational leadership in identifying aspects that need to be changed and developing concrete plans for them. This study aims to discover the role and impact of educational leadership and change management to improve the quality of education in a private school in Dubai using qualitative and quantitative data collection methods in addition to analysing six school inspection reports from two authorities. Results showed that educational leadership's role in change management drives outstanding academic performance according to the BSO and DSIB inspection reports, with the need to improve the theoretical aspect, and this role reached a high degree from teachers’ perspectives with no apparent differences in the averages of their responses according to the question variables. Furthermore, leaders’ perspectives on how to overcome change management challenges were effective, and the previous studies used have revealed some success factors for change management and uncovered certain gaps. This study provides theoretical and educational implications by demonstrating the positive impact of employing change management models in schools and specifying the role of educational leadership in change management to improve the quality of education. Furthermore, the research provides a social implication as it demonstrates the effectiveness of teamwork in improving education quality. This study enriches the theoretical growth of change management and its practice by Dubai’s school leaders, serving as a valuable resource for those seeking speedy growth through effective change management, where research in this area is limited. Additionally, this research combines three change management models, including Kotter, Lewin, and the ADKAR models.