The Role of School Leadership in Empowering Teacher Leadership in Private Schools in Sharjah

Abstract

Abstract This study discusses that ways that the leadership practices in the private schools of Sharjah empower teacher leadership and foster collaborative professional cultures. The study was directed by the distributed leadership and transformational leadership theories to examine the strategies employed by school leaders to promote teacher agency, the organisational factors needed to support fruitful collaboration, and the barriers that inhibit the development of teacher leadership. A mixed methods design combined survey data from 53 teachers with interviews with school leaders and teachers. The findings showed that there were significant positive correlates between the leadership practices, organisational enablers, and teacher empowerment, with the strongest relationship between leadership practices and teacher empowerment. These trends were supported by the qualitative results which showed that the key processes by which leaders developed teacher leadership were trust, shared decision-making, and recognition. Nonetheless, the burden of work, centralised system of decision-making, and lack of time to engage in professional conversation barred the full implementation of teacher leadership. The findings reveal that distributed and transformational practices establish the factors that support professional development, collective accountability, and improved school improvement ability. The recommendations are the provision of professional development in a structured manner, lessening of the hierarchical barriers, improved role clarity for teacher leaders, and the application of UAE-based strategies that meet the cultural expectations and organisational realities. The study contributes to teacher leadership research in the Gulf region and offers implications for policy, practice, and future longitudinal research Keywords: teacher leadership, distributed leadership, transformational leadership, teacher empowerment, collaborative professional culture