The Influence of School Leaders on Student Well-Being and the Creation of Socially Inclusive Learning Environments in the UAE.

Abstract

School bullying in the UAE has been witnessing increasing media attention recently, following two recent incidents that took place in recent years. The impact of bullying incidents is high both for the victim and the perpetrators. Indeed, the regulators have also been heavily penalising the school authorities and parents following such incidents. The schools across the UAE have been developing stringent policies to combat bullying. The school leaders play a crucial role in creating a safe and secure anti-bullying school climate, which is why this research investigated the role of school principals in establishing a safe and inclusive environment promoting student wellbeing. A qualitative inductive study was conducted, incorporating primary data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 20 participants across six private schools in Sharjah. The interviews were conducted among six principals and 14 teachers by adopting the snowball sampling technique, following which thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the data. The study results suggested that cyberbullying has been replacing the traditional forms, such as physical bullying, while verbal bullying is still predominantly observed. The technology spill over and the wide usage of digital devices by children have been considered as a predominant cause. The study further observed that most of the UAE school leaders have played a crucial role in combating bullying in schools, because of which there has been a significant reduction in the cases in recent times. However, despite zero-tolerance policies and stringent monitoring conducted at the school level, bullying has not been eliminated. The participants have recommended that comprehensive approaches are required to eliminate the issue. They suggested that active parental engagement and community engagement would ensure the successful abolition of bullying in society.