Tayem, Khiloud Mustafa Yousef2019-11-122019-11-122019-0920172935https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/1517This research has the aim of uncovering the successful leadership style and the reasons along with the impacts of its success in Band A rated Abu Dhabi schools. This aim was selected due to there being little to no relevant studies in such cultural and specific contexts.It investigated what the most successful and frequent leadership characteristics are present in school leaders of school rated as Band A (Outstanding, Very Good). These characteristics matched well with the characteristics presented in the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) including Idealised Influence, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation, Individualised Attention, Contingent Reward, Management-by-Exception,Laissez-Faire. The study would aim to collect its own primary data via conducting a two part online survey and complement it with ADEK’s thorough and very detailed but albeit secondary source reports. The survey was formed of two sections. The first was a five point Likert-scale based mainly on Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form which served to not only supply quantitative data but also to characterise the leadership style of the school principal and as it was completed by both the leaders and their staff (with slight differences in the surveys) the results proved to be interesting. The second part was composed of open-ended questions which were added mainly to allow more nuance and character to seep through and add colour to the study and its findings. Both these sections address and pour into the aims of this study. According to the ADEK inspection reports, the most frequently successful leadership styles was the mixture of inspirational and transformational leadership styles. Finally, both the ADEK inspection reports and the survey data agreed that mainly the most important characteristics for school improvement to reach Band A rating was definitely those of transformative along with the features of inspirational leadership and features like Playing as a Team, The Achievement of Desired Results, The Constant Monitoring and Follow Through, The Implementation of the Shared Vision, The Continual Development of Followers, The Creation of a Shared Vision.enEducationleadership styleUnited Arab Emirates (UAE)Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK)school improvementDissertation