AlSarrani, Ashwaq Hamed F. (2021) Exploring female leaders’ practices and styles of leadership in Saudi primary schools. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

School leadership practices have become one of the most important areas of study in education science on the international scene, especially with regard to Middle Eastern countries. This thesis explores the leadership practices of school principals (leaders), recommending effective approaches to school leadership practices in girls’ primary schools in Saudi Arabia. It has been suggested that a deeper understanding of the experiences and perceptions of school leaders (formerly referred to as school principals in Saudi Arabia) will help improve leadership in the Saudi education system, enabling Education Offices to support school leadership practices more successfully to enhance the quality of education in Saudi Arabia.

The aim of this thesis is therefore to explore leadership practices in Saudi primary
schools, Education Offices, and the Ministry of Education (MoE) by gathering and
examining the views of Saudi women in leadership roles in these contexts.
Consequently, it is hoped that this study will extend the educational leadership and
school improvement literature. A mixed methods approach was adopted to answer the research questions, as well as to validate the data collection and data analysis tools. Data on the views of female leaders in girls’ primary school leaders, Education Offices, and the MoE were gathered through in-depth interviews (qualitative) and via a multi-factor questionnaire (MLQ: quantitative).

This study was reported in two phases: a qualitative phase, with qualitative findings on school leaders’ increasingly complex roles, and quantitative findings derived from the MLQ survey to discover the most commonly adopted leadership styles in girls’ primary schools in Saudi Arabia. Awareness of different school leadership styles appeared to be deficient in several areas that could significantly influence the quality of educational outcomes. Furthermore, a considerable gap was identified between practices recommended by the MoE and actual school leadership practice. However, the survey revealed that a transformational leadership (TF) style was most frequently adopted by school principals (leaders), followed by the passive (P), and transactional (TS) leadership styles. In addition, the TF and TS leadership styles were positively correlated with outcomes.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Educational leadership -- Saudi Arabia, Education -- Saudi Arabia, School management and organization -- Saudi Arabia, Education, Primary -- Saudi Arabia, Leadership in women -- Saudi Arabia, Women in higher education -- Saudi Arabia
Official Date:	August 2021
Dates:	Date Event August 2021 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Centre for Education Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Abbott, Ian,1955-, Moorosi, Pontso
Sponsors:	Saudi Arabia.|bWizārat al-Maʻārif ; Saudi Arabia Cultural Bureau in London
Extent:	x, 268 leaves : illustrations, maps, charts (colour)
Language:	eng

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