School leadership styles among educators in Abu Dhabi

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report on an examination of the perceptions of two principals and two lead teachers regarding their own leadership styles, including how they define and perform their roles as leaders. Design/methodology/approach - The research employed a case study design whereby two principals and two lead teachers (one of each from a government school (GS) and a private school in Abu Dhabi UAE) were interviewed over the course of one semester. Findings - Results suggest that the two principals viewed themselves as succeeding in six domains - school climate, school leadership, personnel management, administration and school management, student management, and relationships with parents and the community - but that they desired to improve with regard to curriculum development and professional and in-service development. The two lead teachers primarily defined their leadership roles as providing assistance to others and modeling best practice and flexibility, and considered themselves bridges between other teachers and the administration, as well as task facilitators and task achievers. Originality/value - The paper reveals that both principals and teachers in Abu Dhabi engage in a number of activities consistent with much of the literature on effective school leadership styles. However, the findings also shed light on several marked differences between private and GSs in the Emirate, a lack of genuine collaboration between principals and teachers, and possible constraints on school leadership caused by top-down administrative practices.