Abstract
The effects of educational leadership on the global society have attracted the attention of several researchers. This research proposal concentrates on role of educational leadership in the creation of sober intellect among individuals in Saudi Arabia. It introduces educational leadership giving a background to the study and at the same time stating why it is important to conduct the research. The proposal also includes a set of research questions that will play an integral role during the research. A hypothesis to guide the researchers is also included in the proposal. Previous literatures with vital information on the research topic are reviewed in the proposal. There is an inclusion of the materials and methods that will be vital in the achievement of the objectives of the research.
Introduction
Background to the study
There are misconceptions that educational management and educational leadership are synonymous. There is no body of evidence to support these misconceptions because education leaders can carry out their roles without necessarily being managers. Van Roekel (2008) notes that educational leadership is the involvement and guidance of every stakeholder in the educational process with an aim of bringing an improvement in educational processes at every educational level; from elementary to secondary to higher institutions of learning. Individuals in positions of educational leadership are often prompted to go beyond the normal administrative and leadership duties to ensure the satisfaction of every stakeholder in the education sector. In achieving effective educational leadership, provision of proper training of educational leaders, as well as the improvement of existing educational systems is vital. Saudi universities have capitalized on effective educational leadership to achieve success and other set goals and objectives. During his tenure, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz emphasized on effective educational leadership in institutions of higher learning that included universities and colleges such as King Abdulaziz University, King Faisal University, King Khalid University, King Saud University, and Taibah University among others.
Faculty members in Saudi universities have extreme respect for those in leadership positions. Faculty members could be a general term though it helps understand that teachers show respect to those in positions of leadership such as departmental heads. Furthermore, to some extent, teachers are believed to be in leadership positions as they give guidance and counseling to students. With these aspects in mind, it is essential for one to understand the role of educational leadership in Saudi Arabia. One of the integral roles of educational leadership is that it helps in the creation of sober intellect in Saudi Arabia. Sober intellect entails the sharing of common thoughts and beliefs among individuals. Thus, educational leadership plays an integral role in the creation of sober intellect among individuals in Saudi Arabia.
Significance of the study
The study will provide vital information that will help relevant authorities initiate the necessary changes required to improve the educational leadership of Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, the study will provide key information for future studies on the same.
Statement of the problem
There have been more questions than answers about the role of educational leadership in the creation of sober intellect in Saudi Arabia, hence the need for a research on the same.
Research Questions
Some of the research questions that will guide the researchers during the study are as follows:
- What is educational leadership?
- Who are some of the educational leaders in the institutions of learning in Saudi Arabia?
- What are the roles of educational leadership in the creation of sober intellect?
- What should be done to ensure effective educational leadership in learning institutions in an effort to create sober intellect?
Hypothesis
A lack of educational leadership would compromise the creation of sober intellect in Saudi Arabia.
Review of Literature
Several studies have been done on the role of educational leadership and they could be beneficial in one way or another to the study at hand.
According to Witziers et al (2003), educational leadership has been of great significance to the rapid evolution and development of the global educational processes. In Saudi Arabia, educational leadership facilitates the availability and provision of instructional resources and this plays an integral role in the creation of sober intellect in Saudi Arabia. When people use instructional resources together, they are in a position of sharing common thoughts and beliefs, and this enhances their sober intellect. Provision of the resources is of great benefit to the enhancement of the sober intellect of stakeholders in the Saudi education systems, especially the faculty members in Saudi universities. There is a wide array of instructional materials availed to faculty members of Saudi universities because of the influence of educational leadership. These include websites, reading materials such as newspapers and journals, and other resources that have helped enhance the learning process in the institutions (Mathis, 2010). Without effective educational leadership in Saudi universities, faculty members and especially students will have problems accessing instructional resources. Consequently, this compromises the sober intellect of various individuals especially that of faculty members of Saudi Universities.
According to Al-Faisal (2006), embracing of educational leadership has also played an integral role in the improvement of communication in Saudi universities. This has led to the creation of sober intellect among individuals. Communication is one of the ways through which individuals have had the opportunity of sharing common thoughts and beliefs, hence the creation of sober intellect among them. Al-Faisal (2006) opines that effective educational leaders in institutions of learning ensure that stakeholders such as the staff, community, students, as well as parents work together. Achievement of this can only be achieved if the right structures and platforms for communication and effective educational leadership are place. Faculty members of Saudi universities such as King Abdulaziz have also increased and maintained their attachment and engagement to their places of work. This influence of educational leadership has in turn led to the creation of sober intellect among individuals. For instance, students in most Saudi universities enjoy the time they spend learning. This is owed to the fact that the educational leadership of various universities in the country has improved communication processes leading to the students maintaining and strengthening their attachments with their various institutions. This has given them the opportunity to share common beliefs and thoughts that have seen the creation of sober intellect. The academic success of students in Saudi universities is owed to the effective educational leaderships in place. The kingdom’s political leaders continue to emphasize on educational leadership with the aim of having better learning environments and enhancement of sober intellect within and outside Saudi universities.
Bainbridge & Thomas (2006) state that educational leadership should be appreciated for its influence on the development of faculty members in Saudi universities. They add that in every organization, individuals in positions of leadership focus on the development of staff members. Similarly, most universities in Saudi have seen educational leaders emphasize on coaching, training, and embedding new skills that enhance service delivery of faculty members. This has seen them bring people together thus providing platforms for the sharing of common thoughts and beliefs. In the long run, sober intellect is created among individuals. For instance, faculty members at King Abdulla University once received special training and on-site coaching which were initiated by the institution’s educational leaders. The belief is that the university’s educational leadership through the development of faculty members has helped create sober intellect among individuals. However, the underlying question is does this illustrate a positive influence of educational leaderships? The answer to this question is affirmative and underscores why the kingdom’s political leadership strongly pushes for institutions of higher learning especially universities to either elect or appoint people to positions of leadership in order to facilitate the smooth running of operations.
According to Yamani (2006), towards the end of the 19th century, the educational system and process in Saudi Arabia was criticized by the Western community. There was an argument by Western media and journalists from the US that the education system in Saudi Arabia focused on the production of terrorists. This viewpoint catalyzed by the rise in global terrorism incidents at the time. A rapid evolution and change saw Saudi Arabia’s political leadership insist on educational leadership in institutions of learning in every part of the country. With educational leadership, there was a significant upgrade of the educational system of Saudi Arabia (Meemar, 2014). Educational leadership has been at the forefront in reviewing all education materials and practices of every faculty member in Saudi universities, and this has united the citizens and provided them with platforms of sharing common thoughts and beliefs resulting in the creation of sober intellect among individuals.
Al-Abbas (2010) suggests that faculty members in Saudi universities cannot complain of any leakages in the country’s education system in the recent years. This is owed to the efforts by educational leaderships especially in Saudi universities to ensure that everything is in place. For instance, there are programs initiated by university educational leaders in Saudi. Such programs have played an integral role in bringing learners together, and this has provided platforms or learners to share common thoughts and beliefs. As a result, there has been the creation of sober intellect among learners especially among learners in Saudi universities. Faculty members of Saudi universities no longer complain of the lack of knowledge and understanding of the role of education in the society, effective teaching methods or the technology required in educational settings. All these are covered in the programs initiated by educational leaders, and are one of the most significant roles ever played by educational leaderships in Saudi educational institutions.
According to Al-Khalifa (2009), every institution of learning, from elementary to secondary to institutions of higher learning in Saudi Arabia has visions and action plans. The institutions’ achievement of success is dependent on whether the visions and action plans come to pass or not. In essence, this is where educational leaderships come in. Notably, in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the world, the refinement and realization of visions and action plans for educational institutions is an ultimate responsibility of educational leaders (Al-Khalifa, 2009). In addition, in achieving this, educational leaderships are often prompted to trigger the involvement or engagement of faculty members in any decision made. Apparently, the involvement of faculty members gives them the opportunity of sharing common thoughts and beliefs, and this result in the creation of sober intellect among them. The success of educational institutions is judged by the academic performance of students. Evidently, educational leaderships always work tirelessly, together with faculty members to ensure that objectives or visions aiming at success are achieved.
Alyami (2014) opines that educational experts are in support of the fact that the external environment in educational institutions is vital towards the achievement of improvement and success. In Saudi universities, an appropriate external environment enhances the production and work rate of faculty members (p 7). With appropriate environment in place, the performance of students will significantly improve. Irrefutably, educational leaderships play a substantial role in ensuring appropriate external environments for faculty members and other stakeholders in educational institutions. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, good relationships among faculty members in universities, parents, and the entire community is ensured and enhanced by educational leaderships. Essentially, good relationships enhance the sharing of common thoughts and beliefs among individuals, and this facilitates the creation of sober intellect among them. In the same vein, appropriate environments in universities and other educational institutions are enhanced by the creation of atmospheres where teachers and learners easily achieve the teaching and learning goals, and this enhances the creation of sober intellect among teachers and learners in educational institutions. The creation of such atmospheres is a responsibility of education leaders, and this underscores the fact that educational institutions often concentrate on having effective leaders.
Methods of Data collection
Questionnaires with research questions will be issued to samples of learners from various levels of education. By filling the questionnaires, the respondents will play an integral role in the study. Interviews will also be conducted for samples of learners from every level of education in Saudi Arabia. Interviews will be crucial for the respondents who will be unable to fill in the questionnaires.
Data Analysis
The data collected from the respondents will be analyzed. The information will be tabulated and presented on graphs for easy analysis and interpretation. The mean and standard deviation of the number of respondents in agreement with the hypothesis of the study will be obtained.
Limitations of the study will also be identified, as well as the suggestions of how future studies can capitalize on the findings of the current study. Finally, a summary of the significance and results of the study at hand will be given.
References
Al-Abbas, A. A. 2010. Leadership Activities and Behaviours that Enable Classroom Teachers (Doctoral dissertation, University of Waikato).
Al-Faisal, P. T. 2006. Saudi education in the global economy. Vital Speeches of the Day, 72(13), 414. http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/speeches/21723274/saudi-education-global-economy
Al-Khalifa, H. S. 2009. The state of distance education in Saudi Arabia. eLearn, 2009(10), 9. http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=1642193
Alyami, R. H. 2014. Educational Reform in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Tatweer Schools as a Unit of Development, 2-10. http://infonomics-society.org/LICEJ/Educational%20Reform%20in%20the%20Kingdom%20of%20Saudi%20Arabia.pdf
Bainbridge, W. L., & Thomas, M. D. 2006. Global perspective on school leadership. Qualities for effective leadership: School leaders speak, 1-18. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED448497
Mathis, B. K. 2010. Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Psychology (Doctoral dissertation, Oklahoma State University).
Meemar, S. S. 2014. Tatweer School Principals’ Perceptions of New Authorities Grantedin the lnitial Steps of Decentralization. Available online at: http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/384/
Van Roekel, N. P. D. 2008. Changing Role of School Leadership. NEA Education Policy Brief
Witziers, B., Bosker, R. J., & Krüger, M. L. 2003. Educational leadership and student achievement: The elusive search for an association. Educational administration quarterly, 39(3), 398-425.
Yamani, S. 2006. Toward a national education development paradigm in the Arab World: a comparative study of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Fletcher School œ Al Nakhlah œ Tufts University.