An Evaluation of the effectiveness of leadership development for female headteachers working in girls' state schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

This paper addresses an issue of international concern which is based on the on-going reluctance of teachers to put themselves forward as headteachers. To examine the reasons for this state of affairs, one possible line of... [ view full abstract ]

This paper addresses an issue of international concern which is based on the on-going reluctance of teachers to put themselves forward as headteachers. To examine the reasons for this state of affairs, one possible line of enquiry is to examine the effectiveness of the current arrangements for the leadership development of teachers both before they accept a promotion to headship and also while they are in post. It raises questions about the extent to which the procedures are currently in place are sustainable in the longer run, given the ever-increasing levels of responsibility being placed on the shoulders of headteachers. This research presents the findings from data collected in 2017 from female headteachers working in state schools in Saudi which illustrate the nature of the current, rather ad-hoc systems in place.

The data was collected in two stages: (i) a survey was sent electronically to a sample of 42 headteachers working in schools in one area of high population density in Saudi Arabia. These staff were only requested to complete the survey if they had been in post for five years or less. (ii) the second stage involved a representative sample of these headteachers (seven in total) to be interviewed, in order to obtain more in-depth detail of their perceptions.

The main findings from this research indicate that: (i) Many of those in the sample had not previously served as a deputy headteacher; (ii) The importance of family support emerged as a key factor in acting as a motivator for teachers to take on this role; (iii) The existing preparation courses (PQCHT) were not considered to be wide-ranging enough to cover the many different problems faced as a newly appointed headteacher ;(iv) the majority of the head teachers found difficulty when moving to the headship and (v) budget issues and limited powers were the most significant challenges that the head teachers faced when taking up the leadership

As a result of this study, a number of recommendations can be made which might help to make the on-going supply of new headteachers more sustainable in the longer run.