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The Impact of Educational Reforms on the Work of the School Principal in the
United Arab Emirates

Article  in  Educational Management Administration & Leadership · March 2011

DOI: 10.1177/1741143210390058

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Article
Educational Management
Administration & Leadership
An Investigation of the 000(00) 1–14
ª The Author(s) 2010
Reprints and permission:
Impact of Educational sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1741143210390058
Reforms on a School Principal emal.sagepub.com

at a Time of Radical
Transformation in the United
Arab Emirates

Christine Thorne

Abstract
Although much has been written about the complexity of educational change and reform elsewhere,
the educational reform movement in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a relatively recent
phenomenon with little systematic documentation as yet; educators are still searching for a clear
understanding of their roles. However, it is clear that the leadership of the country is exerting
great pressure for reform in schools and there is a sense of urgency about the need for large-
scale change. This article examines the impact of these reforms on the work of one school principal
at this time of radical transformation. It begins with a brief review of some of the specific changes
taking place in the emirate of Abu Dhabi including the introduction of a public private partnership
model in public schools and a brief discussion of the role of school principals in the management
of change. This is followed by a description of the study and the methodological design underpinning
it. The findings of the study are presented and discussed and the article concludes with some recom-
mendations for further research.

Keywords
education reform, public – private partnerships, UAE, United Arab Emirates

Introduction
Since the founding of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Federation in 1971 remarkable progress
has been made in all sectors, including that of education. The once distant goal of free access to
education for all UAE nationals has been achieved within a very short time period and the chal-
lenge now facing the country is the much more complex one of raising the quality of that

Corresponding author:
Christine Thorne, Emirates College for Advanced Education, PO Box 126662, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Email: cthorne@ecae.ac.ae
2 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 000(00)

education. Despite great progress, the school system has been the focus of severe criticism for a
number of years (Loughrey et al., 1999; Mograby, 1999; Syed 2003; Lootah, 2006). However, the
unprecedented publication of damning criticism by the then minister of education, His Excellency
Sheikh Nahayan, in November 2005 in both the Arabic- and English-language press has raised the
debate to new levels (Al Ittihad Daily, 2005, Salama, 2005). In a country where the government
routinely uses speeches and press releases as the main vehicles to announce new initiatives (Clarke
and Gallagher, 2008), Nahayan’s comments have triggered a ‘public education in crisis’ discourse
in the UAE similar to that generated in UK following James Callaghan’s ‘Ruskin College’ speech
in 1976 and in the USA in 1983 following the publication of ‘A Nation at Risk’ (Fitz and Beers,
2002). Over the last two or three years it has become commonplace to read in both the Arabic- and
English-language press, stinging criticisms of the public school system and lengthy reports about
planned and ongoing educational reforms.

The Push for Change in the UAE

As noted above, the school system in the UAE is now widely acknowledged as failing and 4 out of
10 Emiratis have abandoned the state system in favour of expensive private alternatives (Lewis,
2008). Mograby (1999: 299) has identified the following problems:

 Unclear and conflicting missions and goals related to problems and discrepancies in study
programs and curricula.
 Inappropriate methods of teaching and learning.
 Inflexible curricula and programs which lead to high drop-out rates and long duration of
studies.

It is clear therefore, that the push for change and reform has been created in a problem, or deficit
model, context and the changes that have been initiated in response to a real need. However, the
UAE, and the emirate of Abu Dhabi in particular, seems to be witnessing a kind of ‘policy hysteria’
(Stronach and Morris 1994, cited by Glatter, 1999) whereby waves of reform are being introduced
in a short time span, seemingly in an effort to find the magic recipe for success. There is a
fundamental tension between the need for change and the conservative nature of the UAE educa-
tion system and reports suggest that the school system lacks the capacity to solve problems and
work towards improving performance. For example, a recent editorial in The National newspaper
suggests that there are some very real tensions in the field; the uncompromising headline reads:
‘If teachers try to disrupt the education reforms, sack them’ (Safadi, 2008). Reforms are being
introduced country-wide at the federal level, but at the same time the emirate of Abu Dhabi is
fast-tracking its own independent reforms while maintaining links with the federal ministry of
education. In 2006, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), the body responsible for education
in Abu Dhabi, announced ambitious independent reform plans including the creation of a pilot
‘public–private partnership’ (PPP) programme. This pilot project, announced in January 2006 and
launched in September of that year, placed a range of for-profit and not-for-profit education man-
agement organizations (EMOs) in selected state primary and middle schools with the brief to raise
standards (Shamseddine, 2006). At the same time ADEC announced the adoption of a new set of
curriculum standards to be applied with immediate effect, including the decision that mathematics
and science at primary level should be taught through the medium of English in the partnership
schools. In a parallel move, the ministry of education has established a similar project in Dubai
Thorne: 3

and the Northern Emirates known as Madares al Ghad (schools of the future). Commenting on this
initiative, the former federal minister of education, Dr Hanif Hassan, was quoted as saying: ‘When
we have two or three initiatives running at the same time, you have the opportunity to evaluate
them. I believe in competition’ (Lewis and Bardsley, 2008: 2). Thus there seems to be a deliberate
policy tactic of ‘sampling’ a variety of educational ‘products’ before deciding which to choose—in
essence the country seems to be looking for the ‘magic bullet’ from outside rather than favouring a
homegrown, more organic solution to the problems.
PPPs in the education sector are not a new phenomenon but they are new to the UAE. Fitz and
Beers (2002) note that the presence of EMOs in public education in both the UK and the USA is
becoming big business, however, their research findings indicate only halting progress by EMOs in
the USA to deliver the promised better education and raise student performance levels. A report
produced by the National Union of Teachers (2003) in the UK warns of the dangers of what they
term the ‘outsourcing’ of educational services to private companies and highlights a number of
high profile failures of the private sector to manage change and to raise standards in various local
education authorities. Fullan (1998) has argued that overload in the form of a barrage of disjointed
demands and externally imposed changes fosters dependency and makes the system vulnerable to
so-called ‘packaged solutions’ such as those provided by external bodies. Others write in more pos-
itive terms about the possibility for partnerships to raise standards and regenerate and transform
schools (Davies and Hentschke, 2006; Ellison, 2006; Smith and Wohlstetter, 2006; Guttierez
et al. 2007). Smith and Wohlstetter (2006) offer a typology of different types of partnership; they
report that partnerships can be differentiated based on how they are initiated, what services are
provided, the form of the partnership and the depth of organizational involvement. Davies and
Hentschke (2006) offer four different dimensions of partnering starting with informal ‘network-
ing’; then comes the more formal ‘coordinating’; ‘cooperating’ raises the level of integration even
higher and ‘collaborating’ reaches the level of inter-organizational governance. In the case of Abu
Dhabi, the partnerships have been initiated by ADEC, which, although claiming to be the control-
ling body of educational activity in the emirate, nevertheless maintains links with the federal
ministry of education, the exact nature of which remains unclear. There does not, therefore, appear
to be any clear definition of the specific roles and functions of each of the three parties which
makes it difficult to fit the Abu Dhabi PPP model into either of the above typologies. The various
EMOs appear to have been given carte blanche to work in their partnership schools as they see fit,
and the basic intention on ADEC’s part seems to be to parachute staff from PPP providers into
schools to work alongside locally recruited teachers for a three-year period. The PPP staff are
expected to raise levels of English-language proficiency, model delivery of the new curriculum and
train local teachers to deliver it effectively. How this is achieved has been left to the individual
EMOs to plan and execute.

Role of the Principal

Decentralization is a feature of school-reform virtually worldwide, which has led to an enhanced
leadership and management role for principals (Bush, 2008). Newspaper releases about the Abu
Dhabi reform initiatives suggest that this is also the expectation here (Anon, 2006; Shamseddine,
2006). However, the two concepts of leadership and management are frequently differentiated with
the latter often being regarded as an administrative and maintenance activity and the former being
linked with a more visionary role (Dimmock, 1999; Bush and Coleman, 2000; Bush, 2008). It is
4 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 000(00)

generally acknowledged that these two competing roles can lead to tensions for school principals.
Dimmock (1999: 42) writes:

Irrespective of how these terms are defined, school leaders experience difficulty in deciding the
balance between higher order tasks designed to improve staff, student and school performance
(leadership), routine maintenance of present operations (management) and lower order duties
(administration).

However, in a summary of key findings about successful schools, Leithwood et al. (2006)
conclude that it is the leadership aspect of the school that has significant effects on the quality
of school organization and on pupil learning. They explain that leadership serves as a catalyst for
unleashing the potential capacities that already exist in an organization. They (2006: 5) write:
‘As far as we are aware, there is not a single documented case of a school successfully turning
around its pupil achievement trajectory in the absence of talented leadership.’ Of course it does
not automatically follow that a leader in a school is always the school principal, although in prac-
tice this is often the case. Reporting on a longitudinal study of educational change in schools in the
USA and Canada, Hargreaves and Fink (2003) maintain that leadership from the principal is a key
force for change influence and long-term continuity. Successful principals in their study were com-
mitted to the notion of sustainability both of themselves and others. Fullan (1993, 2000, 2001,
2002) also ascribes a pivotal role for the school principal in the leadership of change; he maintains
that it is vital for a principal to adopt the mindset embedded within his well known eight principles
for change and to possess the personal qualities of energy, enthusiasm and hope as well as core
leadership skills. Gurr et al. (2006) report on research conducted in Australia showing that princi-
pals made a significant contribution to schools particularly in the areas of capacity building and
improved teaching and learning outcomes. Researching in two separate states, they identified a
common set of personal traits, characteristics and qualities that contributed to the principals’ suc-
cess; among other things these included honesty and openness, high order communication skills,
flexibility, commitment, passion, empathy with others, a sense of ‘innate goodness’ and a belief
that schools can make a difference. Guttierez et al. (2007) describe how a group of principals
involved in a university partnership collaborated on the development of an inventory tool to
manage and intentionally utilize the intangible assets of the partnership to increase student learn-
ing. In a recently reported study from Pakistan, Rizvi (2008) found school principals in four
different schools successfully assuming key leadership roles that enhanced teacher professionalism
in their schools within a context of reform. Rizvi reports that the successful Pakistani principals
were able to move away from the prevailing traditional view of school leadership whereby
authority is vested in the principal as ‘leader’ simply by virtue of the position itself, towards a more
distributed style of leadership with favourable results. Each of the studies above confirms the
importance of the principal’s leadership role over the management one to lead successful school
reform.

The Study
Research Design
As numerous studies have documented, change is a complex and highly unpredictable area which
requires effective management and leadership if it is to succeed (Fullan, 1993, 2000, 2001, 2002;
Hargreaves, 2003, 2004; Lindahl 2007). Sweeping, and virtually overnight, change and reform on
Thorne: 5

the scale currently present in the emirate of Abu Dhabi is likely to present unique challenges and
bring with it a variety of tensions as those involved adjust to changing, individual circumstances.
Therefore the exploratory case study described in this article aimed to investigate how the educa-
tional reforms discussed above have impacted on the work of one principal in a PPP school at this
time of radical transformation. It specifically sought to uncover what challenges and tensions the
principal may be experiencing in her day to day work as a result of the various reforms, including
the presence of PPP advisors in her school. Yin (1994: 9) notes that using a case study, as opposed
to another research design, depends upon what the researcher wants to know; he notes that a case
study design has the advantage in cases where a ‘how’ or ‘why’ question is being asked. Case study
is also likely to be the best choice when the researcher has limited or no control over ‘a contem-
porary set of events’ (Yin, 1994: 8) and/or if the variables are impossible to identify ahead of time
as they are so embedded within a particular situation.

The Participant and Her Setting

The principal who took part in this study was selected on two criteria: purposiveness and accessibility.
The principal was accessible because she was one of a number of PPP school principals participating in
extra-mural courses at my institution at the time of conducting the study. However, this particular
school principal was selected because she belonged to a group whose English-language proficiency
was superior—she had attained a score of 6.5 in the International English Language Test (IELTS).
Merriam (1998) writes of the interviewer–respondent interaction as a complex phenomenon to which
both parties bring biases, predispositions and attitudes that might colour the interaction and the subse-
quent data elicited (87); mindful of the possibility of linguistic problems being an added factor to this
already complex picture I preferred to select someone with a reasonably good command of English as I
did not wish to add the extra dimension of an interpreter’s ‘interpretation’. I wanted to be able to speak
directly with the participant and negotiate meaning myself through questioning and discussion
when necessary. Nevertheless, there were some points of unexpected difficulty which arose, these are
discussed below.
In opting for purposeful sampling the goal is to select cases that are likely to be ‘knowledgeable
people’ (Cohen et al., 2007: 115) or ‘information-rich’ (Gall et al., 1998: 218) with respect to the
purposes of the study. In this case the principal is an educational leader in a primary school that had
been selected to pilot the PPP programme, therefore it was expected that she would have firsthand
experience of the impacts of reform activity on her role as principal. The school is located in a city
within the emirate of Abu Dhabi. It is a medium-sized school (approximately 300 pupils) with
28 teachers and five administrative staff excluding the principal. In addition there are three native
English-speaking advisors stationed in the school who are employed by the EMO partner.

Ethical Considerations
I followed established ethical protocols for undertaking qualitative research of this nature.
The principal involved was briefed in advance of the study about the nature and purposes of
the research and the procedure of the interviews. The participant was a very willing informant,
nevertheless, informed consent was obtained and signed by both parties and assurances of confi-
dentiality were provided. Glesne and Peshkin (1992, cited in Kvale, 1996: 260) mention instances
of well-known studies in which, despite the use of fictitious names and the like, reporters and
others have been able to track down the actual persons involved. Given that the potential
6 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 000(00)

consequences of an interview report are difficult to anticipate (Kvale, 1996) and the possibly
sensitive nature of this particular research at this time of highly political change and reform
activity, I have been at pains to disguise the identity of the principal, the name and location
of the school and the identity of the EMO she is working with. Throughout the discussion the
principal will be referred to by the pseudonym Fatima and the EMO by the pseudonym Whitewood
Associates (WA).

Procedure and Methods: Data Collection and Preliminary Analysis

The research tool I selected for this explorative study was semi-structured interviews with Fatima,
aiming to collect qualitative data through which to ‘explore, catch glimpses, illuminate and then try
to interpret bits of reality’ (Holliday, 2002: 5). Kvale (1996: 3) presents two contrasting metaphors of
the interviewer: interviewer as ‘miner’ and interviewer as ‘traveler’. Informed by an interpretive
framework, this study takes the latter approach and seeks to ‘wander through the landscape’
(1996: 4) as experienced by the participant and to understand and explain, through a process of
reflection, her experiences.
Data was collected during two interviews, which took place in the school where Fatima is
principal. I prepared a loose interview guide of potential core topics to be covered in advance
of the first interview, but the main intention was to allow the ‘themes of the lived daily world
from the subject[‘s] own perspectives’ to emerge (Kvale, 1996: 27). The interview was audio-
recorded and transcribed verbatim, including the many pauses, repetitions and fillers which
occurred. I was not aware during the interview process itself of any moments when I felt did not
understand what Fatima was saying. However, Kvale (1996: 166–167) notes the problems
involved in transcription in terms of the inherent differences between an oral and a written mode
of discourse. He (1996: 167) writes that ‘the apparently incoherent statements’ which may occur
in a transcription ‘may be coherent within the context of a living conversation, with vocal into-
nation, facial expressions and body language supporting, giving nuances to, or even contradict-
ing what is said’. A initial examination of the first transcript revealed a few areas where any
coherent meaning became lost in the transition from word to page. Thus to ensure that the tran-
script was an accurate rendition of Fatima’s views and in the interest of ‘respondent validation’
(Radnor, 1994: 17), I gave her a copy for checking and to clarify that I had understood her mean-
ing accurately in cases where her language may have been grammatically inaccurate. I used this
clarification to occasionally rephrase her views into grammatical English when I considered it
necessary so as not to obscure her meanings. The second interview was slightly more structured
as it sought further information based on comments in the first interview and the aim was to
check impressions and clarify certain areas. The same recording, transcription and respondent
validation procedures were followed.
The transcripts were then read and re-read, often while simultaneously listening to the audio-
recording, in an effort to identify common patterns and recurring regularities. Radnor (1994: 19)
refers to this inductive process as ‘staying close to the data’. Merriam (1998: 181) notes that the
researcher should regard him/herself as having a conversation with the data, asking questions of
it and making comments to it to permit the grouping of items that seem to go together. A process
of constant comparison of items in the data led to the establishment of a number of categories that
reflect the purpose of the research and provide some answers to the original research questions (Mer-
riam, 1998: 183). Once initial categories had been established, I followed the process outlined by
Radnor, of identifying sub-headings for each category and coding them before grouping data from
Thorne: 7

Table 1. Main sources of tension for principals

Sources of tension
1. The PPP company: macro reforms versus micro reforms
2. Initiative overload: the staff factor
3. Pressures from above: the politics
4. Pressures from within: a sense of moral purpose

each category together and attempting to construct interpretive statements to explain and understand
the data (Radnor, 1994: 19–21).
A preliminary analysis of the data revealed several individual, but interrelated, sources of
tension and pressure on Fatima in her role as principal. These are listed in Table 1 and discussed
in the next section.

Discussion
Macro Reforms versus Micro Reforms: PPP Pressures
The macro-reform context set by ADEC has decreed that primary mathematics and science should
be delivered through the medium of English. This in itself is a fairly radical reform and one which
is bound to impact significantly on schools. It has huge implications for staffing as it assumes a
certain level of English-language proficiency among teachers of those subjects, which can by
no means be taken for granted. However, as noted above, each EMO has been given carte blanche
to operate in their partnership schools and it appears that each EMO has a different approach to
supporting the macro-reform agenda. In WA’s case they have opted to add an additional innova-
tion at the micro-level of their individual partner schools. We learn from Fatima that:

When they come here they told me that their vision (was) the theme . . . their company, Whitewood
Associates company . . . the vision . . . that every teacher should teach theme for every class from
grade 1 to 5 . . .

It emerges that by ‘theme’ Fatima is referring to a typically western approach to primary level
teaching whereby a single class teacher spends most of the day working with the children in an
integrated, thematic way across a range of subject areas. WA, a well-known, UK-based for-
profit provider of education services, describes itself as a ‘leading international provider of quality
improvement in education’1 which ‘tailor-makes’ school improvement programmes that meet
local needs and contexts. However, judging from the above comment it would appear that WA had
a pre-decided reform agenda for their partner schools. The gulf between this expected level of
change and current practice is so enormous that it makes the tactic seem very ill-advised indeed.
In the UAE primary system, teachers typically teach only in their specific area of subject expertise;
they may, or may not, have a degree-level qualification in their subject but very few would have
had any kind of pedagogical preparation to become teachers. Macpherson et al. (2007) report on
the low levels of professionalism in UAE schools with teachers typically having low skills, qua-
lifications (many lack even a basic diploma in education), pay and status. An integrated day in the
western style is a pedagogically complex undertaking and, in my opinion based on close contact
with teachers and schools over a number of years, most teachers in the UAE would require
8 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 000(00)

intensive professional development (PD) to achieve that goal. Andrews and Rothman (2002),
discussing educational reforms in the USA, note that the National Commission on Teaching and
America’s Future concluded that a lack of effective PD was the single greatest obstacle to lasting
success of educational reform efforts in the USA. Fatima appears to understand this and shows an
awareness of the need for staff PD, although, interestingly, her main focus appears to be PD
supporting the macro-reform agenda rather than WA’s micro agenda. She seems to regard the
relationship with WA as transactional, she consistently refers to the company as ‘the provider’ and
she makes it clear that she expects certain services from them:

I think the most important thing I think about is professional development . . . now we have a provider,
they are doing English courses for the teachers, we are doing inset sessions and all the workers of the
school, even the secretary, the principal and everybody they are sitting in that time for one hour, to have
an inset session.

Despite the professional development sessions, It would seem that WA’s approach is weak in
the area of capacity building. The necessary ‘reculturing’ (Fullan, 2001: 34) is not taking place and
Fatima reveals that the teacher learning in her school is, in her view, superficial, she says:

. . . the teachers they sit in the inset they forget everything . . . after when they go out . . . so I told
them [WA advisors] all the time please go back with them go over this and this and this . . . sometimes
they do . . . sometimes they delay . . .

At other points in the data it also becomes apparent that Fatima has not always been satisfied
with the professional development provided by the company and has proactively sought to ensure
that she gets the service she wants; on more than one occasion she mentions bypassing the WA
staff in her school and directly approaching their superiors to get them to intervene and instruct
the school-based advisors to cooperate as she wants them to. Despite this, Fatima, perhaps some-
what implausibly, characterizes her relationship with the WA staff on the ground as being ‘good’
but she does openly admit to having ‘complaints’. She remarks:

I feel the most important thing with the advisors with the advisors [sic] who is here they are not sup-
porting the teachers much like the first year I don’t know why . . .

One possible interpretation of WA’s apparent withdrawal of support could be that it is an attempt
on their part to shift ownership of the ‘theme’ reform onto the teachers in an effort to make the
reform ‘self-generative’ (Coburn, 2003). However, a second interpretation, given Fatima’s appar-
ent bewilderment as expressed above, might be that the WA staff lack both an understanding of the
complexities involved in the process of shifting ownership of reforms, and the basic skills to do so.
The WA website informs us that the base requirement for their school-based mentors, in addition to
qualified teacher status, is a mere three years of teaching experience. WA is a profit making
enterprise and the Abu Dhabi contract is worth approximately £3 million to the company over a
three-year period; as staffing costs typically consume the largest portion of a budget, it would not
be surprising if WA recruited staff whose limited experience would command relatively low
salaries. Further research incorporating the WA mentors would be required to ascertain which
scenario is more accurate, however, what does become clear is that the extra reform dimension
imposed by WA is putting strain on Fatima and her staff.
Thorne: 9

Initiative Overload: The Staff Factor

Hargreaves (2004), quoting Abrahamson (2004), refers to initiative overload as ‘the tendency . . .
to launch more change initiatives than anyone could ever reasonably handle’ and it would seem
that what is emerging in this picture is just such an initiative overload situation. Fatima clearly feels
that the expectation for staff to do ‘theme’ teaching is just one change too many. She comments:
‘It’s enough for them another language, to teach in another language.’
Hargreaves (2004) cites a number of large-scale studies of curricular reform whereby the teach-
ers involved rapidly became demoralized and demotivated. He points out that mandated reforms
are disliked and resented when they are forced upon teachers and poorly implemented within
unrealistic timescales and without adequate support. As we have seen from the comment above,
Fatima clearly feels that support for her staff is lacking. Problems with staff reactions to WA’s
strategy emerge regularly throughout the data and Fatima characterizes the situation for her teach-
ing staff as ‘struggling challenging this is something challenging we can’t . . . we shouldn’t be that
optimistic that everything will be changed like that’.
A picture emerges of substantial dissent from teachers, with some flatly refusing to adopt the
themed approach in their teaching, citing lack of expertise and lack of confidence in their ability
to adopt an approach so radically different from what they are used to. Naturally, this has led to
staffing issues which create further pressure on Fatima; she even points out that the WA approach
has negatively impacted her staffing prospects for the future. We learn that the school is ‘an envi-
ronment that the other teachers from another company . . . er . . . from another schools they do not
want to transfer to . . . why? Because their background is different from what they get here’. In the
second interview Fatima reveals that her teachers feel resentment at what is being asked of them.
Fatima says:

they feel little bit um . . . er . . . not justice to teach some subjects that they are not qualified to do it and
they feel they need a lot of training but even though if they ask for training we have to find the time to
have that training we just have[time] for English training and this makes a lot of consequences on the
school . . .

Pressures from Above: The Politics

Her staff reactions to WA’s theme policy creates operational difficulties for Fatima and brings her
into conflict with the competing policy of the ministry and ADEC on class sizes, however, rather
than let her pupils suffer the consequences of the staffing problems, she is prepared to risk criticism
by amalgamating classes, she says: ‘This put a lot of pressure on me . . . but err . . . it’s better than
that they leave children without a teacher.’
The WA approach has also forced a re-jigging of the school day with a shift from individual
lessons to blocks; operationally, this has created yet more pressures as some subject areas must
suffer at the expense of others. For example, we learn from Fatima of the extreme reaction and
displeasure of ministry of education officials responsible for Arabic studies—‘they are screaming’.
Fatima also points out that, as principal, she will be held accountable by both ADEC and the
ministry for poor results. It is not normal practice in the UAE for school principals to appoint their
own teachers; both academic and administrative staff are assigned to schools by either the ministry
of education, or, in the case of Abu Dhabi emirate, by ADEC. Fatima expresses her frustration with
the teachers she has been assigned. She says:
10 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 000(00)

I can’t depend on them to deliver math and science and English for grade 5 children . . . their err the
background of the teachers not suitable and their confidence not that much.

Surprisingly, it appears that the chief concern of those responsible for recruiting teachers for
schools is their proficiency in English irrespective of any teaching background or pedagogical
training. Fatima reveals:

The most important thing in the . . . was in the interview that they understand English . . . they can
deliver in English . . . the subject . . . even they are not have err an education background or something
. . . one of them was engineer . . .

Thus it is clear that the WA expectation of ‘theme’ teaching is even more unrealistic than it might
at first appear.

Pressure from Within: A Sense of Moral Purpose

Hargreaves (2004) maintains that the challenge for a school leader within a context of mandatory
reform lies not in an unquestioning acceptance and management of the reform agenda but in exer-
cising ‘moral purpose’ and personal courage to challenge the prescriptions of mandated change in
order to seek what is best for staff and students and what is achievable. Throughout the data there is
evidence of Fatima’s sense of moral purpose. She is initially open to WA’s approach and takes
time to explain it to her teachers as well as to pupils and parents. However, by the end of the second
year of implementation she reassesses the situation and characterizes it to be ‘not that good’.
Explaining her decision to abandon WA’s theme approach in the next academic year and revert
to subject teachers teaching their own subjects, she says:

I need to do something that will satisfy me . . . I need to feel relief from that thing . . . I want to feel relief
so I can concentrate more on other things . . . I should go back to what the Ministry will tell me . . .

Given the difficulties and challenges which Fatima seems to be experiencing, it is perhaps surpris-
ing that no hint of cynicism emerges from the data, on the contrary, Fatima displays evidence of
what Hargreaves (2004) terms as ‘emotional leadership’—she clearly understands that her teachers
require support and encouragement to work in what they find difficult circumstances and she
specifically instructs the advisors to adopt a more active mentoring role, she says:

The advisors . . . they should give feedback for the teachers . . . not just sit there and if they see some-
thing wrong they interfere, they should do like as a visitor as a monitoring agency just sit and look and
have feedback and give it to the teachers.

The quotation above is revealing and suggests that the WA advisors may be taking a rather heavy-
handed and critical approach when dealing with the teachers. However, Fatima demonstrates con-
cern that her teachers should be equipped to ‘engage the children’ and help them to develop to
‘their full potential’ and it seems clear that she would like the WA staff to be more proactive in
their support and mentoring of teachers. Like the principals in Hargreaves and Finks’ study cited
above, she is committed to the notion of sustainability and despite reservations about WA’s
approach she appears determined, as we have seen, to extract as much value for her school from
the partnership as she can. In commenting on the mismatch between WA’s ‘vision’ and ministry
Thorne: 11

requirements she reveals herself to be committed to trying to make things work as best she can. She
remarks:

Yeah, 100% they don’t match but as a leader I should facilitate between the two visions so I can set a
model a special model for me so that it will satisfy me at least.

Conclusion
Given the significant nature of education in which failure would have serious consequences, the
apparent lack of coordination and agreement between the various authorities involved and the see-
mingly unhelpful blurring of the lines of responsibility between the federal ministry of education,
ADEC and PPP companies, which leaves Fatima, in her role as principal, prey to the competing
and conflicting visions of all parties, should be a cause for some concern. As we have seen from
the discussion above, the micro agenda of the PPP company imposes additional burdens on the
school personnel. As a very minimum step, this research would suggest the need for more coordi-
nation and agreement between concerned parties; it might be helpful, for example, if all the PPP
companies were coordinated from a central point to ensure that a uniform approach to the reforms
is taken. In this instance it would likely be better for ADEC to take greater centralized control
rather than leaving PPP providers the freedom to initiate their own micro agendas. Another obvious
implication of this research would be the need for the introduction of intensive language and ped-
agogical training for teachers to enable them to cope with the demands of the new curriculum. For-
mal preparation of teachers for their professional role has until recently been a noticeable omission
in the educational reform plans and this must be addressed systematically if the reforms are to have
any chance of success. Locally based teacher education programmes need to be established and
supported to encourage young Emiratis to enter the profession. Teachers already in schools need
to be given continuous professional development opportunities and a clear career track needs to be
established in order to professionalize the workforce. Given the key role of the school principal in
the management of the change process there is also an urgent need to develop and implement pro-
grammes of educational leadership and management to better equip these key agents of change
with the skills they need to successfully lead their schools through this time of radical transforma-
tion. Any educational system which is attempting to transform itself in the way that the Emirati,
more specifically the Abu Dhabi system, is attempting to do, must additionally set in place a
research base in order to evaluate current practices and inform future policy changes. However,
as noted earlier very few studies have as yet been conducted in the UAE; even though major reform
efforts are underway it remains to be seen whether the current round of reforms is part of a long-
term cycle of change resulting in valuable and sustainable improvements in schools. There is there-
fore, an urgent need to set up a research unit to track and monitor the changes and to investigate the
possibility of a more organic approach to educational reform which would support home grown
initiatives and allow the Emirati nationals to truly take ownership of their own educational system.
It must be acknowledged that a major shortcoming of this research is that it relies on Fatima as
the only source of evidence and anecdotal information from the field suggests both successes and
failures in the reform efforts. Although I sincerely feel the evidence for my interpretations of the
interviews to be reliable and trustworthy, I acknowledge the need to triangulate my findings with
the use of additional data collection tools, as research has convincingly shown that verbal reports of
all types are subject to many constraints such as differing analytical skills of research participants
12 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 000(00)

which may affect the way they express their views, interviewer subjectivity and bias and so on
(Miles et al., 2003; Petrie, 2005; Kvale, 2007). Therefore, there is an urgent need for further studies
which might expand on this one and usefully take a more longitudinal approach to examining
change and educational reform in the UAE and its success or otherwise. Studies looking at the
impacts on, and perceptions and roles of other stakeholders, including the various educational
authorities, the EMOs, teachers, students and parents would likely be a fruitful undertaking in this
context.

Note
1. Information taken from the company website. The URL has been omitted to preserve anonymity.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not for profit
sectors.

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Biographical Note
To come

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