A CRITICAL EXPLORATION OF VISIONS, VALUES AND

TRANSFORMATION LEADERSHIP WITHIN EY

EDUCATION: WORKING WITH PARENTS TO SUPPORT
SMOOTH TRNASITION FROM EY TO PRIMARY SETTING
 Table of Contents

Part 1...................................................................................................................................................2

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................2

What is leadership?.........................................................................................................................2

Importance of effective school leadership......................................................................................3

Vision, values and leadership in the context of education..............................................................4

Barriers to Implementation.............................................................................................................5

Values contested.............................................................................................................................5

Conclusion......................................................................................................................................6

Part 2...................................................................................................................................................6

Definition of transformational leadership.......................................................................................6

Idealized Influence......................................................................................................................7

Inspirational Motivation..............................................................................................................7

Intellectual Stimulation...............................................................................................................7

Individualized Consideration......................................................................................................8

Challenges of transformation leadership in executing change........................................................8

Limitations......................................................................................................................................9

Values and vision underpinned for change...................................................................................10

Vision and values and staff commitment......................................................................................11

Conclusion....................................................................................................................................11
Part 1

Introduction

Though much progress has been made, there is still more work to be done before transformational

leadership principles can be successfully implemented in educational institutions.

Transformational school leaders are the focus of this research, which looks at the qualities and

behaviors of such teachers. This study updates previous description of early year (EY) education

administrators and their strategies for improving their institutions' educational settings (Hogan and

Kaiser, 2005). Not only does this study discuss the relevance and current popularity of

transformational leadership as well as its application in practice to EY education, it also

characteristics the team and personal characteristic that individuals must in their skillset to

incorporate an environment of change using transformational leadership.

What is leadership?

In its basic form, leadership is about getting other people to work toward your objectives. The

appreciation of leadership as well as its value requires an appreciation of the methodology and

traits necessary to successfully influence others (Bass and Riggio, 2006). Personal qualities of

leaders are well-described in various literature, and they include things like having a common

vision for the objective of a group and making decisions that are both precise and clear based on an

evaluation of the current information (Hogan and Kaiser, 2005). Leaders are those who are ready

to make difficult choices when necessary without fear of retaliation or a lack of respect for those

they lead. Credibility is fundamental to effective leadership, and is frequently attained via honest

and open methods of operation. When the situation calls for it, leaders act accordingly to challenge

the status quo, and demonstrate responsible behavior and initiative (Argyris, 1976). Given that

most individuals are either affected by or exert some degree of influence on those in positions of

leadership, the study of leadership tends to attract a lot of attention. The qualities that may

transform an average individual into a formidable leader are a constant topic of inquiry (Ramsey,
2005). Many of the first leadership theories, sometimes referred to as "trait theories," were

preoccupied with the characteristics and characteristics of leaders' personalities. From then, the

focus shifted to how leaders conduct in social situations, ushering in a period of behavioral

theories. Soon after its introduction by Burns, the notion of transformational leadership attracted

the attention of academics and industry professionals (Homrig, 2001).

It is generally agreed that strong leadership is one of the most important factors in creating a

positive learning environment in a school (Glickman, 2002). Leadership has been shown to have a

significant influence on ensuring EY school growth and transformation in a variety of research

scenarios and nations (Dunlop, 2008). EY school development with difficult conditions is

emphasized by Hopkins and Reynolds (2001), who stresses the need of transformational leadership

techniques. The research, however, shows that the leadership styles of principals who oversee

schools through difficult transitions are not all the same (Stolp, 1994). There was a large variation

in the leadership styles of administrators in early empirical investigations of schools (Blank 1987).

According to Blank (1987) a variety of leadership approaches were most successful in EY schools,

arguing that no one leadership technique works in every context.

Importance of effective school leadership

School leadership has received more attention in recent years due to the long-held belief that

strong leadership is crucial to the success of any institution (Seashore Louis and Wahlstrom, 2010).

The expansion of educational management in several countries in the last decades has contributed

to the trend of giving the schools more authority and the school leaders more responsibility as a

result of the delegation or devolution of authority and responsibilities from the nationwide,

provincial, or state based to the schools. This has obviously resulted in a stronger focus on

leadership as a critical aspect in school success and progress, elevating the value of the head

teacher and their position of importance (Smylie and Marks, 2002).

Vision, values and leadership in the context of education

The concept of transformational vision is predicated on the belief of change in a cultural setting.

As a term for cultural evolution as a whole, transition reflects the vitality of modernism. Learning

and teaching are unopposed whenever a culture is at its peak, and everyone has a common

understanding of what values most (Harris, 2002). There is a sense of hope and vigor at these

times, as if the society is the best possible one. In most cases, people go into school with a firm

idea of what they want to get out of it. As a community, we also tend to believe that we should

keep moving in the same way that got us here. We might claim that a culture has reached its

complete form and that its current state justifies its "continuity" if we look at it from an external

perspective (Gaad and Scott, 2006). Having such a defined goal or direction in the environment is

said to be formatively suitable. When a culture actively works to duplicate itself, and its learning

and educational institutes reflect the prevailing cultural themes, we say that culture is formatively

appropriate (Masemann, 2003).

There is constant discussion about and effort done toward improving educational quality in every

nation. However, ensuring high standards in the classroom is no easy feat.

United Arab Emirates educational goals are newer than those of many other nations. According to

Gaad (2001) there are two types of schools in the education system: private and public. Public

schools get funding from the federal government. Education in the United Arab Emirates has a

heavy Islamic and Arabic focus. All of the public schools teach their students separately by gender,

however this is not so strictly followed in recent times (Gaad and Scott, 2006).

In the United Arab Emirates, local culture and legislation play an important role since they are

integral to the local way of life. It's a complex issue with roots that go far before any concerns

about certain aspects of education are ever brought up (Gallagher, 2011). Fundamentally, Boards

of Education in the UAE, for instance, seek to establish the purposes of schooling and what should

be rationally stressed within the context of the curriculum developed for pupils attending
EY schools under their authority. Goals and underlying or overt cultural norms in society must be

defined and established (Alhosani, 2022).

Additionally, according to Alhosani (2022) they must determine not only the information but also

the scope of the curriculum, the pupils who will be educated by the studies, the underlying

structure for all these processes, the training and employment of administrators and teachers and

the evaluation at some point to determine if or not the curriculum is beneficial in communicating

the values and vision.

Barriers to Implementation

There are some drawbacks to the contribution of transformational leadership in acknowledging the

UAE's visions and values, such as the leadership style's lack of conceptual clarity. Tracey and

Hinkin (1998) argue that transformational leadership encompasses such a broad range of issues

and concerns such as creating a vision, inspiring followers to action, and acting as a catalyst for

change, fostering a culture of trust, providing guidance and support, and serving as a social

architect which makes it complicated. In spite of this, a precise definition is challenging owing to a

lack of conceptual clarity.

In addition, the technique of measurement is not well described (Bass and Riggio, 2006). There are

four aspects of leadership that have been shown to idealized influence, inspirational motivation,

intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration make up the "four l's." There is a

substantial amount of correspondence between them, indicating that they are not independent

variables (Bass, 1999). The concept of transformational leadership views leadership less as a skill

to be taught and more as an innate quality in a person. If it's a character flaw, training isn't the best

solution since it's hard to educate individuals to alter their character flaws (Harris, 2002).

Values contested

Since many residents of the United Arab Emirates come from all over the globe and practice faiths

and beliefs, the country's shared principles are sometimes debated. Since of this, it's challenging to
establish a uniform formal system of education throughout the nation, which all EY schools must

follow, because parents from different cultural and religious backgrounds may not want their

children to get the same kind of education (Raven, 2011).

Conclusion

Leadership theories have mostly centered on the actions of transformative leaders throughout the

previous two decades (Bass, 1999). According to Homrig (2001), effective leadership results in

behavioral and mental changes in both the leaders and the followers. In addition, the leader-

follower dynamic is referred to as transformational leadership or the transformational influencing

mechanism (Bass and Avolio, 1993).

Leaders at schools often fail to recognize their own influence on people and do not consciously

evaluate whether or not their style of leadership contributes to improved results. Since leaders must

often exert influence and motivation over subordinates, inspire dedication and additional effort

from them, and ultimately boost EY school performance, this research is crucial because it has

substantial implications for management-development initiatives (Ramsey, 2005).

Transformational followers and leaders work together for the good of the team, fueled by a

collective trust and respect for one another and their leaders' visions and values (Bass and Avolio,

1999). This suggests that transformative leaders choose the exercise of personal power above the

formal distribution of authority. Avolio and Yammarino (1991) research confirmed that

transformational leadership fosters a culture where followers feel valued and respected by their

leaders.

Part 2

Definition of transformational leadership

Much of the study and practice of leadership theory now focuses on the approach of

transformational leadership. Many leadership experts and students have been inspired by the
concept of transformational leadership. In their interactions with subordinates and superiors,

transformational leaders go beyond the establishment of just transactional or contractual

arrangements. They act in ways that produce excellent outcomes by using any or all of the four

pillars of transformational leadership known as the 4 Is (Avolio and Yammarino, 1991).

Idealized Influence.

The transformational leadership approach has quickly emerged as the method of preference for the

majority of studies on leadership theory as well as its practical implementation. In a lot of different

ways, transformational leadership styles has captivated the attention of leadership students, as well

as leadership researchers, and notable leadership practitioners (Bass and Riggio, 2006). In their

interactions with coworkers and followers, transformational leaders go beyond just exchanging

information or coming to agreements. They act in ways that produce greater outcomes by using

one or more of the four fundamental aspects of transformational leadership. These aspects related

to the concept of idealized influence.

Inspirational Motivation.

The actions of transformational leaders are characterized by the ability to motivate and inspire

others in their immediate environment by embedding their followers' activities with significance

and posing significant challenges (Bass and Riggio, 2006). The rises the overall spirit of a team.

Exuberance and positivity are both on exhibited with this behavior of the leaders. Leaders get

followers engaged in visualizing appealing future outcomes; they generate expectations that are

clearly articulated that followers desire to fulfil; and leaders also display dedication to objectives

and the common vision (Avolio and Yammarino, 1991).

Intellectual Stimulation.

According to Bass and Riggio (2006) transformational leaders encourage their followers to

challenge assumptions, redefine difficulties, and approach known scenarios in innovative and

interesting ways. This helps the followers to become more imaginative and innovative in their
work. One is urged to use their imagination. There is never any widespread condemnation of the

mistakes made by individual members. Followers are involved in the procedure of addressing

issues and finding answers, during which they are asked for new ideas and innovative problem-

solving solutions to be requested from them (Homrig, 2001). The ideas of followers are also not

rejected just because they are different from those of the leaders, and followers are actively

encouraged to experiment with new methods.

Individualized Consideration.

By serving as a teacher or a mentor to their followers, transformational leaders give particular

attention to the specific requirements of each individual follower for accomplishment and

development (Bass and Riggio, 2006). Followers and teammates are brought to progressively

greater potential levels as they progress in their development. When fresh learning possibilities are

developed with a supportive environment, the discipline of individualized attention may then be

put into practice. There is a recognition of the individual distinctions that exist in terms of wants

and desires (Homrig, 2001). The actions of the leader show that they are willing to embrace others

despite their differences.

Challenges of transformation leadership in executing change

Brighouse (2004) argues that principals significantly impact their schools' cultures via their

actions, which form educational institutions' aims and values. Leaders in today's schools need to be

adaptable, responsible for their own actions, and capable of assisting their schools adjust rapidly to

environmental shifts in order to keep up with the ever-evolving educational landscape (Usman,

2020).

While transformational leadership is effective, it might lead to a decrease in productivity if team

members aren't inspired to encourage themselves. Teachers may not get enough direction and

advice from leaders who try to set an example and encourage positive employee conduct (Harris,

2002).
While it's true that transformative leaders don't need the approval or praise of others to succeed,

doing so might have unintended consequences. Teachers may become overworked, undervalued,

and burned out if they don't get any external incentive while maintaining high levels of inner drive

(Eres, 2011).

To be successful, transformative leadership requires open lines of communication among leaders

and their teams. Leaders who inspire their followers by setting a positive example must let every

teacher in the school observe them and encourage development.

Limitations

The benefits of dispersed types of leadership have been highlighted by studies in the leadership

and education reform disciplines, but there are still challenges that must be overcome before they

can be implemented on a large scale in EY schools (Berkovich, 2016). It would be a mistake to

believe that decentralized forms of leadership could be implemented without first addressing the

significant structural, cultural, and micro political barriers that exist in schools (Raven, 2011).

Schools cannot be expected to immediately respond to a more flexible and diffused approach to

leadership because of their inherent structure as conventional hierarchies with clearly defined

positions and salaries (Gaad and Scott, 2006). Furthermore, everything

that transformational leadership entails poses intrinsic dangers to power as well as the status quo.

To begin, persons in positions of authority must delegate responsibility to others if dispersed

leadership is to be successfully implemented. It's not only a direct insult on the leader's pride if

they can't exert full control over everything happening under their control (Andriani and

Kristiawan, 2018).

Second, the 'top-down' methods to leading and the EY school systems provide substantial obstacles

to the establishment of transformational leadership. These obstacles may be found in both public

and private schools. Because of the way leadership is structured now in EY and primary schools,
the leadership team, which is located at the very top of the school, has all of the institutional

authority.

Additionally, the most crucially, dispersed leadership presents the primary difficulty of

determining how to spread authority and responsibility for improvement, and more significantly,

who should allocate power and responsibility. According to the findings of the studies, it is

obvious that a "top-down" method of distributed leadership is feasible, and that delegating

responsibility for the enhancement or growth of a subject to instructors provides a way of enabling

others to take the initiative and lead.

Values and vision underpinned for change

A transformative leader's worth may be shown in favorable situations. Transformational leadership

has been shown to improve teaching process, EY school environment, and student learning

outcomes by Griffin (1995). Yet another finding from these studies is the need to provide

opportunities for teachers to collaborate on school improvement projects. Research on an

institution where dispersed leadership was being applied, instructors at strong institutions were

given enough time to meet and work together (Hopkins and Stern, 1996). The study also suggests

that interpersonal elements, such as connections with the other teachers and school administration,

might affect the success or failure of transformational leadership within a school. The significance

of these is self-evident, both in terms of enhancing teachers' influence amongst their coworkers and

in terms of fostering cooperative relationships with school administration, which may feel

intimidated by teachers assuming leadership responsibilities (Raffaele and Knoff, 1999).

Sometimes there may be tensions between different groups of educators, such as those who either

do or do not occupy leadership responsibilities. Strong communication skills on the behalf of the

school leader and an EY school culture that supports transformation and leadership by teachers are

both necessary for success in overcoming these challenges (Alhosani, 2022).

Vision and values and staff commitment

The studies discussed above have made it abundantly evident that a common vision and a solid set

of core values are characteristics of EY schools with a potential for high levels of teacher

competence (as established previously) as well as the student accomplishment (Raven, 2011).

Many of the schools in the studies have a "vision" based on the idea that every student can achieve,

which has obvious consequences for classroom practice and staff cooperation (Alhosani, 2022).

Vision is clearly not a natural occurrence. It changes and grows with time, usually as a

consequence of effort and compromise. When it comes to ensuring long-term success in improving

teaching standards, nothing is more difficult than the process of developing a vision (Griffin,

1995). Leaders in the UAE's educational institutions may implement the necessary changes with

the help of the transformational leadership principles outlined in the report.

Differentiating management in the conventional sense from leadership in its broader sense is

essential. Traditional notions of the leader or principal need to be drastically altered, and

specialized training is frequently required, in order to facilitate the development and distribution of

leadership across the EY school (Andriani and Kristiawan, 2018). This is another difficulty that

seems to be overcome by schools who are able to maintain a high quality of teaching.

Conclusion

Evidence connecting leadership at the lead and principal levels to better student results is limited,

according to a study of the research on these positions (Hallinger and Heck, 1996). Distributed

types of leadership between the broader school teachers is probable to have a greater impact on the

favorable accomplishment of pupil’s outcomes than what is largely or absolutely top down.

Therefore, it is crucial that we learn more about dispersed leadership in practice and the ways in

which it may be fostered, encouraged, and developed.

The role of transformational leadership is essential in the context of this project as its principals

allow the EY school teachers and leaders within the school to look execute proper change
management in order to address the vision and value of the UAE’s educational systems. There are

a lot of issues in the executing the changes, and the capability of the transformational style of

leadership also has certain issues, since the existing systems in the UAE based EY schools are

traditional and the leaders it will not be easy to change the perception of the head teachers and

leaders at the school, and convince them to adopt a more open and adaptive way of leadership,

which is done in transformational leadership.

The findings of this research suggest that the style of leadership of an EY school's leader has a

significant role in shaping the school's pupils and the institution-wide commitment to change,

especially in EY education (Hallinger and Heck, 1996). Transformational leaders possess what it

takes to inspire educational institutions to deliver on the nation's educational needs, making it more

likely that the country's vision and values—in this instance, those of the United Arab Emirates—

will be upheld.
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