Purpose This study explores how teachers and school leaders influence secondary school students' engagement with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Lebanon and Dubai, UAE. Although the two contexts share a regional setting, they differ significantly in their institutional capacity to support sustainability education. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach was used. Quantitative data were collected through a survey of 267 Lebanese secondary school students. In Dubai, qualitative data came from focus group discussions with 30 students in three international schools. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 11 education professionals across both contexts. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and inductive thematic coding. Findings The results show a clear structural difference between the two contexts. In Lebanon, sustainability education was described by participants as depending largely on individual teacher or school leadership initiatives. Where such initiative was absent, participants reported that the topic was less likely to be raised in class. In Dubai, participants described sustainability as already present through several national and institutional frameworks before it reached the classroom; the focus group discussions showed high self-reported SDG awareness and strong thematic engagement with Gender Equality and Climate Action among focus group participants. However, both contexts show a gap between awareness and practice: only 28.5% of Lebanese survey respondents reported practising sustainability outside school, and responsible consumption was the least prominently raised theme in the Dubai focus group discussions. Research limitations/implications The study has several limitations. The Dubai qualitative sample consists of 30 students drawn exclusively from internationally oriented schools, limiting statistical generalisability and representativeness of the broader UAE educational system. A methodological asymmetry exists between the two contexts: Lebanon is represented by quantitative survey data while Dubai is represented by qualitative focus group findings; direct numerical comparisons should therefore be read with caution. Data collection was disrupted by COVID-19 in both contexts. Future research should conduct parallel educator-focused studies across both countries and examine how the awareness-action gap evolves as national sustainability initiatives continue to develop. Practical implications Lebanon requires three structural changes: formal SDG integration into the national curriculum, discipline-specific teacher professional development, and stronger civil society and private-sector partnerships to connect sustainability content to students' lived realities. Where the state cannot provide this infrastructure, coordinated multi-stakeholder approaches offer a viable alternative. Dubai's challenge is different. High awareness exists but behavioural change lags, particularly around responsible consumption. Schools need pedagogical approaches that move beyond institutional knowledge delivery toward structured critical reflection, helping students examine the tension between sustainability understanding and everyday lifestyle patterns. In both contexts, systemic reform matters more than individual teacher initiative. Social implications When sustainability education depends on individual educators rather than institutional frameworks, access becomes unequal. In Lebanon, students encounter SDG content largely based on which school they attend and whether a motivated teacher is present. When that individual leaves, the learning disappears with them. This produces not only a curriculum gap but an equity challenge, as confirmed by the biographical educator profiles in Table 4. In Dubai, coordinated national frameworks reduce that inequality but do not eliminate the gap between awareness and behaviour, particularly around consumption. Across both contexts, consumption-driven lifestyles remain the most stubborn barrier to meaningful sustainability practice among young people. Originality/value The study provides a comparative institutional perspective on SDG education in two contrasting Middle East and North Africa (MENA) contexts. It proposes a provisional conceptual distinction between the educator as gatekeeper, characteristic of fragile institutional environments where sustainability education depends on individual initiative, and the system as amplifier, characteristic of contexts with established policy frameworks. Presented as an interpretation generated from these cases rather than a validated model, this framework offers a transferable lens for understanding how institutional capacity shapes SDG education across the Arab world and other resource-constrained settings.
Purpose This paper aims to examine how bi- and multilingual academics reconstruct professional identities during international mobility and how they exercise agency in relation to language hierarchies, institutional expectations, and belonging across higher education systems. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 mobile bi- and multilingual scholars working across six higher education settings (Israel, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States). Interviews were carried out in participants' preferred languages and analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis, with iterative coding, theme development, and ongoing reflexive memoing across the author team. Findings Five themes captured recurrent tensions: embodied linguistic marginalization (notably accent and “non-native” positioning), institutional contradictions between international rhetoric and local norms, strategic multilingual practices to manage legitimacy and workload, identity transformation through negotiated “in-betweenness”, and the conditional value of mobility as capital depending on context and recognition. Research limitations/implications The sample is small and purposive, and findings are not intended to be statistically generalizable. The dataset is interview-based and captures narrated experience rather than observed institutional practice; additional triangulation through policy documents, workplace interactional data, or longitudinal follow-up would strengthen causal claims about change over time. Even so, the cross-setting design highlights patterned mechanisms through which recognition, gatekeeping, and symbolic valuation shape mobile scholars' trajectories, suggesting that future work should compare discipline-specific and contract-type differences and track identity outcomes across career stages. Practical implications Institutions recruiting international staff should align internationalization rhetoric with operational supports: transparent language expectations, workload recognition for multilingual labor (translation, mediation, “extra” student support), and fair evaluation practices that do not treat accent or local-language deficits as proxy competence measures. Supervisors and HR units can reduce gatekeeping by standardizing onboarding, providing funded language training, and clarifying when local-language proficiency is required. Departments can also formalize multilingual communication norms to prevent ad hoc, unequal reliance on mobile staff as linguistic brokers. Social implications When mobility is framed as merit but linguistic difference is penalized, higher education reproduces inequity while benefiting from migrants' labor. Recognizing multilingual scholars' contributions supports more inclusive academic communities and mitigates “conditional belonging” that can erode well-being and retention. More coherent language and evaluation policies can reduce discrimination tied to accent and national origin, broaden participation in research and teaching, and improve the quality of student support in linguistically diverse settings. Originality/value The study integrates Third Space, transnational identity capital, and poststructural language–power perspectives to conceptualize academic mobility as contingent identity work rather than linear “progress.” Empirically, it offers a comparative, multilingual account across multiple systems, foregrounding how institutions simultaneously depend on mobile scholars and constrain their linguistic and professional legitimacy.
Purpose This study aims to examine the relationships among teachers' participation in professional development (PD), total weekly working hours, peer collaboration (PC), stakeholder feedback, and principal leadership (PL) across three non-Western contexts, namely Macau, Malaysia, and Brazil. Design/methodology/approach Using PISA 2022 teacher questionnaire data from 11,518 teachers in Macau, Malaysia, and Brazil, the study employed descriptive statistics and mediation analyses to examine how PL and teachers' total working hours were associated with participation in PD through peer collaboration and stakeholder feedback. Findings The mediation analyses showed that peer collaboration and stakeholder feedback significantly mediated the relationships between PL and teachers' total working hours and participation in PD across all three contexts. However, the mediation patterns differed across countries. Both mediators showed partial mediation in Macau and Brazil. In Malaysia, the relationship between PL and participation in PD was fully mediated by peer collaboration and stakeholder feedback, whereas the relationship between total working hours and participation in PD remained partially mediated. The indirect effects were statistically significant but small in magnitude, suggesting that collaboration and feedback function as modest relational mechanisms rather than strong predictors of PD participation. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to three countries/economies and therefore has limited generalizability. Consequently, it should be acknowledged that the generalizability of the findings is limited to countries with high, average, and below-average performance in PISA. Practical implications The findings offer several practical implications for policymaking, school leadership, and PD design. The findings offer several important implications for policymakers, practitioners, and those designing PD programs. Although teachers spending too much time on lesson preparation or student assessments increases their learning impact on students, having too many working hours can create professional fatigue and reduce their motivation. Policymakers should consider strategies to optimize teachers' time use. Second, the study highlights the importance of structured teacher collaboration in fostering effective PL. Social implications The study shows and emphasizes that PL has a very central role in teachers’ PD and PC. Effective leadership has direct and mediated effects on teachers’ PD engagement, particularly via facilitating stakeholder feedback and PC. Accordingly, there is a need for leadership development programs. Principals should be equipped to cultivate a school culture that prioritizes professional dialogue, shared learning, and continuous feedback. Finally, the different results across these three economies reveal the importance of context and local educational environments in PD strategies. For example, stakeholders' feedback mediates the relationship in Malaysia, but it serves as a partial mediator in Macau and Brazil. Therefore, national education systems must shape PD programs according to the contextual needs and local conditions. Originality/value This study offers a comparative empirical contribution by examining how leadership, workload, collaboration, feedback, and participation in PD are configured across three under-researched non-Western contexts. Rather than claiming theoretical novelty, the study shows that similar school- and teacher-level conditions are associated with participation in PD through different relational pathways in Macau, Malaysia, and Brazil.
Purpose This systematic review examines the critical issues affecting the funding of higher education (HE) in the Arab region and synthesizes the solutions proposed in the existing literature to address these financial challenges. Design/methodology/approach In accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic search of electronic databases was conducted. A total of 26 relevant articles published between 2004 and 2023 were identified and included in the systematic narrative synthesis. Findings The synthesis highlights several interrelated challenges, most notably a persistent structural dependence on unsustainable public funding models. This reliance exacerbates an acute mismatch between educational outputs and labor market demands, alongside a significant attrition of human capital, a “brain drain.” These issues result in the inefficient use of educational resources and impede the region's readiness for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. While proposed remedies center on diversifying funding sources, such as rejuvenating philanthropic cultures, balancing government and business partnerships, and establishing strategic cost-sharing systems, effective implementation remains a major obstacle. Originality/value This review provides a systemic perspective that is largely absent from the regional literature by revealing that the financing gap reflects a complex governance-quality-migration feedback loop rather than an isolated budgetary issue.
