This review aims to identify patterns in knowledge production on sustainability within Arab educational institutions. It seeks to highlight gaps and opportunities for further research and to guide efforts to develop more sustainable education systems across Arab societies. This focus is especially relevant given the unprecedented educational developments in the region. The review used systematic methods to examine English-language articles and book chapters published between 2000 and 2024 on sustainability in educational institutions. Relevant sources were identified through keyword searches in the Scopus, ERIC, and Google Scholar databases. A dataset of 130 eligible articles was compiled and analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. The study explored trends in knowledge production, including publication volume and growth over time, geographical distribution, study types, topical coverage, and research methods. The results revealed patterns typical of educational research in Arab societies, including a steady increase, uneven geographical distribution, imbalances in study types, reliance on quantitative methods, and a dominance of descriptive and simple correlation analyses. The study's findings offer useful insights and suggest directions for future policy and research, including greater investment in local capacity to support context-specific research, the development of relevant research agendas, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and strengthening regional research networks.

The study investigates how university-based leadership preparation programs in Oman contribute to the preparation of school leaders and responds to calls for a better understanding of leadership preparation in under-researched contexts. Using mixed methods, this study examines participants’ satisfaction with university-based educational leadership programs, their perceptions of these programs’ effectiveness, and the challenges associated with their implementation and delivery. Survey results indicate high satisfaction levels with the availability of support resources and the quality of academic staff, positioning these components as central contributors to positive program experiences. High satisfaction with faculty is reinforced by qualitative accounts emphasizing their subject expertise, research profiles, and commitment to student support. However, both quantitative and qualitative data indicate that participants do not perceive the programs as adequately preparing them in all aspects of leadership, particularly in teacher evaluation and improvement, school budgeting, and student discipline. Qualitative findings further indicate that students and graduates perceive the programs as theoretically robust but insufficiently grounded in real-world leadership practice, highlighting a persistent theory–practice gap. This study raises important questions about the type of practice for which students seek preparation, particularly considering dominant technicist and performative approaches to leadership.

The present study sought to examine teachers' perceptions of professionalism in the context of English language teaching (ELT) in Oman, using a model of professionalism as a guiding framework. Adopting a qualitative research design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 teachers working in Cycle 2 (grades 5-10) and Post-Basic (grades 11-12) schools situated in two governorates in Oman. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted to identify the themes emerging in relation to the study's objective. The findings showed that teachers' perceptions of professionalism extend across three domains: the individual, the interpersonal, and the institutional/societal domains. Additionally, three intertwined primary themes were identified: teacher holistic mastery as an educator, teacher agency for change, and teacher empowerment. Specifically, teacher holistic mastery entails teacher pedagogical competence and effective professional relationships; teacher agency for change entails the improvement of one's self and others; and teacher empowerment entails societal and institutional empowerment. In light of these findings, this study provides implications for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers.

الأهداف: استهدفت هذه الدراسة الكشف عن ملامح الإنتاج المعرفي في مجال الإدارة والقيادة التربوية في سلطنة عمان من خلال تحليل رسائل الماجستير المجازة بجامعة السلطان قابوس، والموثقة في قاعدة المعلومات التربويةEdusearch في الفترة من 1999 على 2023، وبلغ عددها 251 رسالة. المنهجية: استخدمت الدراسة منهج المراجعات المنهجية الكمية quantitative systematic review لتحقيق أهدافها التي تمثلت في تحديد طبيعة الدراسات من حيث كونها نظرية أو ميدانية، ومن حيث الكشف عن الموضوعات التي تناولتها، بالإضافة إلى المنهجيات البحثية المستخدمة فيها. النتائج:أظهرت نتائج الدراسة أن غالبية الرسائل ذات طابع تجريبي (ميداني)، توزعت على عدد من الموضوعات كان من أبرزها أدوار وممارسات مدير المدرسة، وأنماط القيادة المدرسية، والإشراف التربوي، والموارد البشرية، والسلوك التنظيمي وموضوعات أخرى متناثرة، كما أظهر التحليل أن الرسائل تميل بشدة لاستخدام أساليب البحوث الكمية. الخلاصة: اختتمت الدراسة بتقديم بعض المقترحات لتطوير البحث في مجال الإدارة والقيادة التربوية على مستوى رسائل الدراسات العليا في كلية التربية بجامعة السلطان قابوس.

The teacher leadership literature is mostly dominated by Western perspectives, with little input from non-Western countries, including Arab countries. This is problematic as it hinders the development of a nuanced understanding of different educational contexts. This mixed methods study bridges this gap and explores perceptions of Egyptian teachers regarding teacher leadership practices in their schools. The study collected quantitative and qualitative data. Qualitative data were collected via focus group and individual interviews with primary and middle school teachers and principals who work in the city of Damietta, Egypt. Quantitative data were collected using the Teacher Leadership Inventory (TLI), and data analysis revealed a moderate level of teacher leadership practices with the dimension Sharing Expertise receiving the highest mean score, followed by Sharing Leadership, Supra-Practitioner, and Principal Selection. Three interlocking themes emerged from qualitative analysis: (1) Definition and characteristics of the teacher leader, (2) challenges to empowering teacher leaders, and (3) systems and practices that support teacher leaders. The study is significant as it provides nuanced perspectives from a relatively underexplored context - Egypt. It is envisaged that this exploration will help bridge the gap in literature and enhance our understanding of the concept of teacher leadership and its applications globally.

The present study aims to review higher education leadership and management (HELM) research in the Arab region. The study employed systematic review methods to analyze 77 articles published in educational leadership and management journals, higher education journals, and journals indexed in the Scopus database between 2000 and 2020. The analysis focused on identifying the main features and trends found in the articles including the development of publication volume over time, geographical distribution, types of studies, research topics, and research methods. Quantitative methods were used to analyze the data. The features identified echoed those reported for the broader educational leadership and management literature in Arab societies such as the relatively small size of the knowledge base, uneven geographical distribution, the predominance of empirical, quantitative studies, and high emphasis on leadership as a research topic. The findings are discussed in the light of relevant literature, and recommendations are provided to improve future HELM research in the region.

This exploratory case study sought to explore the effect of using the Lesson Study approach on Omani EFL teachers' reflective thinking. The sample included seven EFL teachers from a cycle-one school in Al-Batinah South Governorate, Oman. Over a two-month period, the participants implemented three cycles of the LS approach, during which 21 LS end-of-cycle written reflections were collected. A modified version of the Reflective Pedagogical Thinking Scale developed by Sparks-Langer et al. (1990) was used to analyze the teachers' reflections and evaluate their level of reflectivity during the LS process. The findings showed that the teachers mainly used their personal opinions to support their arguments, while rarely referring to theoretical and contextual factors. Besides, the teachers tended to write more about successful teaching events compared to unsuccessful ones. However, they exhibited lower levels of reflectivity when discussing successful events and higher levels when addressing unsuccessful events. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the number of teachers' reflective responses increased across the three LS cycles. Nevertheless, the development in the level of reflectivity observed in these responses was not readily apparent, which could be attributed to the short duration of the implementation. Based on these findings, implications for future practice were identified, and recommendations for further research were provided.

Distributed leadership (DL) has gained importance in educational leadership research, especially in Western (mainly Anglo-American) contexts. This study explores DL's conceptualization and enactment in the Muslim world through a meta-synthesis of existing qualitative studies, addressing the need for broader cultural perspectives. Eighteen studies from 11 different countries were included in the review. Findings show that DL often takes a constrained form, marked by hierarchical delegation and limited consultation. Teachers' input is solicited selectively, with school leaders retaining control over decisions. Task delegation remains centralized under principals' authority. The study compares and contrasts the practices of DL with Islamic notions of Shura (consultation), Amanah (stewardship), and Hisba (accountability) to provide a more contextually grounded understanding of DL. This research emphasizes that DL practices in the Muslim world are significantly shaped by sociocultural factors, including entrenched hierarchical structures and traditional leadership norms, and provides insights about DL's implementation and challenges in the Muslim world. By focusing on the Muslim world, it expands the understanding of DL beyond the predominantly Western-centric research, offering insights into how DL can be conceptualized and enacted in diverse cultural settings.

This bibliometric review examined the emerging knowledge base on educational leadership and management (EDLM) in the Arab region. The review analyzed 718 Scopus-indexed journal articles to reveal the research landscape, author productivity and impact, thematic trends, and co-authorship patterns in Arab EDLM scholarship. The review found that the Arab EDLM literature began to grow significantly after 2010. Nonetheless, knowledge production is not evenly distributed, with some nations (e.g. the UAE, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia) publishing a substantial number of studies, and others relatively few (e.g. Algeria, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan). Leadership emerged as the most extensively studied theme, including studies of teacher, transformational, instructional, distributed, and social justice leadership. However, conceptual papers that analyze how EDLM is framed and understood in the Arab region are scarce. Co-authorship network mapping found that regional and international collaboration has played an important role in shaping research capacity and output. This finding highlights the potential of research collaboration as a regional strategy for strengthening the Arab EDLM knowledge base. The results reinforce calls to increase conceptual contributions, especially those that explore how the cultural features of Arab and Islamic societies shape conceptualizations of leadership roles, responsibilities, and stakeholder relationships. Strategies should also be enacted by regional organizations and scholars that address the capacity-building needs of scholars in Arab societies that have yet to make significant contributions to EDLM discourse. Higher education institutions are encouraged to create mechanisms that facilitate, reward, and sustain research collaboration.

This research is an Arabian Gulf contribution to the International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP). It compares the perspectives of Arabian school principals regarding their leadership preparation, drawing on three sets of data collected from Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait. Data were collected using the Arabic version of the ISPP survey. The investigation included adequacy of leadership preparation, problematic aspects of leadership, and prior leadership learning experiences. Quantitative analyses (descriptive statistics) were conducted to calculate percentages of agreement related to these aspects. Findings revealed interesting commonalities and differences between the three samples. The study concludes with suggestions for improving future leadership preparation provision.

The present systematic literature review is undertaken within the context of concerted efforts aimed at diversifying the knowledge base of female leadership in the educational context. Much of the research in the field has been done in Anglo-American and European contexts. To this effect, the study conducts a systematic literature review to identify published research on female leadership in the Arab world written in English between 2000 and 2022. The findings of the review show a dominance of empirical studies with the majority being qualitative in nature and having a limited level of conceptualization, which poses a challenge to understanding female leadership as a contextual intersubjective phenomenon. This review highlights the importance of the sociocultural factors as a pivotal theme connecting with and affecting the three other themes of the review, the challenges and enablers of female leadership in the Arab world, and leadership perception and persona that women leaders develop. The review concludes with insights for researchers, policymakers and practitioners in the region.

PurposeResearch has provided powerful evidence that what teachers do in the classroom matters most for the learning of students. Evidence also suggests that school leaders can make a significant difference to student learning via their influence on teachers' attitudes, beliefs and classroom practices. The purpose of this study was to examine if/how principal instructional leadership practices affect differentiated instruction in Omani schools, and understand the role that teacher collaboration and self-efficacy play in this dynamic.Design/methodology/approachThe study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze data collected from a sample of 496 teachers working in public schools in Muscat, Oman.FindingsThe findings revealed no direct association between principal instructional leadership and differentiated instruction. Instead, the effects of principal instructional leadership on differentiated instruction were achieved indirectly through the mediation of teacher collaboration and teacher self-efficacy. Collaboration was also found to have a positive influence on the teachers' self-efficacy beliefs.Originality/valueThe significance of this study stems from its relevance to the educational developments unfolding not only in Oman, but in the Gulf region at large. Recent reviews of educational administration and leadership research in the Gulf states indicate the scarcity of empirical research investigating the relationship between principal leadership and teacher practices. This is problematic as it creates a gap in our knowledge of the factors that can support ongoing school improvement initiatives in the region. More specifically, we expect our findings to guide current educational reforms aimed at raising education quality via promoting effective teaching and learning in Omani schools.

Lagging student performance in the Sultanate of Oman has, in recent years, led the Ministry of Education to target teachers' professional learning as a key strategic pillar in its efforts to reform the education system. While international evidence finds principal leadership can make a meaningful difference in teacher engagement in professional learning, this has yet to be studied in Arab societies. The current study collected data from 887 teachers in 78 Omani middle schools with the aim of understanding if and how their principals' learning-centered leadership influences teacher agency, teacher trust and teacher professional learning. Factor analysis, structural equation modelling, and bootstrapping were used to explore both partial and full mediation models of these relationships. Results validated a partial mediation model in which learning-centered leadership had moderate direct and indirect effects on teacher professional learning. The validated model also highlights the important role that principals can play in creating a climate of trust where teachers believe that investing their time and effort in professional learning will be beneficial for themselves and their schools. The results from Oman are compared with findings from other Asian societies and implications discussed.

PurposeResearch investigating the impact of school leadership on teachers’ emotions and practices has mostly focused on the leadership behaviors of school principals, thus ignoring the potential leadership qualities of other school members, especially teachers. The current study aimed to bridge this gap by providing further insight into the link between teacher leadership and teacher outcomes in Egyptian schools. Specifically, the study examined the mediating role of collective teacher efficacy in the relationship between teacher leadership and teacher commitment.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed structural equation modeling and bootstrapping to analyze survey data collected from 497 teachers in primary and middle schools in Damietta city, Egypt.FindingsThe results supported our proposition that teachers’ leadership practices have more indirect than direct effects on teacher commitment through collective teacher efficacy. That is, teacher leadership practices positively affect teachers’ efficacy beliefs, which, in turn, increase their sense of commitment to school.Originality/valueThe study adds a new aspect to the literature by investigating the potential role of teacher leadership in promoting positive teacher attitudes that can have a positive impact on student learning. This is significant given the growing emphasis that educational systems place on enhancing school effectiveness. Specifically, understanding the factors that contribute to teacher commitment can inform strategies for retaining effective teachers and improving the overall quality of the teaching workforce. Additionally, since most of the empirical research on teacher leadership has been produced in Western contexts, it is important to enrich the field with studies conducted in other societies, especially in the Arab region.

This study compares teachers' perceptions of teacher leadership in three Arab countries: Qatar, Oman and Egypt. Using the Teacher Leadership Inventory tool, the study examined the factors and demographic variables associated with teacher leadership in the selected countries. Specifically, the study explored the four factors identified by the TLI: Sharing Expertise (SE), Sharing Leadership (SL), Supra-Practitioner (SP), and Principal Selection (PS) and investigated if teachers' perceptions of these factors would differ based on their country, gender and school type. Three sets of data were collected from the selected countries, and the respondents were teachers working in primary and middle public schools. Means, standard deviations, t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The results showed the overall level of teacher leadership to be moderate, with Sharing Expertise being the highest ranked factor, followed by Sharing Leadership, Supra-Practitioner and Principal Selection. The study also found both similarities and differences between the three countries. For example, the Qatari sample provided the highest scores on all TLI factors, followed by Egypt and Oman. Differences were also noted based on school type and gender. Implications emerging from the results are discussed and suggestions for improvement are provided.

Research has revealed that appropriate school leadership practices can positively support and promote teacher learning. This study examines the influences of Learning-Centered Leadership upon Teacher Agency, Trust and professional learning in a Kuwaiti context. Following results from recent empirical research, this study tested a model of principal leadership effects upon teacher learning via the mediators of Teacher Trust and Agency. The researchers collected data from 1060 teachers working at 64 Kuwaiti public schools and analyzed this data using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results validated this model, showing that Learning-Centered Leadership affects teacher professional development via Teacher Trust and Agency. This improves our understanding of the relationship between school leadership and teacher professional learning both in Kuwait and internationally; relevant recommendations are listed.

This study aimed to explore school leadership preparation and development in Oman. Based on quantitative and qualitative data collected through surveys and focus group interviews, the study investigated how a sample of public school principals perceived their principalship preparation. The investigation included leadership learning experiences, adequacy of leadership preparation, problematic leadership areas, and conceptions of effective preparation. The study findings showed that while Omani principals felt they were adequately prepared for principalship, certain leadership aspects have remained problematic for them. Participants expressed their preference for organized training combining theoretical and practical elements but specifically valued experiential learning activities.