Date of Degree

5-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Program

Education

Advisor

Arthur E. Hernandez

Advisor

Ashley S. Love

Advisor

Stephanie A. Grote-Garcia

Abstract

Research Focus. The purpose of the current study was to examine the opinions of KSA teachers regarding the appropriate instructional, extra-curricular, and understanding activities that pertain to the development of leadership, social skills, and personal traits of KSA secondary school students.

Research Methods. This study employed a qualitative, case study research design as an exploratory method of analyzing how transformational leadership principles could be the central organizing principle reorganizing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) public school system by 2030. A purposive sample of 18 active secondary school participants were recruited from a population of teachers in middle and secondary schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data was collected by telephone survey and organized, coded, and analyzed using Bass transformational theory (Bass (1998) and Poutiatine’s (2009) nine principles of transformational leadership guidelines.

Research Results/Findings. Findings were two-thirds of leadership qualities in the form of personal traits are taught at home by parents, siblings, friends, and self-teaching; and only one-third of leadership qualities in the form of social skills can be taught in instructional courses in middle and secondary school education assuming current school curriculum guidelines that may be changing.

Conclusions from Research. These findings potentially imply that if leadership is to be taken seriously as a singular organizing principle of KSA early childhood education, significant structural changes in early education curricula will likely also have to change potentially along with a realignment of qualified teaching staff. For example, it may be possible to include more personal trait leadership training within the context of instruction training curricula for social skills just as it may be possible to add personal leadership training with the context of other non-leadership classes without having to change curricula, just by slightly modifying course content with the awareness that leadership personal trait leadership training is important to include wherever it can be easily added. What this study has revealed is a school system in transition, not quite transformed yet, but mindful of what may be coming soon and what might need to be changed to more closely fulfill KSA’s national objectives. Clearly, although potentially disruptive, changes can be made to both curricula, staffing, recruitment, internalizing extracurricular activities or forming linkages with external organizations that may provide helpful extracurricular activities, and relationships between parent-teacher interactions to integrate more closely leadership training in both the home and the school. Recommendations suggested including social skills and personal trait leadership training beginning in primary school and concentrating most of the training in primary and middle schools because of the greater receptivity of younger students. Other suggestions were retooling instructional courses to include more personal trait leadership opportunities for student learning. Also suggested were integrating more extracurricular leadership experience personal trait and social skills training of students into more school programs such as radio stations, private corporations, community organizations, and institutions.

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