International Journal of Research and Reviews in Education
ISSN: 2056-9726
Vol. 7(1), pp. 11-20, February 2021
doi.org/10.33500/ijrre.2021.7.002



Teacher readiness: Cultivating leadership skills among primary schoolchildren in the United Arab Emirates Public Sector

Halima Al Shehhi and Khadeegha Alzouebi*

Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: K.Alzouebi@hbmsu.ac.ae.

Received 07 February, 2019; Received in revised form 09 April, 2020; Accepted 13 April, 2020.

Abstract


Keywords:
Leadership, Skills, Primary school teachers, Young leaders, Public schools, Educational programme.


Developing leadership skills in children is one of the most important ways to grow our future. The trend to nurture talent at the early childhood development stage is becoming common practice in the Arab world. Studies that have examined how education and leadership are interrelated are diverse and numerous. However, research dedicated to determining how children can be prepared to become competent leaders is still limited. The role and readiness of teachers to support the cultivation and development of leadership skills among young children is not entirely explored. There is need for more research tailored to examine the competence and experience of teachers in government schools, in line with the process of identifying young leaders and nurturing their talents at primary school. This study was carried out to evaluate the readiness of teachers to cultivate leadership skills in primary schoolchildren in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. The study involved a total of five schools where a total of ten focus group sessions were conducted. The research found out that teachers in public primary schools in Abu Dhabi are not yet adequately prepared to identify and nurture leadership skills among young schoolchildren. The study concluded that curriculum improvement, private-public school collaboration, school reform, strategic school collaborations and government involvement is needed to ensure the readiness of teachers to cultivate leadership skills in primary schoolchildren.

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