العوامل المؤثرة في العمليات القيادية والإدارية التربوية في مؤسسات التعليم العالي في سلطنة عُمان: دراسة نوعية

Salim Bati Al Maqbali

doi:10.35516/edu.v51i4.8910

Authors

Salim Bati Al Maqbali Research Department, Deanship of Scientific Research and Consultancy, University of Technology, and Applied Sciences, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7246-5814

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35516/edu.v51i4.8910

Keywords:

Educational leadership and management, organizational structures, higher education, Oman

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to explore the factors influencing leadership and administrative processes in Omani higher education institutions from the perspective of faculty members.

Methods: The study adopted a qualitative approach, involving interviews with 14 faculty members from various colleges at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences. In-depth interviews were conducted with all participants to gather essential information on the impact of organizational structure and administrative practices.

Results: The study revealed that the hierarchical and centralized organizational structure of the university and its colleges poses a barrier to effective college management. This structure limits the deans' ability to make decisions quickly and efficiently, leading to delays in administrative processes and the loss of some important opportunities. Although the quality assurance system has contributed to improving certain aspects of administrative work in the colleges, there are still areas in need of development, such as the automation of administrative processes. Additionally, the study showed that there is a clear societal influence on administrative decisions within the colleges, which adds pressure on management to adjust certain decisions to align with societal expectations, often in conflict with the university’s hierarchical system.

Conclusions: The study’s findings highlight an urgent need to review and develop the organizational structures and administrative processes in Omani higher education institutions to enhance management efficiency and support academic progress. This would better meet faculty members' aspirations and address current challenges.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abdalla, I. A., & Al-Homoud, M. A. (2001). Exploring the implicit leadership theory in the Arabian gulf states. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50, 506- 531.

Al Belushi, H., Al-Mahdy, Y., & Hammad, W. (2019). Transformational leadership and its relationship with organizational health in basic education schools in the Sultanate of Oman. The International Interdisciplinary Journal of Education, 8(6), 52-67.

Al Zefeiti, S. M. B. (2017b). The influence of transformational leadership behaviours on Oman public employees’ work performance. Asian Social Science, 13(3), 102-116.

Al-Ani, W. T. (2013). Blended learning approach using Moodle and students’ achievement at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. Journal of Education and Learning, 2(3), 96-110.

Al-Hamadi, A. B., Budhwar, P. S., & Shipton, H. (2007). Management of human resources in Oman. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(1), 100-113.

Al-Harthi, A., & Al-Mahdy, Y. F. (2017). Distributed leadership and school effectiveness in Egypt and Oman: An exploratory study. International Journal of Educational Management, 31(6), 801-813.

Al-Mahdy, Y. F. H., Al-Harthi, A. S., & Salah El-Din, N. (2022). The effect of leadership support on commitment to change and turnover intention in Omani higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2022.2124367

Al-Mahdy, Y. F. H., Emam, M. M., & Hallinger, P. (2018). Assessing the contribution of principal instructional leadership and collective teacher efficacy to teacher commitment in Oman. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies 69(1), 191–201.

Al-Mahdy, Y. F., & Al-Kiyumi, A. R. (2015). Teachers’ perceptions of principals’ instructional leadership in Omani schools. American Journal of Educational Research 3 (12), 1504–1510. http://pubs.sciepub.com/education/3/12/4.

Al-Mahdy, Y. F., Al-Harthi, A., & Salah El-Din, N. (2016). Perceptions of school principals' servant leadership and their teachers' job satisfaction in Oman. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 15(4), 543-566.

Al-Mahdy, Y. F., Hallinger, P., Omara, E., & Emam, M. (2022). Exploring how power distance influences principal instructional leadership effects on teacher agency and classroom instruction in Oman: A moderated-mediation analysis. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432221113912

Al‐Lamky, A. (2007). Feminizing leadership in Arab societies: the perspectives of Omani female leaders. Women in Management Review, 22(1), 49-67. https://doi.org/10.1108/09649420710726229

AlKindy, A. M., Shah, I. M., & Jusoh, A. (2016). The impact of transformational leadership behaviors on work performance of Omani civil service agencies. Asian Social Science, 12(3), 152-164.

Anderson, C., & Brown, C. E. (2010). The functions and dysfunctions of hierarchy. Research in Organizational Behavior, 30, 55-89.

Bargh, C., Bocock, J., Scott, P., & Smith, D. (2000). University leadership: The role of the chief executive. Open University Pres.

Bell, D. A. (Ed.). (2010). Confucian political ethics. Princeton University Press.

Bennis, W., & Nanus, B. (1985). Leaders: Strategies for taking charge.

Bjerke, B., & Al-Meer, A. (1993). Culture's consequences: Management in Saudi Arabia. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 14(2), 30–35..

Blau, P. M. (1994). The Organization of Academic Work. Transaction.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.

Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods. (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Bush, T (2008) From management to leadership: Semantic or meaningful change? Educational, Management, Administration and Leadership 36(2), 271– 288.

Cavanagh, M. (2011). Students’ experiences of active engagement through cooperative learning activities in lectures. Active Learning in Higher Education, 12(1), 23-33.

Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Sage.

Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.) Pearson Education.

Dahleez, K. A., & Abdelfattah, F. A. (2021). Transformational leadership and organizational performance of Omani SMEs: the role of market orientation. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 71(8), pages 3809-3825.

Dale, R. (2005). Globalisation, knowledge economy and comparative education. Comparative Education, 41(2): 117-149.

Davies, J., Hides, M. T., & Casey, S. (2001). Leadership in higher education. Total Quality Management, 12(7-8), 1025-1030.

De Boer, H., Goedegebuure, L., & Meek, V. L. (2010). The changing nature of academic middle management: A framework for analysis. In V. L. Meek, L. Goedegebuure, R. Santiago, and T. Carvalho (Eds.) The changing dynamics of higher education middle management (pp. 229–41). Springer.

Deem, R. (1998). 'New managerialism' and higher education: The management of performances and cultures in universities in the United Kingdom. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 8(1), 47-70.

Delamont, S. (Ed.) (2012). Handbook of qualitative research in education. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Dowling-Hetherington, L. (2013). The changing shape of university decision- making processes and the consequences for faculty participation in Ireland. Tertiary Education and Management, 19(3), 219-232.

Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1-4.

Flick, U. (2015). Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research project. Sage.

Gerstner, C. R., & Day, D. V. (1997). Meta-Analytic review of leader–member exchange theory: Correlates and construct issues. Journal of applied psychology, 82(6), 827.

Hallward, M. C., & Bekdash Muellers, H. (2020). Women’s leadership in Oman: An intersectional and transnational perspective. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 27(2), 361-384.

Hammad, W., & Bush, T. (2021). Exploring the perceptions of Omani school principals about their leadership preparation: A mixed-methods study. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 1-16.

Hans, A., Mubeen, S. A., & Al-Subhi, M. A. K. M. (2018). A study on leadership style and managerial creativity in select organizations in the Sultanate of Oman. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 20(2), 58-90.

Hawkins, M., & James, C. R. (2017). Developing a perspective on schools as complex, evolving, loosely linking systems. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 46(5) doi: 10.1177/1741143217711192.

Hayes, R. H. (1985). Strategic planning – Forward in reverse? Harvard Business Review, 63(6), 111–19.

Hickson, D. J., & Pugh, D. S. (1995). Management worldwide: The impact of societal culture on organizations around the globe. Penguin UK.

Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's consequences: International differences in work related values. Sage Publications, Inc.

Iles, P., Almhedie, A., & Baruch, Y. (2012). Managing HR in the Middle East: Challenges in the public sector. Public Personnel Management, 41(3), 465-492.

Kanter, R. M. (1992). The change masters: Corporate entrepreneurs at work. Routledge.

Kilani, S., & Sakijha, B. (2002), Wasta in Jordan: The Declared Secret. Amman: The Arab Archives Institute.

Kotter, J. P. (1990). What leaders really do. Harvard Business School Publishing.

Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading change. Harvard Business Press.

Lincoln, Y.S. and Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage Publications.

Loewe, M., Blume, J., Schönleber, V., Seibert, S., Speer, J. & Voss, C. (2007). The impact of favouritism on the business climate: a study on wasta in Jordan. German Development Institute (GDI).

Mantere, S., & Vaara, E. (2008). On the problem of participation in strategy: A critical discursive perspective. Organization science, 19(2), 341-358.

Martinesz, M. C. (2002). Understanding state higher education systems: applying a new framework. The Journal of Higher Education, 73(3), 349-74.

Middlehurst, R. (1993). Leading Academics. Open University Press.

Mishra, G. P., Grunewald, D., & Kulkarni, N. A. (2014). Leadership styles of senior and middle level managers: A study of selected firms in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. International Journal of Business and Management, 9(11), 72.

Morris, T., & Pavett, C. M. (1992). Management style and productivity in two cultures. Journal of International Business Studies, 23, 169-179.

Mujtaba, B. G., Khanfar, N. M., & Khanfar, S. M. (2010). Leadership tendencies of government employees in Oman: A study of task and relationship based on age and gender. Public Organization Review, 10, 173-190.

Neal, M., Finlay, J. & Tansey, R. (2005). My father knows the minister: a comparative study of Arab women’s attitudes towards leadership authority. Women in Management Review, 20(7), 478-97.

Noble, H., & Smith, J. (2015). Issues of validity and reliability in qualitative research. Evidence-based Nursing, 18(2), 34-35.

Oliver, C. (1991). Strategic responses to institutional processes. Academy of Management Review, 16(1), 145-179.

Olssen, M. (2004). Neoliberalism, globalisation, democracy: challenges for education. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 2(2), 231-275.

Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K. (2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and policy in mental health and mental health services research, 42, 533-544.

Patton, M. Q. (2014). Qualitative research and evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice. Sage Publications.

Peterson, J. (2011). Oman faces the twenty-first century. In M. Tetreault, G. Okruhlik, & A. Kapiszewski (Eds.), Political change in the Arab Gulf states: stuck in transition (pp. 99-118). Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Ramthun, A. J., & Matkin, G. S. (2012). Multicultural shared leadership: A conceptual model of shared leadership in culturally diverse teams. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 19(3), 303-314.

Robinson, O. C. (2014). Sampling in interview-based qualitative research: A theoretical and practical guide. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 11(1), 25-41.

Robson,C. (2002). Real world research: A resource for scientists and practitioner-researchers (2nd ed.) Blackwell.

Rolfe, G. (2006). Validity, trustworthiness and rigour: quality and the idea of qualitative research. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 53(3), 304-310.

Saunders, B., Sim, J., Kingstone, T., Baker, S., Waterfield, J., Bartlam, B., Burroughs, H., & Jinks, C. (2018). Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization. Quality & Quantity, 52(4), 1893-1907.

Tahir, M. (2020). The role of ethical leadership in promoting employee innovative work behaviour mediated by the perceived meaningful work among the ICT sector staff in Oman. International Journal of Management & Entrepreneurship Research, 2(5), 401-415.

Tajfel, H. (1974). Social Identity and Intergroup Behaviour. Social Science Information, 13 (2), 65–93. doi:10.1177/053901847401300204.

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In M. J. Hatch & M. Schultz (Eds.) Organizational identity: A reader (pp.56–65). Oxford University Press.

Taylor, J. (2004). Toward a strategy for internationalisation: Lessons and practice from four universities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 8(2), 149- 171.

Thomson, P., & Alvesson, M. (2005). Bureaucracy at work: misunderstanding and mixed blessings. In P. du Gay (Ed.) The values of bureaucracy (Chapter 4). Oxford University Press.

Trompenaars, F. (1993). Riding the waves of culture: Understanding cultural diversity in business. London Economist Books.

Weber, M. (1947). The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. (T. Parsons, Ed.). Free Press.

Weber, M. (1948). From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. (H. H. Gerth & C. Wright-Mills, Eds.). Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Wellington, J., & Szczerbinski, M. (2007). Research methods for the social sciences. A & C Black.