Transformative Leadership and Teacher Creativity in the United Arab Emirates
Fatmah K. A. A. K. A. Antalie1*
1 Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia
*Corresponding Author: [email protected] Accepted: 15 March 2023 | Published: 31 March 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.55057/ajrbm.2023.5.1.21
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Abstract: This realistic study evaluated the association between transformative leadership and teacher creativity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in public schools. The examination study applied a descriptive investigation design with a quantitative paradigm. A sample of 385 participants were prudently selected from 445000 people using a table developed by Morgan
& Krejcie (1970). Evidence was assembled using close-ended questionnaires. Data was assessed using tables, frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, bivariate and multivariate regression analysis. The study upshots derived a significant correlation between transformative leadership and teacher creativity in the UAE. The project concluded that transformative leadership is vivacious for teacher creativity and innovations in order for UAE to realize growth and development. From the task results, the scholar recommended that school managers should emphasize the practice of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of teachers in order for them to build synergies for development in schools in the UAE.
Keywords: Transformative Leadership, Teacher Creativity, Schools, UAE
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1. Introduction
In the United States of America, there is an increasing pressure on schools to enact change, and dominant literature indicates that transformational leadership is positively associated with school leaders’ effectiveness at implementing positive reforms (Litz & Scott, 2022). During the past four decades, blending the concepts of Transformational leadership and creativity has become gradually under recognition but not a lot is achieved especially when it comes to understanding teacher creativity specifically with the resultant effect of transformational leadership in schools.
In China, teams are becoming a progressively popular way of organizing and coordinating work. This trend creates new challenges for leaders, as they are expected to motivate individual employees and to improve team performance simultaneously (Rao, 2018). Also in recent years, creativity has become a topic of increasing interest in the educational environment. Developing creativity is increasingly seen as an educational necessity because it encourages the performance of individual students and influences their future success (Vergara, 2018), however all this works in a swift once there is transformational leadership. The category of teacher creativity according to Gary (2019) involved sensitivity to problems; flexibility in finding alternative solutions to problems; fluency, freedom in thinking and acting; originality and novelty; preparation and development; and redefinition. But lately creativity of teachers
has begun to get a sharp spotlight because it is characterized by the emergence of several phenomena in schools namely: teachers lack enthusiasm in completing their tasks related to learning devices; there are still teachers who do not have a good teaching program; teacher's creativity in choosing learning strategies and methods; and there are still teachers who prioritize their personal interests rather than carrying out their duties as teachers (Gusman, 2018).
In Africa, one of the fundamental factors of educational management but still less touched in the education development program is the leadership of the schools. No matter how much schooling input is added or improved, the output will still not be optimal, if the teacher creativity and leadership factor are not given adequate attention (Ahmed, 2019). Most developing countries like Gabon, Mali and Uganda have adopted a number of policies and strategies to streamline transformational leadership and education creativity for example, participation and accountability policies, innovation and creativity development, learning new languages through Bilingual Creative Education program (Kharkhurin, 2018).
In the UAE, transformational educational leadership and transformational public organizational leadership are yet other strategies to improve performance and teacher creativity (Shelleyan, 2016). More so, the existing Private School Policy Guidance Manual provides allowance for teacher-student motivation, Gifted education approach is also to yield teacher creativity (Taylor, 2019), even the Strategic plan for 2017-2021 for developing innovative education systems by MOE was such a great tactic. While UAE pursues an internationalized strategy to be one of the distinguished transnational educational hubs in the world, it should prioritize creating and applying new knowledge in policy, administration, and teaching which encourage teacher and student creativity. I suppose that prioritizing creativity in educational settings through transformational leadership dimensions may definitely influence teachers’ and learner behavior. The strategy is expected to harvest positive results in all education environments especially if the current research model is effectively implemented (Wade, 2021). However, all this cannot smoothly be achieved by practitioners, instead leaders have got a pivotal role to play by; identifying creativity gaps, engaging key stakeholders, abiding with policies, following transformational leadership guidelines and also carryout massive research. By this way, achieving teacher creativity in UAE may sustainably be achieved.
2. Methods and Materials
Data Capturing
Facts used for the research organization were got by using both primary and secondary fundamentals of data. Primary data was grasped through the use of questionnaires to vibrant persons associated to the project. Secondary facts were gotten by the use of documentary chronicles. The study involved a descriptive research design with a quantitative method.
Amin (2005) detailed that descriptive scrutiny design is generally employed to designate an occurrence and its data individualities. The intellectual picked a total of 385 members (sample size) by means of the Sloven’s formula to partake in the survey study.
Sampling Means
The communal expert utilized stratified random sampling technique in the project. The study employed a target people including groups like teachers, head teachers, students, parents and Officials from ministry of education.
Questionnaires
The questionnaire is a research tool consisting of inter-related cross-examinations organized by the investigator about the research predicament under study grounded on the intentions of the investigation study. Items were prepared and transcribed for the contributors to answer with choices as reflected on the Likert scale type inquiries.
This modus operandi was adored because it covers a varied physical space in data flock; it accumulates a lot of evidence within a short period of time, and offers superior assurance regarding privacy. Yet, the questionnaire involved some limitations of attrition. There were limited copies that were not reverted, although this was resolved by issuing a lot of copies than the required number of the sample size for the project.
Validity and reliability of research instruments
Validity of the carefully planned survey questionnaire was assured by means of content validity Index. Arising from the scrutiny of the validity of the instruments, the academic got content validity index (CVI) of 0.79 which was well openly above 0.75 demonstrating that the tool was valid to bring together indicators for the investigation study (Amin, 2005).
Reliability of the Structured Questionnaire was considered by means of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient formula and yet observing the variables that had an alpha coefficient of figure higher than 0.70. Since the reliability candidness got by the researcher yielded 0.78 alpha value, it determined that the research tool was reliable to produce data crucial for the meticulous study.
Data analysis
Analysis Statistical tools which were included in analyzing facts for this research study were;
tables, frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, bivariate and multivariate regression analysis.
3. Results
3.1 Contribution of Transformative Leadership on Teacher Creativity in UAE
This item of the study presents descriptive results that sought to find out Contribution of transformational leadership on teacher creativity in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Descriptive Statistics on the Contribution of transformational leadership on teacher creativity Items
Questions Intellectual stimulation
1 2 3 4 5
N N N n n
% % % % % Mean SD
IS1 Enable others to think about old problems in new ways
106 131 107 35 5 2.22 0.994
27.6 34.1 27.9 9.1 1.3 IS2 Engage others in rethinking ideas
beyond
86 116 118 49 15 2.46 1.090
22.4 30.2 30.7 12.8 3.9 IS3 Provide others with New ways of
looking at life/things
100 145 74 37 28 2.34 1.175
26.0 37.8 19.3 9.6 7.3 IS4 Do not try to change anything as
long as the right thing is being done.
71 127 71 93 22 2.66 1.195
18.5 33.1 18.5 24.2 5.7 IS5 Asks Questions to help us think
further
62 160 83 46 33 2.55 1.153
16.1 41.7 21.6 12.0 8.6
Individualized Consideration IC1 Give attention to whoever feels
left out/rejected
138 100 59 60 27 2.32 1.294
35.9 26.0 15.4 15.6 7.0 IC2 Inform others on how and what
they think of them
83 154 47 58 42 2.54 1.282
21.6 40.1 12.2 15.1 10.9 IC3 Support others to develop
themselves
149 84 93 35 23 2.22 1.221
38.8 21.9 24.2 9.1 6.0 IC4 Provide recognition/rewards
when others reach their goals
117 105 72 49 41 2.46 1.326
30.5 27.3 18.8 12.8 10.7 IC5 Help Others discover hidden
Talents
118 89 92 40 45 2.49 1.334
30.7 23.2 24.0 10.4 11.1 Inspirational Motivation
IM1 Help others find meaning in their work
93 124 101 47 19 2.41 1.128
24.2 32.3 26.3 12.2 4.9 IM2 Provide appealing images on
what can be done
86 112 89 69 28 2.59 1.221
22.4 29.2 23.2 18.0 7.3
IM3 Help others develop themselves. 139 64 58 86 37 2.53 1.416 36.2 16.2 15.1 22.4 9.6
IM4
IM5
Support others be who they want to be in life
Call attention to what others can get for what they accomplish
94 119 88 75 8 2.44 1.120
24.5 85 22.1
31.0 141 36.7
22.9 56 14.6
19.5 74 19.3
2.1 28 7.3
2.53 1.232
IM6 Satisfied when others meet agreed-upon standards.
96 130 59 79 20 2.47 1.215
25.0 33.9 15.4 20.6 5.2 Idealized influence
II1 Make us feel safe while associating with them
81 126 134 31 12 2.39 1.006
21.1 32.8 34.9 8.1 3.1 II2 Make us proud whenever
associating with them
85 112 62 96 26 2.65 1.262
22.1 29.2 16.1 25.0 6.8
II3 They can be trusted 113 84 92 74 21 2.490 1.247
29.4 21.9 24.0 19.3 5.5
II4 Make us feel motivated 81 122 114 20 47 2.56 1.229
21.1 31.8 29.6 5.2 12.2
II5 Make use desire to be like them 65 124 97 70 28 2.67 1.169 16.9 32.3 25.3 18.2 7.3
II6 Are worth of our respect 98 118 96 43 29 2.45 1.199
25.5 30.7 25.0 11.2 7.6 Source: Primary data
Note: n=frequency; %=percentage; 1= strongly Disagree 2=Disagree; 3=Unsure; 4= Agree; 5= strongly Agree M=Mean; SD=Standard Deviation
Four constructs were used to measure this concept. These were; Intellectual Stimulation, Individualized Consideration, Inspirational Motivation, Idealized Influence. The different items that measured Intellectual Stimulation had a mean score ranging from 2.22 to 2.66 with a standard deviation ranging from 0.994 to 1.195. According to the scale used, this mean score
indicates a moderate level of agreement among respondents on the questions asked. The standard deviation is also small meaning most of the respondents gave relatively similar scores.
The mean for Individualized Consideration ranges from 2.22 to 2.54 which according to the scale used indicates a moderate to a high level of agreement among respondents on the concepts investigated. The standard deviation among the different items was also small meaning most respondents gave similar scores.
The mean score for Inspirational Motivation ranges from 2.39 to 2.53 which indicates a moderate high level of agreement among respondents. The standard deviation was small, thus respondents gave similar scores for the items that measured the concept of place.
For Idealized Influence, the mean scores range from 2.39 to2.65 which indicates a moderate level of agreement among respondents. The standard deviation was small meaning the majority of respondents gave similar responses.
3.2 The correlation between Transformative Leadership and Teacher Creativity in UAE H1 There is a significant relationship between transformational leadership and teacher creativity
H1a; Intellectual stimulation (IS) significantly influences Teacher Creativity (TC)
The hypothesis tests if IS impacts TC, the relationship between variables IS and TC was regressed hence testing the hypothesis H1a, hence, p < 0.001, which indicates that the IS plays a significant role in Teacher Creativity (b= 0.330, p = 0.000). These results clearly show a positive effect of the IS. Moreover, the R= 0.398 depicts that the model explains 39.8% of the variance in IS. Table 2 below shows the summary of the findings,
H1b; Individualized consideration (IC) significantly influences teacher creativity in UAE public schools
The hypothesis tests if IC impacts TC, the relationship between variables IC and TC was regressed hence testing the hypothesis H1b, hence, p < 0.001, which indicates that the IC plays a significant role in Teacher Creativity (b= 0.186, p = 0.000). These results clearly show a positive effect of the IC. Moreover, the R= 0.702 depicts that the model explains 70.2.8% of the variance in IC. Table 2 below shows the summary of the findings,
H1c; Inspirational motivation (IM) significantly influences teacher creativity in UAE public schools
The hypothesis tests if IM impacts TC, the relationship between variables IM and TC was regressed hence testing the hypothesis H1c, hence, p < 0.001, which indicates that the IM plays a significant role in Teacher Creativity (b= 0.056, p = 0.000). These results clearly show a positive effect of the IC. Moreover, the R= 0.681 depicts that the model explains 68.1% of the variance in MC. Table 2 below shows the summary of the findings,
H1d; Idealized Influence (II) significantly influences teacher creativity in UAE public schools
The hypothesis tests if II impacts TC, the relationship between variables II and TC was regressed hence testing the hypothesis H1d, hence, p < 0.001, which indicates that the II plays a significant role in Teacher Creativity (b= 0.132, p = 0.000). These results clearly show a positive effect of the II. Moreover, the R= 0.730 depicts that the model explains 73.0% of the variance in II. Table 2 below shows the summary of the findings,
Table 2: Results of correlation and regression analysis Hypothesis Regression
Weights
Beta Coefficients
R - Square F p-value Hypothesis
Supported
H1a IS -> TC 0.330 0.398 49.887 0.000 YES
H1b IC -> TC 0.186 0.702 178.292 0.000 YES
H1c IM -> TC 0.056 0.681 134.033 0.000 YES
H1d II -> TC 0.132 0.730 168.619 0.000 YES
Source: Primary data
4. Discussion
The discoveries of the study exposed that the influence of transformative leadership on teacher creativity in the UAE was significant. This outcome is contrary to the results of former academics such as Dobbins (2022) who conducted a study on teacher creativity in Japan and established that Teachers may not be effective in creativity unless they have been exposed to formal education where they acquire knowledge and skills for pedagogical development.
Nonetheless, the discovery was in agreement with the study directed by Madden (2020) on School Improvement who found out that the collaboration and cooperation between school principals and teachers can strongly encourage teacher creativity for general amelioration of school environment for better teaching –learning processes. This scenario can help learners acquire knowledge and skills for self-reliance in society.
5. Conclusion
The project concluded that transformative leadership for school managers is effervescent in order to engender teacher creativity and innovations for UAE to realize growth and development. Transformational leadership (TL) is measured by the four dimensions; idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and individualized consideration (Sarker, 2019). TL is one leadership approach that influences positive change in individuals and in available social systems by creating synergies in the followers with the end goal of developing followers into leaders.
Recommendations
The school managers should emphasize the practice of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of teachers in order for them to build synergies for development in primary schools in the UAE.
Motivation can trigger positive behavior for better performance in schools in terms of teacher creativity.
The government of UAE should augment the budget for teacher training and development in schools and in higher educational institutions in order for them to acquire knowledge and skills for superior creativity and innovations. Such practice may help teachers contribute to the eradication of poverty through education for all in the UAE.
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