This study aims to provide a general overview of how educational leadership is defined by Arab educators and education specialists in the Arab region, concentrating on the State of Qatar. The study builds on insights from socio-cultural theory and critical discourse analysis, viewing language as a social practice and thus treats leadership as a form of discursive practice. The study draws on grounded theory and adopts a socio-cultural perspective employing semi-structured interviews conducted with school principals, teachers, educators, educational leaders, educational researchers, and members of the community in Qatar. The results concluded from this study disclose discording views of educational leadership and how it is defined, owing to borrowing the concept from Western educational system models, either by using these terms verbatim or as they are lost in translation. This discord reflects a lack of clarity in using the relevant educational leadership concepts and has arguably led to differences in educational practices and educators’ dispositions and perspectives. Finally, the study concludes with valuable recommendations for educational policy and decision-making and some suggestions for future research.

Offering a vital, critical contribution to discussions on current perspectives, practices and assumptions on Islamic education, this book explores the topic through a wide range of diverse perspectives and experiences. This volume challenges current assumptions around what is known as Islamic education and examines issues around educational leadership based on Islamic principles to confront xenophobia and Islamophobia in educational systems, policies and practices. Arguing for a new term to enter the discourse – ‘Islamic-based’ educational leadership – chapters approach the issue through critical reflexivity and diverse perspectives, addressing issues such as the higher education of immigrant students around the globe and the rising tensions in Muslim and non-Muslim populations. Exploring topics ranging from the leverage of leadership to religious education, this text brings together a wide range of case studies, experiences and examinations to shed light to the different approaches of Islamic-based educational leadership, administration and management. This book will support researchers, doctoral students and scholars involved with multicultural education, school leadership and management studies, and education policy and politics more widely to explore new theories and practices that pave the way for future educational systems to meet faith-based demand in the school choice era.

This study explores the stories and experiences of female Muslim leaders in K-12 Islamic schools in Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada. Using the Islamic Leadership theory and practice framework, visible minority leaders from K-12 Islamic Schools were empowered to share their leadership narratives reflecting on their own identities as females and Muslim leaders in a multicultural context. Based on interviews with five school leaders, this study unveils that female Muslim leaders in K-12 schools prioritize personalized leadership, compassionate treatment of individuals, adaptive leadership, a strong emphasis on faith-based identity, and a theocentric worldview in their practice of educational leadership. Ultimately, this study sheds light on female Muslim educational leaders’ diverse and profound perspectives, showcasing their roles as initiators, role models, and facilitators of positive change in their communities. Their narratives reveal the significance of faith, compassion, and inclusivity in leadership, serving as valuable insights for enhancing leadership practices in Canadian K-12 Islamic education.

School leadership plays a critical role in shaping student academic performance. Despite the UAE’s recognition as one of the leading nations globally for quality education, research on the impact of leadership practices on performance in international assessments like PISA remains scarce. This study explores the influence of school leadership on students’ performance in the UAE’s schools. The PISA 2022 UAE database containing data on 24,600 15-year-old students across 840 schools was used to assess mathematical literacy based on their ability to apply math concepts and their attitudes toward the subject. Insights into leadership practices were utilized using responses from school principals in the PISA 2022 school leaders’ questionnaire. The results demonstrate that leadership practices significantly influence student outcomes. Schools where leaders emphasize teacher accountability and professional development show improved mathematics performance, lower anxiety levels, and enhanced self-efficacy among students. Conversely, excessive focus on disciplinary measures or teaching skill improvements is associated with reduced student self-efficacy. These findings highlight the importance of adaptive leadership approaches that consider local educational contexts, balancing accountability and support to optimize both student performance and well-being. By refining leadership practices, schools can drive meaningful improvements in student success and better equip learners to thrive in global educational benchmarks.

This paper explores how higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) amid rapidly evolving national development agendas. This study reviews publicly available institutional documents and global SDG ranking data to identify patterns of SDG integration: through academic programs, research, and community engagement. The data shows active engagement of the universities in the region linked with varying SDGs. The analysis also reveals that sustainability initiatives in Gulf universities are not purely educational or environmental undertakings; rather, they function as strategic instruments aligned with national visions, international positioning and soft power objectives. Accordingly, this study assesses institutional commitment to the SDGs as expressed through, and made visible by, publicly available reporting, rather than the effectiveness or real-world impact of that engagement, which the available data cannot establish. Guided by theoretical perspectives, the paper argues that SDG engagement remains largely shaped by global ranking frameworks and policy imperatives. While the GCC higher education sector is increasingly embedded in the global sustainability discourse, meaningful localization of SDG practices and data transparency remain limited. By drawing attention to these dynamics, the study contributes to the literature on higher education and sustainable development in the Arab Gulf, emphasizing the need for context-sensitive frameworks and stronger regional collaboration to advance the 2030 Agenda. It calls for strengthened collaboration, capacity development, and tailored policy approaches to fully harness the transformative potential of the SDGs. Future research should explore the sociopolitical drivers of SDG adoption to deepen understanding of HEIs’ contributions to sustainable development in the region.

This study describes the experience of four international students after taking a class in critical multicultural education at a predominantly white institution in the Midwest, U.S. Utilizing narrative inquiry and narrative coding to analyze students’ positionality papers, the researchers found two overarching themes: (1) Prior Experiences and (2) Perspectives on multicultural identities, with several sub-themes. The first overarching theme, prior experiences, has three sub-themes that reflect students’ identities in relation to their sociocultural backgrounds: (a) origin and national identity (b) family background and exposure (c) education and sociocultural experiences. The second overarching theme, perspectives on multicultural identities has five sub-themes that emerged from students’ personal learning and through socialization: (a) race and ethnicity (b) religion (c) gender and sexuality (d) class and privilege, and (e) culture shock. We conclude with a discussion of the findings and implications for this work.