Job satisfaction remains until this date a prominent factor that managers seek in their employees to ensure the organization’s productivity and success. It has extensively drawn the attention of researchers in the educational field to inform policymakers and school leaders of its impact on teachers’ motivation, commitment, stress, retention, and burnout levels. The aim of this study is twofold. First, it will investigate teachers’ job satisfaction level in Lebanon, and second, it will look at their perceptions of their principals’ self-efficacy levels. A total of 133 Teachers Job Satisfaction Questionnaires (TJSQ) were collected from 6 private and 6 public K-12 schools to measure teachers’ perceptions about the factors that are mostly correlated with their job satisfaction levels. Despite that, overall means of intrinsic factors were higher than extrinsic factors, correlation analysis revealed that extrinsic factors (i.e., working conditions and professional development) were more associated with teachers’ job fulfillment. Findings from this study support the literature indicating that when teachers’ extrinsic needs are fulfilled in less developed countries, they will uplift their job satisfaction level. Further implications for research and practice are also discussed.

During the pandemic, educational leaders had to suddenly deal with unprecedented changes that teaching and learning environment has undergone. In times of crisis, leaders’ control of emotions, the quality of relationship between them and the team, and the value congruence play a significant role. In the Arab world, however, cultural, national and sociological contexts largely impact female leaders’ values, beliefs and behaviors. Hence, it is significant to explore these leaders’ behaviors and practices in times of crisis, the factors that helped them cope with the sudden changes and lead digitally, and the extent that the dimensions of the transformational leadership style had on their performance. Through eight semi-structured interviews, results revealed practices of Arab female educational digital transformational leadership that helped them maintain their own and their organization’s performance during the Covid-19 pandemic. These practices include, building relationships, motivating and recognizing team efforts, open communication, adaptability, a strong sense of emotional intelligence and self-control. While these leaders consider themselves democratic and transformational leaders, an emergent theme showed that they implemented the changes as a coercive activity. This study suggests for policy-makers to form strategies and policies that would increase teachers’ leadership skills in preparation for potential leadership positions.

Background: Implementing Inquiry-Based Instruction (IBI) in science is a complex process demanding certain classroom conditions prepared with instructional materials to engage students in tasks, as well as adopting the social context that will shape the inquiry-based learning environment. Within this social context, teachers are the main agents who ensure successful inquiry-based implementation because their beliefs and perceptions significantly influence their practices within the classroom.Purpose: This study explored teachers’ views and understandings about IBI and the factors that inhibit and promote the implementation of this teaching method. Additionally, the difference in perspectives regarding the inhibiting factors has been explored within two countries that are allocating different budgets for developing innovative educational systems to improve students’ results on the international standardized tests (the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon). Results: This study identified factors such as limited ICT and lab resources, low quality of professional development, lack of time for lesson preparation, and difficulties in classroom management that complicate the process of IBI implementation in classrooms. Differences in the UAE and Lebanese teachers’ perspectives were uncovered. Implications and limitations were further discussed.

New ways of modernizing professional development programs (hereafter PDs) focus on the acquisition of new teaching methods and techniques through hands-on opportunities provided to teachers, thereby enabling them to practice and reflect on the knowledge gained. Moreover, the new vision of reform and sustainability in education emphasizes the development of sustainable PDs that resist disruptive factors, increase teachers’ commitment, and ensure more sustainable development across children’s lifespans. This study explores the impact of a piloted sustainable PD on the development of 16 teachers and head teachers’ attitudes about assessment practices, professional growth, and leadership skills. Qualitative data collected in the form of interviews, post-PD surveys, and reflections were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Findings indicate that the confidence in creating assessments and rubrics of participants in their different positions increased, and their ability to provide their students with engaging, sustainably developed assessments that improved higher-order thinking skills was also enhanced. The findings in this study demonstrated the need to develop within teachers the awareness that they can individually contribute towards a more sustainably developed classroom and learning environment. Although participants did make some changes to their classroom-based practices, these changes could not be well-maintained as they were limited by the high stakes involved in varying the structure of mandatory assessments required in the public education sector. It is hoped that the findings of this study can be used as a model for the development of sustainable PDs in education.

The aim of this study is to explore the role of K-12 school principals’ self-efficacy as an attribute for their leadership effectiveness in Lebanon. The Norwegian principal self-efficacy scale (NPSES) instrument was translated into Arabic and used to collect quantitative data from participants. Internal consistency of factors within this study was checked (24 items; α = 0.73). By comparing private and public schools in Lebanon, all located in the governorate of Mount Lebanon, the researchers revealed the extent to which principals’ self-efficacy plays a role in their leadership. In addition, while no statistical difference was found between self-efficacy levels of private and public principals, females reported higher scores on the majority of the dimensions than their male counterparts in both types of schools. This study highlights the importance of the interaction effect of age and gender on self-efficacy levels. Moreover, it offers knowledge and practice to policy makers when recruiting principals or designing training programs. It also suggests the implementation of an in-house mentoring program to create school-school partnerships. Finally, this paper offers a platform for future researchers interested in principal self-efficacy in similar conflict-affected places with high economic depression. Limitations are further mentioned.