Purpose: This study aims to critically review the new AI-based tool ChatGPT in UAE education and evaluate its impact on students and their learning. The study maintains a specific focus on the issues of equity and governance to allow educators in UAE to ensure that the AI-based tool is used ethically, and safely and does not restrict students’ academic development. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is a conceptual paper presenting the critical reflection of authors working in the Emirates College of Advanced Education in UAE (Author 1: Dr. Othman Abu Khurma, Author 2: Dr. Nagla Ali, and Author 3: Dr. Reem Hashem). Consequently, the study reflects the authors’ evaluation of the issues of equity and governance that maximize the potential benefit of how ChatGPT is used by students in UAE schools and higher education institutions and their thoughts on how it might be improved. Findings: The findings of this study indicate that there are both benefits and drawbacks associated with the use of ChatGPT. The authors made some recommendations to the educators in UAE regarding the ethical and fair use of ChatGPT which does not hinder student learning. Practical implications: The findings of this reflective study can raise educators’ and policymakers’ awareness regarding the potential risks and benefits of the use of ChatGPT by students. Moreover, the study offers guidance to educators and policymakers in UAE to ensure ethical and effective learning and the safe adoption of this and similar AI-tools by students. Originality/value: The study is a critical reflection of the equity and governance issue related to the use of ChatGPT by students and offers new practical insights regarding how ChatGPT can be adopted safely by students in UAE. The reflection is based on a conceptual analysis of authors’ personal and professional experiences and test usage and is thus different from previous studies.

In 2003, the Jordanian government launched an ‘education reform for knowledge economy’ leadership programme in Jordanian public schools. The programme transformed school leadership structures by advocating patterns of distributed leadership. However, growing evidence in cross-cultural research shows the influence of local culture on implementation of foreign reform programmes. This paper aims to examine a culture-bound leadership practice during the implementation of the education reform for knowledge economy programme and the tensions it holds to the intent of distributed leadership. This leadership practice was identified by Jordanian school principals who participated in qualitative research to examine factors affecting the implementation of the education reform for knowledge economy programme. The research employed a grounded theory methodology for data collection and analysis. Principals termed this leadership practice ‘al faza’a’ leadership which is anchored in al faza’a social practice of Jordanian tribes. Findings demonstrate that Jordanian tribal leadership styles are seen in Jordanian public schools. ‘Al faza’a’ hegemonic leadership practices in the Jordanian public schools signify the embodiment of the tribal social and cultural values of solidarity and kinship. These values can be incongruent with the core values underlying the education reform for knowledge economy’s advocated distributed leadership programme. This paper concludes that ‘al faza’a’ practice can represent an implicit leadership theory in Jordanian schools.

In 2003, the ‘education reform for knowledge economy’ policy introduced the notion of distributed leadership into Jordanian public schools. Policy development, delivery and professional learning were funded and undertaken with assistance from international partners alongside the Jordanian Ministry of Education. The policy is now substantive. Distributed leadership's implicit western values of greater democracy, trust, empowerment and shared leadership responsibilities were delivered into a schooling system where traditional leadership roles and expectations derived from sheikhocratic customs are the norms. This article interrogates the paradox of distributed leadership in the context of time-honoured sheikhocratic practices from the perceptions and experiences of public school principals. Since perceptions about policy and implicit policy values are culturally mediated, it examines how the principles underpinning distributed leadership are interpreted through the lens of the Jordanian local culture as it is experienced in schools. The findings of this grounded theory study highlight incompatibilities between principals’ understandings of distributed leadership and those implicit in western cultures. This imported policy reform program filtered through host culture judgments produced different policy outcomes than those anticipated by policymakers.

This mixed-methods study investigated the dispositions and motivations of 118 K-12 teachers in Abu Dhabi regarding lifelong learning. Employing a sequential explanatory design, quantitative data were collected using a validated 40-item Likert scale survey across five domains: Goal setting, Application of knowledge and skills, Self-direction and evaluation, Locating information, and Adaptable learning strategies. Results indicated a moderate overall disposition toward lifelong learning, with the highest motivation observed in Self-direction and evaluation. Significant gender differences favored male teachers across all domains. The recommendations stress the need for developing goal-setting abilities, improving information accessibility, and encouraging adaptive learning strategies through focused professional development programs.