شبكة المعلومات العربية التربوية

This study investigates the characteristics and skills of leaders of change that are exhibited by AI Ain education zone school principals. The research design is mainly a quantitative survey study. Data were gathered from 434 teachers in AI Ain schools. Means, standard deviations, t test and one-way analysis of variance were used as statistics to analyze the data. The study found out that school principals in AI Ain exhibit the characteristics of leaders of change regarding sharing vision and values, valuing human resources, fostering collaborative relationships, communicating effectively, being proactive, creating and sharing knowledge, and managing resistance to change. The study also found out that there is a significant difference in the perceptions of female and male teachers regarding school principals' characteristics as leaders of change. The statistical differences were in valuing human resources and being proactive. A significant difference in the perceptions of Emirati and non-Emirati teachers of their school principals' characteristics as leaders of change was also found. Non-Emirati teachers rated their principals higher in valuing human resources, communicating effectively, being proactive, creating and sharing knowledge, and managing resistance to change. However, years of experience had no impact on the teachers' perceptions. (Author’s abstract)