شبكة المعلومات العربية التربوية

The study aimed to identify the degree of teacher leadership practice in basic education schools in the Governorate of Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman, and to reveal the extent to which there are statistically significant differences between the average estimates of the sample members of the degree of teacher leadership practice due to the variables: gender, school level and experience. The study also aimed to identify school management practices that enable teacher leadership in the sample schools. The study adopted the mixed-method approach, where it used a questionnaire consisting of 17 items distributed on four dimensions: sharing expertise, sharing leadership, supra-practitioner, and principal selection. It was applied to 563 male and female teachers at basic education schools in the Governorate of Muscat. The study also used the focus group interviews, with a sample of 30 male and female teachers from the same population. The results revealed the degree of teacher leadership practice in basic education schools in Muscat to be at the moderate level, with a medium relative importance index, of the dimension” sharing expertise” receiving the highest score, while the dimension “supra-practitioner” received the lowest score. The results also showed the presence of statistically significant differences at significance level (0.05) attributed to gender and school level, while there were no differences according to experience. Among the most important practices of school administration that support the teacher leadership were proper planning, human relations, support, democracy, personal traits, direction and guidance, transparency and clarity. In light of these results, the study proposed some recommendations for improvement through courses and workshops related to democratic leadership, providing opportunities for teachers to influence important decisions in the school and participate in planning, implementation and evaluation processes, valuing teachers’ opinions and raising their professional competence by encouraging them to attend the leadership programs organized by the Specialized Institute For professional training of teachers, in و addition to improving the moral and financial incentives for good teachers who actively participate in the work of developing and improving the educational process. (Author’s abstract)