Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Education (MEd)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Ali . Ibrahim

Second Advisor

Mohammed Abdelda) em

Third Advisor

Dr. Ali AI Kaabi

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the extent of the collaborative school culture in Al Ain Cycle Three schools. The study was guided by three research questions and used the descriptive mixed research method. Data for this study were collected through a questionnaire divided into three section. The first section included demographic information of participants. The second part included 29 items about the Collaborative School Culture (CSC), which measures the extent of six components of CSC. These components were collaborative leadership, teacher collaboration, professional development, unity of purpose, collegial support, and learning partnership. The third part was an open-ended question eliciting teachers’ suggestions for improving the collaborative culture in their schools. The questionnaire was sent to 11 secondary schools. Then, the Mann-Whitney Test was used to find out whether collaborative school culture differs according to the gender of teachers. The results of the study showed that collaborative school culture components are available in Al Ain secondary schools to a good extent. Regarding gender, the study found that male and female teachers in the sample had significant differences in their views about the six components of collaborative school culture. Male participants reported higher availability for all the components of collaborative school culture. Finally, teachers perceived that there were certain shortages in their schools regarding collaborative school culture that can be improved through initiatives by the principals, school administration, teachers and parents.

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