Roles and skills of female elementary school principals in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia /

A review o f related literature concerning school administration in the Kingdom o f Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United States indicated continuing development o f the principal’s role and growing demands for improvement o f administrator preparation programs. Previous research related to the school principal ship in the KSA indicated that principals in KSA had limited influence on educational process and there was no clearly-defined job description to guide their efforts. The major purpose of this descriptive research study was to learn how Saudi Arabian female elementary school principals perceived their functions and their levels o f skill in performing their duties. A principal’s functions were categorized into seven administrative task areas, including instruction, curriculum, transform ing leadership, pupil personnel, staff personnel, organization and business administration, and schoolcom m unity relations. Data were gathered from (a) all administrative supervisors (43) o f the girls’ educational system and (b) 164 (60%) female elementary school principals in Riyadh, KSA. They responded to a self-administered questionnaire which included questions fram ed to identify their personal characteristics and their perceptions o f their actual and their preferred involvement and levels o f skill relative to the administrative task areas. Percentages, means, and standard deviations were computed for both the supervisors’ and the principals' responses for all questions pertained to demographic data. A t-test was computed to test the null form o f hypotheses concerning the differences between expected, actual, and preferred involvement and actual and preferred levels o f skill. A one-way analysis o f variance was utilized to test a hypothesis that the principals’ overall perception o f their actual and preferred involvement and their actual and preferred levels o f skill differed on 12 demographic characteristics. The analyses o f data revealed little or no preparation and limited opportunities for professional development. Comparisons between expected and actual involvement suggested that, within the area o f instruction, principals believed they met supervisors’ expectations. However, in each o f the remaining six task areas, principals exceeded supervisors’ expectations. Comparisons between the expected and the preferred involvem ent indicated that principals desired m ore involvement in their job than supervisors expected. Comparisons between the principals’ perceptions o f their actual and preferred involvement indicated they desired m ore involvement than they practiced. Com parisons between the principals’ perceptions o f their actual and preferred levels o f skill indicated that principals desired greater levels o f their skill in every task area. Regardless o f the differences among principals on the selected demographic characteristics, their responses concerning actual and preferred involvement and actual and preferred levels o f skill did not differ. Dedicated to the soul of my grandmother, my father, and my mother. May God take them in His grace, And to the shining star o f my life, my son Khalid. A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S My foremost appreciation is extended to m y adviser, Professor W illiam W. Wayson, and to Professor J. Robert Warmbrod, whose guidance, devotion, and camaraderie have been crucial during my years in the graduate school and on this dissertation. Completion of this dissertation would not have been possible w ithout their tremendous support, patience, understanding, and encouragement. Similarly, 1 extend my gratitude to Professor Brad Mitchell for his continuous support and encouragement. Thanks are also extended to the people in the General Presidency for g irls’ Education in the Kingdom o f Saudi Arabia for allowing me to conduct this study in their school and for providing me with needed information. Special thanks are extended to the principals and administrative supervisors, without whose cooperation this w ork would not have been achieved. Several individuals have provided assistance with this endeavor: Dr. G.W . Ford at San Jose University, for believing in my academic ability and giving me an opportunity to enroll in his graduate course even before I was able to verbalize even one correct English sentence; Dr. J. David McCracken, for his suggestions and guidance; Dr. Jasser al-Jasser and Dr. Mohamed A tif Mogahed at K ing Saud University, the College o f Languages and Translation, for checking the accurateness of the research instrument translation; Dr. Hend Khuthaila, for her support; Dr. Abdulmohsen Al-Otaiby and the professors at King Saud University, School o f Education, for reviewing the content o f the study’s instrument and its validity; Aii AlBakher and the other staff in the Center for Education Research at King Saud University, School o f Education, and the statistical consultants at the University Technical Services at The Ohio State University, for analyzing the data; the OSU staff at the Education Library and the Main Library, for their devotion and hard work to provide every possible assistance for students; Galb Thapit and others in the Arab Bureau o f Education for the G ulf States, for providing some o f the needed research materials; Jhon Slattery and Joe Lehaman, for editing; Dr. Farook and Yassera Zalatim o, for friendship and support; my uncle Ateegue Khashmiri, for support whenever 1 needed him; my sister Hanna, for her financial support; and for the m any people whose help and support guided me to the completion o f this endeavor.