Abstract

The sudden shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges for school leadership worldwide. This chapter explored the digital leadership of school principals during the COVID-19 pandemic and its influence on teachers’ intrinsic motivation and organisational commitment. Fostering employee motivation and commitment is often considered a key objective of leadership, especially in schools where teachers typically operate autonomously, with minimal direct supervision. The study surveyed 380 teachers in Bahrain, uncovering that principal who provided a clear and positive vision for remote schooling significantly boosted teachers’ motivation. Additionally, principals who effectively clarified the values and practices of remote education played a critical role in enhancing teachers’ commitment to their organisations. The findings support a mediation model in which the effects of digital transformational practices on commitment are mediated through motivation. This research enriches our understanding of how digital leadership can shape a supportive and motivating work environment in educational settings during challenging times.

Abstract

This chapter presents a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of documents from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) concerning teaching excellence and the Teaching and Learning International Survey framework. It focuses on introductory sections penned by OECD authorities, which are perceived to contain underlying meanings related to the Global Education Reform Movement. We used CDA to show how these texts reveal the intentions of the OECD to establish normative dominance in the discourse surrounding teaching quality. We discerned that the OECD used a narrative of concern to promote teaching quality amid global shifts, subtly portraying educators as suboptimal; encouraged trust in its role as guardian; and offered solutions by guiding educators under the banner of efficiency and the knowledge-driven economy. The research provides a comprehensive perspective on OECD strategies to assert influence in the teaching quality debate, considering discourse elements that contribute to shaping the ideological authority of the organization.

Publication in Hebrew

Publication in Hebrew

In this conceptual chapter, we discuss the ways in which school principals can address teachers’ experiences in order to advance the realization of their work values. We frame the leader-staff relationship using the psychological Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach. ACT is a recent mindfulness-based psychotherapy approach from the third wave of behavior therapy, with clear parallels to Buddhist concepts and practices. The overarching goal of ACT is to help subjects live a full and meaningful life. This goal is achieved by helping subjects to accept inevitable discomfort and pain, and to pursue committed action toward living a life that accords with their values. Given that school leadership is focused on attaining goals, and that feelings motivate action, we suggest that interventions based on ACT can promote more effective relationships between educational leaders and followers.

Publication in Hebrew

Abstract

Emotions, moods, and other affective concepts are an integral part of all human and social experiences. Despite so, for most of the 20st century, emotions were considered to be irrational and illegitimate and only in recent decades, researchers started to explore emotional experiences. The first two decades of the 21st century mark a new era in the exploration of emotions is schools, having produced novel insights. In this chapter, we aim to present some of the established and of the emerging theories and concepts in the 21st century that are relevant to understanding emotions with regard to leadership, work, and learning taking place in schools. Specifically, we wish to do so by addressing different images that people use when thinking about organizations. In our opinion, these fundamental metaphors are the ones that shape how we think about emotions in organizations and in schools.