Perceptions of educational leaders regarding contemporary reform initiatives in Egypt

ABSTRACT

Many educational reform initiatives worldwide do not result in deep and sustainable change. Limited studies have looked at reform initiatives in countries like Egypt. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to examine educational reform initiatives in Egypt throughout modern history using a transformative leadership lens, and to explore the perceptions of educational leaders regarding the more contemporary reform initiatives. The findings show that historically, large-scale reform initiatives in Egypt, which had transformative and sustainable results, were typically associated with a more comprehensive ideological inclination. More contemporary educational reform attempts were not transformative because these were perceived to be top-down reforms that were driven by foreign-aid agencies, and had no support from stakeholders.

KEYWORDS:

• Egypt
• educational reform
• reform initiatives
• transformative leadership

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Dr Maysaa Barakat is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology at Florida Atlantic University. She received her Ph.D. in educational leadership from Auburn University, Alabama in 2014. Before that, she served as a school administrator in Egypt for 15 years in multiple American and International schools. Her research interests and publications focus on cultural competence, educational leadership preparation and international education with a focus on the Egyptian Education System.