Abstract/Summary

In Saudi Arabia, as part of a nationwide programme of educational reform and espoused move to a more de-centralised system, a detailed set of new powers have recently been granted to head teachers with the aim of providing them with more autonomy. However, there is little research evidence to show whether or not these aims have been achieved. The purpose ofthis study, therefore, is to fill this gap and investigate the perceived impact of these recent educational reforms on the role of school head teachers in Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia. It aims to identify any challenges or difficulties that head teachers may face whilst implementing these powers and establish any areas of opportunity that may arise as a result ofthe reforms. The study was based on a pragmatist paradigm and followed a mixed methods research design. Data were collected from head teachers through the use of structured questionnaires (n=71) and follow-up semi-structured interviews (n=10). These data were analysed using established quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques. The findings of this study suggest that the impact of the recent educational reform on the role of school head teachers has been varied. The findings on the whole confirm the limited impact of the reform on their role, based on the four dimensions of "the management of the school", ''the relationships with teachers", ''the relationships with students" and ''the reduction in ambiguity in terms of procedures". In addition, several challenges have been found to have had a negative effect on the role of school leaders. The most prominent of these challenges was the withdrawal of powers, restrictions, lack of staff, school budget and school buildings. In addition, it has been found that several factors may affect the role of school leaders, whether positively or negatively, during the implementation of school autonomy.