This chapter explores the relationship between leadership styles and turnover intention in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) public schools, in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to be specific. The chapter particularly discusses the effect of a principals' transformational leadership and transactional leadership style on school faculty and staff intention to stay at the organizations. Further analysis will shed light on the relationship between leadership and turnover through logistical regression analysis. The chapter also highlights the current state of education in the UAE, leadership in public schools, and turnover intention in the public sector. Through this chapter, stakeholders, including principals, educators, public personnel, and policymakers, will better understand the implications of specific leadership styles in the GCC, particularly the UAE.
TopBackground
The UAE was founded in 1971 by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Prior to the discovery of oil, education was conducted in the Madrasa (Islamic school) and pupils would be taught by the Mutawa’a (religious teacher) (Kipples & Ridge, 2019). After the discovery of oil, it was paramount for the education system to transform, and supply the markets with graduates that have skills that go beyond reading and writing that were generally taught in the Madrasa. The skills had to be one that helped build and sustain nation states, as such the Ministry of Education (MOE) was established. Its role, Kipples and Ridge (2019) argue, was to standardize education, consolidate the different schools, and oversee the management of schools and the educational system at large. The role of the Ministry of Education is in line with the constitution of the UAE which indicated that “education was to be the engine of national development” (as cited in Godwin, 2006, p. 2). Additionally, education is free for Emiratis (local citizens) in public institutions, such as, schools, colleges, and federal universities (UAE, 2018). The education system is divided into four tiers, (1) Kindergarten (KG), Cycle 1 (grades 1 to 6), Cycle 2 (grades 7 to 9), and Cycle 3 (grades 10 to 12) (Department of Education and Knowledge, n.d.). According to the open data by Ministry of Education in (2022) there are 2,073 public schools in the UAE. Moreover, it estimated that the UAE government has invested USD 1.83 billion, USD 2.87 billion, USD 2.92 billion, USD 2.85 billion, USD 2.92 billion, making up 13.44 percent, 20.5 percent, 20.23 percent, 16.8 percent, and 14.8 percent of the country’s GDP from 2016 to 2020, respectively (Ministry of Education, n.d.). Altogether, this is the context of the national education system in the UAE.