Tarek Shal
Biographic Data
| ID | 6618682 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tarek Shal |
| GIVEN NAMES | Tarek |
| FAMILY NAME | Shal |
| SIGNATURE | SHAL T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Qatar University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0824-6449 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 29 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 29 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Virtual teacher leadership: Enacting leader identity in digital spaces
This qualitative study explores how classroom teachers enact leader identities within virtual communities of practice (vCoPs), introducing the concept of virtual teacher leadership (VTL) as an emergent and affectively mediated identity process. Thirteen actively teaching participants from eight Arab countries were recruited from a global vCoP and engaged in in-depth semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis revealed five interrelated dimensio…
Teacher leaders enacting AI leadership identities: Brokering, buffering and professional rationalities
This study investigated how teacher leaders enact AI leadership identities in K–12 schools. Drawing on an interpretive qualitative design, 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted with AI-advocate teacher leaders. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis supported by NVivo 15, with the analysis organised around four theoretically derived lenses: enacting AI leadership through relational influence, crafting AI leadership as profess…
Identity, Agency, and the Fragility of Teacher Leadership Trajectories
While dominant narratives portray teacher leadership as inherently transformative, this study interrogates the lived trajectories of five teacher leaders transitioning from informal to formal leadership roles in school setting. Using a narrative inquiry methodology and framed by the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI), the research explores shifts in identity, agency, and relational dynamics. Findings reveal that formalization often co…
Mobile Professional Development for STEM Teachers Using AI
This qualitative interpretive study examined how an AI-assisted mobile application supported a differentiated professional development opportunity (DPDO) for 30 STEM teachers across six Arab countries over 24 weeks. Grounded in andragogy and interpreted through a TPACK lens, the study explored teachers’ perceived benefits of using the SchooTeach mobile app for AI-aware professional learning. Post-program focus group interviews were thematically a…
Higher Education 4.0: Capturing the voices of faculty members
Introduction Education 4.0 is rapidly reshaping higher education through technology-enabled learning, curriculum realignment, and new ethical and professional demands. However, empirical evidence on how faculty members in the Arab States perceive and respond to these shifts remains limited. Methods This qualitative study examined faculty sense-making of Education 4.0 through semi-structured interviews with 12 university faculty members from six A…
Contested leadership: Negotiating teacher leadership in a highly centralized school system through school-based reform
This qualitative multiple case study investigated how teacher leadership was negotiated and enacted within a donor-funded school reform in Lebanon's highly centralized public education system. Drawing on interviews with principals and focus groups with teacher leaders, the study showed that leadership distribution unfolded through ongoing negotiation over roles, authority, and professional space within school teams. These processes were shaped by…
Culture and technology acceptance model at Arab higher education institutions
The role of culture in utilizing and adopting information technology remains a subject of debate. This study aimed to contribute to the ongoing discussion by investigating cultural dimensions’ overall and unique effect on the technology acceptance model. Two hundred and thirty-six students of one of the Arab higher education institutions participated in the study. A Multiple Regression Model was utilized to analyze the collected data. Results rev…
Teacher leadership in AI-integrated K-12 classrooms: Agency, identity, and authority
This study investigates how teacher leaders enact leadership within AI-integrated classrooms, highlighting the posthuman entanglements that shape their agency, identity, and authority. While AI’s instructional uses have been widely examined, how AI integration reshapes teacher leadership – its practices, identities, and sources of authority – remains underexplored, particularly through posthumanist lenses. Using a multi-country qualitative interv…
The last mile of distributed leadership: What happens when leadership reaches teacher leaders
Purpose This study examines the “last mile” of distributed leadership by investigating what happens when leadership reaches teacher leaders: whether it is further distributed to colleagues and students or instead retained and consolidated around teacher leaders' roles and influence. Design/methodology/approach An interpretive qualitative design was employed. Semi-structured online interviews were conducted with 21 K–12 teachers from five Arab cou…
Generation α effect on gen X, Y and Z teacher leaders' enactment or disenactment of professional identities
Purpose This study investigates how the emergence of Generation Alpha, the first fully AI-native student cohort, shapes the enactment and disenactment of professional leadership identities among teacher leaders from Generations X, Y and Z. Design/methodology/approach The research draws on professional identity theory, leadership identity perspectives and generational theory. A qualitative design situated in an interpretive paradigm was adopted. F…
Support or symbol? Tokenism in teacher leader peer support
This qualitative study examines how teacher leaders and classroom teachers interpret teacher leader-enacted peer support. While peer support is often framed as developmental, less is known about how it is experienced by those who provide and receive it. Using tokenism as an analytic lens, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with 23 participants and reflexive thematic analysis. Findings show that peer support was understood as a relation…
Reclaiming teacher leadership as learning leadership
Despite the expanding literature on teacher leadership (TL), most studies emphasise how teachers assume leadership roles, with limited attention paid to how leadership is sustained as an ongoing, reflective praxis. This study addresses that gap by conceptualising teacher leadership as learning leadership: an ontological commitment to learning as a way of being. Using phenomenology and semi-structured interviews, 12 TLs were engaged to explore how…
Action research as a pathway to teacher leadership: Constructing professional identity from within
Bringing Vignette-Based Interviews to the Forefront: A Framework for an Underused Qualitative Research Method in Education
Qualitative research in educational leadership has traditionally relied on methods such as interviews and focus groups, often overlooking alternative approaches that can generate deeper interpretive insight. Among these, vignette-based methods remain notably underutilized and under-theorized in education, despite their demonstrated potential in disciplines such as health and social sciences, where they have been effectively used to explore comple…
Unleashing the potential of teacher leadership for ESD
This article reconceptualizes teacher leadership as a foundational pillar for advancing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) within contemporary schooling systems. Disrupting dominant discourses that frame sustainability leadership through top-down or managerialist paradigms, the article articulates a nuanced theoretical and empirical case for recognizing teachers as ethical agents, pedagogical innovators, and transformative leaders situat…
Effective school leadership enactment of GAI: A 5C’s framework for integration
Introduction The integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) into educational settings is rapidly transforming teaching and learning processes. As this shift unfolds, school leadership plays a pivotal role in ensuring the effective and ethical adoption of GAI technologies. This study investigates the leadership traits and practices essential for guiding GAI implementation in schools within the Arab region. Methods A qualitative resear…
The fourth estate’s invisible hand: How newspaper media legitimize neoliberal higher education in Qatar and the UAE
This study critically examines how English-language newspaper discourse in Qatar and the UAE constructs and legitimizes neoliberal ideologies surrounding higher education institutions and international branch campuses. Drawing on critical theory and critical discourse analysis, we delve into the discourses used in newspaper articles published between 2010 and 2024. We explore the underlying meanings, ideologies, and power relations embedded in th…
Teacher leadership in the Arab states: A systematic review
This systematic review critically examines the empirical literature on teacher leadership (TL) in the Arab States published between 2000 and 2025. Drawing on 30 peer-reviewed studies, the review investigates how TL is conceptualized, enacted, and situated within diverse institutional and cultural contexts across the region. Through thematic analysis, six interrelated themes emerged: (1) the mediating influence of school structures; (2) the interp…
Leading backwards in a forward era: Destructive middle leadership in the pursuit of Higher Education 5.0
This study examines how faculty members in Arab higher education institutions experience and interpret destructive middle leadership within the context of Education 5.0. While this reform agenda emphasizes innovation, equity, and human-centered learning, participants described leadership practices that undermine collaboration, trust, and pedagogical creativity. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with ten faculty members (20 interviews across t…
Teacher leadership through an Arab lens: A contextual and culturally grounded reconceptualisation
This qualitative study explored teacher leadership as conceptualised through an Arab lens, drawing on perspectives of 17 non – teacher leaders from ten Arab countries. Using an interpretive approach grounded in situated praxis theory, semi-structured interviews were thematically analyzed to reveal three intersecting conceptions: (1) contextual enactment rooted in spiritual consciousness, moral discernment, and alignment with communal values; (2) …
Leading or Managing in the Middle: Exploring the Identities of Head of Departments in Higher Education Using Dynamic Systems Model
Drawing upon the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI), this study explored the construction of the role identity of department heads within higher education, with a specific emphasis on their perceptions of themselves as leaders and/or managers. Three section heads, each holding a doctoral degree in educational leadership from different Arab countries, were tracked throughout their inaugural year of appointment, examining the evolution …
Illuminating the Obscure: Teacher Leaders Confronting the Adverse Impact of Their Subject Leaders/Coordinators
This phenomenological inquiry investigated the often-overlooked negative aspects of subject leaders’/coordinators’ influence on teacher leadership development, utilizing semi-structured interviews with 11 teachers who relinquished leadership roles due to these reasons. Findings suggest that subject leaders/coordinators impede teacher leadership when they adopt a top-down approach instead of fostering close collaboration with their fellow teachers…
Department heads’ professional agency: Investigating self-perceptions and deans’ perspectives through vignette-based analysis
This study explored department heads’ professional agency as perceived by heads of departments (HoDs) themselves as well as their Deans following a vignette-based inquiry approach. Data were collected through interviews with one dean and two to three HoDs in six colleges of one university in Beirut, Lebanon. Data was analyzed using theme-based analysis. The findings suggest a dichotomy between the perceptions of HoDs and Deans regarding professio…
A Step-by-Step Approach to Systematic Reviews in Educational Research
This article provides a comprehensive guide to conducting and documenting systematic reviews (SRs) in educational research. While SRs are increasingly recognized for their value in synthesizing and evaluating literature on specific research questions or topics, there remains a notable scarcity of research-based papers that guide their development within the field of education. Systematic reviews, distinguished from traditional literature reviews …
Distance education challenges: Insight from a nationwide teacher-centric study post- Covid-19 for informed advancements
Scholars persistently explore the enormous effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on schooling, striving to comprehend its intricacies and derive significant perspectives for forthcoming endeavors. The research-based conclusions and suggestions are deemed potentially effective in closing the gap between theory and practice in literature. This is one of the few studies that connects problems with remedies as proposed by teachers. This national teacher-c…
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Teacher Leadership and Teacher Wellbeing: Any Relationship
Distance education challenges: Insight from a nationwide teacher-centric study post- Covid-19 for informed advancements
Scholars persistently explore the enormous effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on schooling, striving to comprehend its intricacies and derive significant perspectives for forthcoming endeavors. The research-based conclusions and suggestions are deemed potentially effective in closing the gap between theory and practice in literature. This is one of the few studies that connects problems with remedies as proposed by teachers. This national teacher-c…
Cultivating teacher leadership: Evidence form a transformative professional development model
This study delves into the transformative impact of a professional development model (PDM) across three affiliated private schools in Beirut, Lebanon, spanning three years, with a primary focus on nurturing teacher leadership. At the heart of this PDM, teachers assumed the role of trainers, guiding their colleagues during dedicated professional development days. Employing a grounded theory approach, the study conducted semi-structured interviews …
Destructive leadership behaviors: The case of academic middle leaders in higher education
Destructive leadership, characterized by abusive behaviors and a lack of ethical integrity, undermines organizational morale and performance. This phenomenological study investigates destructive leadership behaviors exhibited by academic middle leaders in higher education, examining them through the lens of faculty members. Six faculty members from six Arab States participated in three rounds of interviews to capture their lived experiences. Data…
Does Accreditation Lead to School Improvement? Perceptions of Educators in K-12 Settings
Accreditation has witnessed a surge in popularity within K-12 settings, being perceived as a pathway to excellence and a testament to the pursuit of quality education. This study explored the perceptions of 423 educators (teachers, subject coordinators, and school leaders) from 10 Arab Sates focusing on the value of accreditation and its impact on school improvement, through their lenses. A survey with an open-ended question, was used to collect …
Unleashing the potential of teacher leadership for ESD
This article reconceptualizes teacher leadership as a foundational pillar for advancing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) within contemporary schooling systems. Disrupting dominant discourses that frame sustainability leadership through top-down or managerialist paradigms, the article articulates a nuanced theoretical and empirical case for recognizing teachers as ethical agents, pedagogical innovators, and transformative leaders situat…
Effective school leadership enactment of GAI: A 5C’s framework for integration
Introduction The integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) into educational settings is rapidly transforming teaching and learning processes. As this shift unfolds, school leadership plays a pivotal role in ensuring the effective and ethical adoption of GAI technologies. This study investigates the leadership traits and practices essential for guiding GAI implementation in schools within the Arab region. Methods A qualitative resear…
The fourth estate’s invisible hand: How newspaper media legitimize neoliberal higher education in Qatar and the UAE
This study critically examines how English-language newspaper discourse in Qatar and the UAE constructs and legitimizes neoliberal ideologies surrounding higher education institutions and international branch campuses. Drawing on critical theory and critical discourse analysis, we delve into the discourses used in newspaper articles published between 2010 and 2024. We explore the underlying meanings, ideologies, and power relations embedded in th…
Teacher leadership in the Arab states: A systematic review
This systematic review critically examines the empirical literature on teacher leadership (TL) in the Arab States published between 2000 and 2025. Drawing on 30 peer-reviewed studies, the review investigates how TL is conceptualized, enacted, and situated within diverse institutional and cultural contexts across the region. Through thematic analysis, six interrelated themes emerged: (1) the mediating influence of school structures; (2) the interp…
Leading backwards in a forward era: Destructive middle leadership in the pursuit of Higher Education 5.0
This study examines how faculty members in Arab higher education institutions experience and interpret destructive middle leadership within the context of Education 5.0. While this reform agenda emphasizes innovation, equity, and human-centered learning, participants described leadership practices that undermine collaboration, trust, and pedagogical creativity. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with ten faculty members (20 interviews across t…
Teacher leadership through an Arab lens: A contextual and culturally grounded reconceptualisation
This qualitative study explored teacher leadership as conceptualised through an Arab lens, drawing on perspectives of 17 non – teacher leaders from ten Arab countries. Using an interpretive approach grounded in situated praxis theory, semi-structured interviews were thematically analyzed to reveal three intersecting conceptions: (1) contextual enactment rooted in spiritual consciousness, moral discernment, and alignment with communal values; (2) …
Leading or Managing in the Middle: Exploring the Identities of Head of Departments in Higher Education Using Dynamic Systems Model
Drawing upon the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI), this study explored the construction of the role identity of department heads within higher education, with a specific emphasis on their perceptions of themselves as leaders and/or managers. Three section heads, each holding a doctoral degree in educational leadership from different Arab countries, were tracked throughout their inaugural year of appointment, examining the evolution …
Illuminating the Obscure: Teacher Leaders Confronting the Adverse Impact of Their Subject Leaders/Coordinators
This phenomenological inquiry investigated the often-overlooked negative aspects of subject leaders’/coordinators’ influence on teacher leadership development, utilizing semi-structured interviews with 11 teachers who relinquished leadership roles due to these reasons. Findings suggest that subject leaders/coordinators impede teacher leadership when they adopt a top-down approach instead of fostering close collaboration with their fellow teachers…
Department heads’ professional agency: Investigating self-perceptions and deans’ perspectives through vignette-based analysis
This study explored department heads’ professional agency as perceived by heads of departments (HoDs) themselves as well as their Deans following a vignette-based inquiry approach. Data were collected through interviews with one dean and two to three HoDs in six colleges of one university in Beirut, Lebanon. Data was analyzed using theme-based analysis. The findings suggest a dichotomy between the perceptions of HoDs and Deans regarding professio…
A Step-by-Step Approach to Systematic Reviews in Educational Research
This article provides a comprehensive guide to conducting and documenting systematic reviews (SRs) in educational research. While SRs are increasingly recognized for their value in synthesizing and evaluating literature on specific research questions or topics, there remains a notable scarcity of research-based papers that guide their development within the field of education. Systematic reviews, distinguished from traditional literature reviews …
Virtual teacher leadership: Enacting leader identity in digital spaces
This qualitative study explores how classroom teachers enact leader identities within virtual communities of practice (vCoPs), introducing the concept of virtual teacher leadership (VTL) as an emergent and affectively mediated identity process. Thirteen actively teaching participants from eight Arab countries were recruited from a global vCoP and engaged in in-depth semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis revealed five interrelated dimensio…
Teacher leaders enacting AI leadership identities: Brokering, buffering and professional rationalities
This study investigated how teacher leaders enact AI leadership identities in K–12 schools. Drawing on an interpretive qualitative design, 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted with AI-advocate teacher leaders. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis supported by NVivo 15, with the analysis organised around four theoretically derived lenses: enacting AI leadership through relational influence, crafting AI leadership as profess…
Identity, Agency, and the Fragility of Teacher Leadership Trajectories
While dominant narratives portray teacher leadership as inherently transformative, this study interrogates the lived trajectories of five teacher leaders transitioning from informal to formal leadership roles in school setting. Using a narrative inquiry methodology and framed by the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI), the research explores shifts in identity, agency, and relational dynamics. Findings reveal that formalization often co…
Mobile Professional Development for STEM Teachers Using AI
This qualitative interpretive study examined how an AI-assisted mobile application supported a differentiated professional development opportunity (DPDO) for 30 STEM teachers across six Arab countries over 24 weeks. Grounded in andragogy and interpreted through a TPACK lens, the study explored teachers’ perceived benefits of using the SchooTeach mobile app for AI-aware professional learning. Post-program focus group interviews were thematically a…
Higher Education 4.0: Capturing the voices of faculty members
Introduction Education 4.0 is rapidly reshaping higher education through technology-enabled learning, curriculum realignment, and new ethical and professional demands. However, empirical evidence on how faculty members in the Arab States perceive and respond to these shifts remains limited. Methods This qualitative study examined faculty sense-making of Education 4.0 through semi-structured interviews with 12 university faculty members from six A…
Contested leadership: Negotiating teacher leadership in a highly centralized school system through school-based reform
This qualitative multiple case study investigated how teacher leadership was negotiated and enacted within a donor-funded school reform in Lebanon's highly centralized public education system. Drawing on interviews with principals and focus groups with teacher leaders, the study showed that leadership distribution unfolded through ongoing negotiation over roles, authority, and professional space within school teams. These processes were shaped by…
Culture and technology acceptance model at Arab higher education institutions
The role of culture in utilizing and adopting information technology remains a subject of debate. This study aimed to contribute to the ongoing discussion by investigating cultural dimensions’ overall and unique effect on the technology acceptance model. Two hundred and thirty-six students of one of the Arab higher education institutions participated in the study. A Multiple Regression Model was utilized to analyze the collected data. Results rev…
Teacher leadership in AI-integrated K-12 classrooms: Agency, identity, and authority
This study investigates how teacher leaders enact leadership within AI-integrated classrooms, highlighting the posthuman entanglements that shape their agency, identity, and authority. While AI’s instructional uses have been widely examined, how AI integration reshapes teacher leadership – its practices, identities, and sources of authority – remains underexplored, particularly through posthumanist lenses. Using a multi-country qualitative interv…
The last mile of distributed leadership: What happens when leadership reaches teacher leaders
Purpose This study examines the “last mile” of distributed leadership by investigating what happens when leadership reaches teacher leaders: whether it is further distributed to colleagues and students or instead retained and consolidated around teacher leaders' roles and influence. Design/methodology/approach An interpretive qualitative design was employed. Semi-structured online interviews were conducted with 21 K–12 teachers from five Arab cou…
Generation α effect on gen X, Y and Z teacher leaders' enactment or disenactment of professional identities
Purpose This study investigates how the emergence of Generation Alpha, the first fully AI-native student cohort, shapes the enactment and disenactment of professional leadership identities among teacher leaders from Generations X, Y and Z. Design/methodology/approach The research draws on professional identity theory, leadership identity perspectives and generational theory. A qualitative design situated in an interpretive paradigm was adopted. F…
Qualitative research (14 works) · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies (13 works) · Educational leadership (12 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Teacher Leadership (8 works) · Pedagogy (7 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Engineering (5 works) · Higher education (5 works) · Instructional leadership (5 works)