INVESTIGATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS OF ACADEMIC MIDDLE MANAGERS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (ELT) AT A SAUDI ARABIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY A
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Walker, Keith | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Koole, Marguerite | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Newton, Paul | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Cotterll, Michael | |
| dc.creator | Ahmad, Hussain | |
| dc.creator.orcid | 0000-0001-5327-0950 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-07-12T16:51:09Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-07-12T16:51:09Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 2023 | |
| dc.date.created | 2023-06 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-07-12 | |
| dc.date.submitted | June 2023 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2023-07-12T16:51:10Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | With growing educational institutes’ organizational complexities, the role of academic middle managers has attracted academicians’ and researchers’ attention. Despite the pivotal role of academic middle managers (AMMs), there is insufficient evidence in the literature to consider the nature of academic middle managers’ professional development. As compared to other geographical locations, research on academic middle managers’ learning and development in the Arabian Gulf is almost non-existence due to the newness of the idea in the higher educational institutes in the region. This study sought to explore the professional development pathways of middle managers in English Language Teaching (ELT) at an English Language Institute (ELI) of a Saudi Arabian public university. In this study, the professional development of academic middle managers in ELT was characterized by the development of their professional identity, cultural intelligence, and transformative learning. Employing a convergent parallel design of mixed method, a survey, and semi-structured interviews were used. Qualitative data was collected from thirty academic middle managers at male and female campuses, whereas five academic middle managers from male campus were interviewed for quantitative data. Both data were collected concurrently but analyzed separately. Data from the quantitative and qualitative strands were combined to answer the research questions. The findings indicate that all three dimensions of AMMs' professional development: professional identity, cultural intelligence, and transformative learning were developed during their management tenure at the ELI. AMMs’ professional identity development has been complex and intriguing, as on one hand, they have performed similar roles to their counterparts in other contexts worldwide and acted as intermediaries between faculty members and top administration. On the other hand, AMMs have faced significant obstacles to their autonomy due to organizational policies, the bureaucratic iii culture within the institute, and a top-down leadership style. Similarly, AMMs’ cultural intelligence development has been influenced by the conservative socio-cultural environment of the institute and the broader context in which it operates. As for AMMs’ transformative learning experiences, while their initial motivations for entering management were personal and professional growth, collaborative work, social interaction, and influencing organizational structure, once in management roles, AMMs have tended to conform their practices to the existing management norms within the workplace. Hence, the findings of the study provide further insights and directions for understanding academic middle managers in ELT in the Arabian Gulf, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The study also contributes to the field by suggesting ways to improve the quality of academic middle management by exploring the factors that impact middle managers’ professional lives. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10388/14802 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.subject | Academic middle managers, Saudi ELT context, professional identity, cultural intelligence, transformative learning | |
| dc.title | INVESTIGATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS OF ACADEMIC MIDDLE MANAGERS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (ELT) AT A SAUDI ARABIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY A | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | text | |
| thesis.degree.department | Educational Foundations | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Educational Administration | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Saskatchewan | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Education (M.Ed.) |