Teacher leadership through an Arab lens: a contextual and culturally grounded reconceptualisation

ABSTRACT 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) relational enactment expressed through trust-building, humility, and compassion; and (3) political mediation involving the negotiation of imposed reforms and affirmation of localised educational ethics. While findings affirm elements of existing relational and identity-based models, they also problematise the applicability of leadership frameworks predominantly developed within Western sociocultural contexts and often transferred to non-Western systems without sufficient cultural adaptation. The study foregrounds a spiritually attuned, ethically grounded, and socially legitimised conception of leadership, calling for a re-theorisation of teacher leadership that is ecologically responsive and epistemologically plural, offering an empirically derived definition centred on spiritual integrity, moral purpose, and collective trust.