Principals’ perspectives on faculty diversity in Qatar’s government schools

Abstract

Globalization requires the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) to experience numerous economic, social, and educational changes. In particular, Qatar’s unprecedented economic growth has created a flow of high- and low-skilled expatriate workers resulting in a significant imbalance between nationals and expatriates. The implications are evident in Qatar’s government schools where approximately 72% of teachers are expatriates and 99% of the principals are Qatari nationals. Although diversity can enrich schools, it could create conflicts that might hamper the school’s success. Despite the large body of research on school leadership and student diversity, little is written about principals and faculty diversity especially within the GCC. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore 20 Qatari principals’ perspectives regarding their understandings of diversity and experiences with faculty diversity. Findings demonstrate that principals perceive diversity in terms of nationality. They experienced positive and negative influences of diversity and are confronted with challenges that often center on ethnical and cultural issues. Principals addressed how they manage the issues of nationality, culture, and equality. The study suggests that school leadership in a multicultural society such as Qatar demands more competencies to manage faculty diversity. Several recommendations are offered for principals for working with a diverse faculty.

Keywords

Schools faculty diversity principals administration Gulf Cooperation Countries

Introduction

Because of globalization and modernization, the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) are experiencing numerous economic, social, and educational changes. Qatar is one of those countries where an unprecedented economic growth “has created an influx of high- and low-skilled expatriate workers, creating a major unbalance in the population and labour force between nationals and expatriates” (Al-Ammari and Romanowski, 2016: 1539). The strong reliance on non-nationals working in the gas and oil sectors and the massive labor-intensive preparation for hosting the World Cup in 2022 has led to approximately 90% of Qatar’s workforce comprising foreign workers (Arsenault, 2015). Specifically, in the private sector, Qataris make up 0.8% whereas non-Qataris comprised 99.2% of the labor force. While in the public sector, non-Qataris constituted 57% and Qataris make up 43% of the workforce (Soman, 2013).

The implications of this diverse workforce are evident in Qatar’s government schools where a mere 27% of teachers are Qatari, while 66% are Arab nationals and 6% non-Arab nationals (Evaluation Institute, 2012). The large proportion of foreign teachers is a result of Qatar’s extensive economic growth coupled with the small Qatari population that makes up only 12% of the 2.7 million people living in Qatar (Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, 2017). Because of the shortage of Qatari teachers, government schools must rely on expatriate teachers to cover the teacher shortage (Abu Shawish, 2016). These circumstances result in a diverse faculty in most government schools. However, the concern with Qatar’s government schools is not diversity in and of itself, but rather the issues related to diversity that may or may not emerge.

Ellili-Cherif and Hadba argue a key issue regarding expatriate teachers in Qatar is that “teachers come from different educational contexts and may hold cultural values, belief systems and educational philosophies that are different from those underlying the educational context where they operate” (Ellili-Cherif and Hadba, 2016: 2). Coupled with these differences, the diverse nationalities and cultures that teachers bring to the schools create a wide range of assorted perspectives and challenges (Abu Shawish, 2016). Nevertheless, schools can benefit from having a diverse faculty. Gardenswartz and Rowe (2009) suggest that when diversity is fostered, developed and managed well, both faculty and students benefit. For example, diversity enriches schools by expanding teachers’ and students’ perspectives. However, when diversity is ignored or mismanaged challenges and obstacles could develop that might obstruct a school’s ability to succeed.

Since 99% of the principals in Qatar’s government schools are Qatari nationals (Evaluation Institute, 2012), the issues that arise from diversity often provide challenges for Qatar’s principals and faculty. With that in mind, this study used semi-structured interviews to examine the perspectives of 20 Qatari principals regarding their understandings of diversity, the influence of faculty diversity in their school, the challenges they face regarding a diverse faculty and how they, as principals, address faculty diversity. Based on these findings, we offer several recommendations for principals.

Background

Triggered by poor secondary student performance in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and the Programme for International Student Assessment, the Qatari government became alarmed that the country’s educational system was “not producing high-quality outcomes and was rigid, outdated, and resistant to reform” (Brewer et al., 2007: iii). In 2001 in an effort to alter this trend, the Qatari government contracted RAND, a nonprofit research organization, to conduct a comprehensive examination of Qatar’s K-12 education system. RAND’s analysis pointed out that the quality of education was low, the curriculum was outdated, graduating students did not perform well in postsecondary education or the workplace and often needed remediation, and the current educational system emphasized memorization and offered an unchallenging curriculum (Brewer et al., 2007). The existing educational system was highly centralized and there were few strategies to evaluate and monitor policies and processes. Also, RAND pointed out that there was little communication and shared vision among education stakeholders, because of in part, the top-down decision-making policies (Ellili-Cherif and Romanowski, 2013).

Upon the completion of its analysis, RAND offered three options and the Qatari government decided to implement a charter school model designed to decentralize education by developing what was termed independent schools. The model was based on four principles: (a) autonomy for schools; (b) accountability through a comprehensive assessment system; (c) variety in schooling alternatives; and (d) choice for parents, teachers, and school operators. This led to the 2003 launching of Qatar’s educational initiative titled “Education for a New Era” that was designed to reform public education (Qatar National Development Strategy 2011–2016, 2011). The reform included plans for implementing the reform, including the development of the Supreme Education Council, the Education Institute, and the Evaluation Institute to replace the Ministry of Education (Nasser, 2017). In addition, a standards-based system to guide schools, curriculum, assessment and professional development was developed (Nasser, 2017). It is important to note that the independent schools have recently been renamed government schools, which was the name of the schools prior to the reform.

Consequently in 2007, the Qatar National Professional Standards for School Teachers and Leaders (QNPSTSL) were developed and implemented. The QNPSTSL are a set of standards for teachers and administrators that provide common reference points for educators developing their careers at the government schools (Supreme Education Council, 2007). In January 2014, a Committee was established to consider revising the Professional Standards. The QNPSTSL were examined and new standards were produced based on seven years’ experience of implementation and feedback from school practitioners (National Professional Standards for Teachers and School Leaders, 2015). Within the QNPSTSL, there are standards and statements that emphasize the establishment of constructive and cooperative relationships between teachers and students and teachers and parents. Hence, a review of the standards indicates that principals must promote and establish “a culture of tolerance, mutual respect and cooperation in the school community” (National Professional Standards for Teachers and School Leaders, 2015). Therefore, since Qatar’s government schools are highly diverse, there is a need for principals to be equipped to deal with the challenges of diversity and to capitalize on the potential benefits within their particular school.

Notions of diversity

There are numerous views and understandings of diversity (Lumby and Morrison, 2010). Kreitz posits that many writers consider diversity as “any significant difference that distinguishes one individual from another—a description that encompasses a broad range of overt and hidden qualities” (Kreitz, 2008: 2). Williams states, “diversity should be delineated in the contexts of customs, cultural and religious experiences, personal experiences, historical and political knowledge and much more” (Williams, 2002: paragraph 2).

According to Shields and Sayani (2005), diversity is often equated with cultural diversity. Cultural diversity has been defined as “the representation, in one social system, of people with distinctly different group affiliations of cultural significance” (Cox, 1993: 6). In addition, Iles and Kaur Hayers (1997) explain that cultural diversity is the extent to which individuals in the population are considered to be detached from characteristics and unstated norms of the dominant group. In Qatar’s government schools, the concern is that teachers from various nations and cultural backgrounds are perceived to be distant from Qatari culture.

Because of the diversity in Qatar’s government schools, it is important to consider national culture and differences in this discussion of diversity. Hofstede defines culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another” (Hofstede, 2001: 9) and considers national culture as consisting of the values and beliefs that individuals acquire during childhood that are deeply rooted throughout one’s life. Trompenaars suggests that every national population shares a unique national culture that is shared between people in a society or country and acquired through socialization (Trompenaars, 1993).

Nazarian and Atkinson, suggest that national culture affects “organisational culture and it can be deduced that national culture values have an impact on organisational effectiveness” (Nazarian and Atkinson, 2012: 74). Considering Qatar’s government schools and national culture, the Qatari national culture and the diverse national cultures that expatriate teachers bring to Qatar’s government schools could play a role in the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the school. Therefore, it would be beneficial for principals to develop “an understanding of the relationship between organizational effectiveness and national culture” (Nazarian and Atkinson, 2012: 73). In addition, Smith (1991) confirms that national identity involves the attachment to a particular national culture. For example, Exell and Rico state that, “the nation-states of the Arabian Peninsula are now becoming openly and aggressively involved in the preservation, representation and invention of their own individual and distinct tangible national culture and heritage” (Exell and Rico, 2013: 675). Because of globalization, it becomes challenging for national cultures to maintain their distinctiveness (Ariely, 2012). This is relevant in Qatar and could influence how diversity is understood and addressed in Qatar’s government schools.

However, one concern is that the term diversity is defined and understood quite often with little consideration of the complexity of the meaning, resulting in simplistic understanding of diversity. Hence, diversity is reduced to the visible or observable characteristics of culture such as food or dress and often void of the issues of discrimination and equity. Therefore, there is a need for administrators to develop a broader and deeper understanding of diversity that includes social justice and equity (Marshall and Oliva, 2006). This requires that principals develop an awareness of the “ways schools as formal organizations historically and systemically limit life opportunities and marginalize particular groups” (Ingram and Walters, 2007: 36). When principals incorporate diversity and social justice in their leadership, teachers, students and parents will reap the benefits.

Benefits of faculty diversity

Studies have reported that having a diverse faculty provides positive benefits for all students (Chaika, 2005; Collins and Kritsonis, 2006; Graham 2014; Miller and Endo, 2005). When schools foster, develop, and manage diversity, both faculty and students experience achievement, growth and success (Gardenswartz and Rowe, 2009). The key advantage that a diverse faculty can provide is that when students interact with others from diverse backgrounds, they achieve greater active thinking, academic engagement, and motivation (Gurin, 1999). For example, Hyman and Jacobs (2009) contend that diversity enhances social development, prepares students for career success in a global society, increases one’s knowledge base, enhances self-awareness, and enriches multiple perspectives. In addition, Graham states, “having a racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse teaching force provides students with multiple perspectives that allow them to gain a greater understanding of the world around them” (Graham, 2014: paragraph 3).

Considering the purpose of education, it is often argued that schools should produce productive citizens who are exposed to different cultures because it is important for students to be equipped to respect others, appreciate diversity, and value differences as they live in a racially and ethnically diverse world (Collins and Kritsonis, 2006). For this to be achieved, students must be provided with positive opportunities to interact with diverse individuals so that they will “learn to be more accepting of different races and cultures, thus making them more culturally aware” (Collins and Kritsonis, 2006: 2). However, the benefits of diversity do not simply occur by default. This requires that principals are capable of positively addressing diversity within their schools (Combs, 2002).

Principals and faculty diversity

In order to promote diversity and gain benefits from a diverse faculty, principals must develop self-awareness about their own beliefs about diversity and the challenges that diversity brings (Madsen and Mabokela, 2005). Walker and Quong state that in order “to advance learning and school improvement, leaders need to recognize and challenge the confines of sameness and move toward valuing and learning from difference” (Walker and Quong, 1998: 81). Furthermore, educational leaders must develop a confidence in their leadership in order to address conflicts and develop relational partnerships among diverse groups (Madsen and Mabokela, 2005). In addition, principals are expected to promote diversity awareness within their faculty (Banks, 1993).

Since principals influence how faculty members respond to diversity, school leaders have the power to positively shape teachers’ views about diversity. Thomas (2008) argues that a faculty’s negative beliefs regarding diversity can lead to diminished group cohesiveness, absenteeism, and teacher turn-over. This requires principals to be aware of how their faculty understands diversity. Urquhart states:

For principals, the challenges that accompany diversity issues are offset by an abundance of opportunities to create a culture of tolerance and understanding. Principals can and should capitalize on these opportunities and experience the richness that diversity can bring to their schools. (Urquhart, 2002: 26)

This includes the ability to motivate faculty from different cultural backgrounds, and also possess the desire and skill to learn about the culture of the school and create a climate where teachers with diverse backgrounds can work together to improve the school and student learning. Terrell and Lindsey (2008), point out the “culturally proficient” leader is concerned with how to access and use their own cultural knowledge in order to manage and utilize diversity in their schools and to encourage teachers to learn about others. This demands that principals develop inter-cultural competency, that is, “the ability to develop targeted knowledge, skills and attitudes that lead to visible behaviour and communication that are both effective and appropriate in intercultural interactions” (Deardorff, 2006: 249). Thus, it is essential that educational leaders have the ability and capacity to be active change agents, leaders who are able to take initiative and create organizational change (Senior and Fleming, 2006). In this case, the change would be to develop an inclusive school in order to benefit from a diverse faculty.

Research methodology

Research methods and design

This paper examines the perspectives of principals in Qatar’s government schools regarding faculty diversity. More specifically, it explores how these principals define and understand notions of diversity, their understandings of the influences of diversity within their school, the challenges and issues that arise as a result of a diverse faculty, and more importantly how as principals they address diversity with their faculty. The research questions for the study are as follows.

How do principals define diversity in the context of their faculty and school?

What do these principals see as challenges, benefits, and issues that arise with a diverse faculty?

How do these principals deal with their diverse faculty?

This study is embedded in the interpretive paradigm that examines an occurrence from the informants’ viewpoint and experience taken at face value (Van Esch and Van Esch, 2013). Qualitative research can provide insights into real-life occurrences and is an effective way to study participants’ involvement in a particular context (Van Mannen, 1998). This study is exploratory using open-ended questions to provide emerging narratives, new ideas, and meanings that enable researchers to explain an occurrence from the respondents’ perspectives (Cohen et al., 2007). For this type of study, interviewing is an appropriate tool to gather responses. The study used convenience sampling to select the schools throughout Qatar and the sample included 20 principals, 10 females and 10 male principals from 4 primary schools, 8 preparatory schools, and 8 secondary schools.

An interview guide was developed based on the research questions. The three researchers discussed the research questions and developed several questions that would be used in the interviews. For example, principals were asked, “considering your school and faculty, how would you define diversity?” Also, “are there any challenges or issues you face as a principal because of the faculty diversity in your school?” These were piloted with three current graduate students who are also principals in Qatar’s government schools. Probing was used throughout the interviews to further develop the principals’ responses and to develop relevant examples. When possible, interviews were tape-recorded. All interviews were conducted in Arabic, transcribed and then translated into English for analysis. Each interview lasted approximately 25–45 minutes.

Data analysis

Bogdan and Biklen define qualitative data analysis as “working with data, organizing it, breaking it into manageable units, synthesizing it, searching for patterns, discovering what is important and what is to be learned, and deciding what you will tell others” (Bogdan and Biklen, 2002: 145). The goal of qualitative data analysis is to construct meanings and understandings that emerge from the collected data. Upon completion of the data collection, transcripts were developed. Data were analyzed using content analysis to establish the existence and frequency of the various themes that emerged from the data. Preliminary descriptive categories were developed and used to identify the patterns. These patterns were coded and organized in ways that facilitated the identification of possible themes and patterns. This included selecting, focusing, condensing, and transforming data guided by thinking about which data best answer the research questions. Two of the investigators analyzed the data. During the analysis, interview data were coded and organized in ways that facilitated the identification of meaningful themes and patterns. Emerging themes were identified then content analyzed and relevant quotes were integrated into various themes in order to support or refute particular findings. The end goal was to provide an accurate account of the principals’ perspectives regarding the issue of faculty diversity in their particular school.

Findings

The results of this study are presented in three sections, each addressing a research question by providing the major themes that emerged from the data. In this study, 20 principals, 10 females and 10 male principals from 4 primary schools, 8 preparatory schools, and 8 secondary schools provided their perspectives on faculty diverse in their particular school. In order to develop a valid narrative and interpretation of the data and to ensure confidentiality and identity protection, each principal is identified using an interview number, M (male) or F (female), and the letters P (primary school), PR (preparatory school) and/or S (secondary school) to represent the type of school.

Defining diversity: principals’ perspectives

Informants were asked to define diversity from their perspective as principals. Findings indicated that the principals provided “textbook definitions” of diversity and acknowledged varied forms of diversity including different skills and abilities, backgrounds and experiences, socio-economic status, different academic levels, religion, ideas, thoughts, and teaching methods. One principal (20FS) illustrates this understanding stating, “diversity means having different nationalities, cultures, and socio-economic status, different abilities in students and staff, different nationalities, different academic achievement of students.”

However, the overriding theme emerging from these interviews is that nationality and culture are the dominant factors that define diversity in this particular context. Analysis of the interviews indicated that 75% of principals included nationality and culture in their definition of diversity. This is evident in several principals’ responses when asked to define diversity in relation to their particular faculty and school. For example, one principal (9MS) stated, “diversity means having teachers, students and administrative staff from nationalities, cultures and traditions” while another principal (11FPR) added “beliefs and religions” to the concept of diversity. Another principal (5MPR) moved this further by acknowledging that nationality and culture lead to different ways of thinking. The principal stated, “diversity means having different nationalities and cultures in one place. Having different opinions and ideas.” It is essential to emphasize the importance of the component of nationality in the principals’ understanding of diversity, because embedded in the following discussion regarding diversity and schools, the word nationality becomes synonymous with diversity.

Benefits, influences and challenges of a diverse faculty

Considering the benefits and influences faculty diversity can have in schools, principals provided an overall positive view of diversity by describing the benefits of a diverse faculty. One principal (13FPR) stated, one benefit is the “exchange of ideas and getting to know different cultures,” while another principal (10MS) thought “diverse faculty and students create a positive, successful educational environment that enriches the values of the Qatari society.” Another principal (12FPR) indicated that having a “diversified faculty enriches education.” This is supported by another informant (6MS) who expressed the following perspective, “you see how education in Qatar has improved during the last years…this is due 50% to government funding and 50% to qualified, experienced, diversified, international faculty.”

Another viewpoint (19FS) regarding faculty diversity is located in the idea that a diverse faculty “provides benefits such as having different points of view helps solve issues properly and easily and diversity brings excellence in education and promotes national identity.” One example provided by a female preparatory principal (17) supports this position by arguing that “education in Qatar was previously dominated by negative practices, but now, the diversified faculty criticizes many of those [older and ineffective] practices and together with the administration, we are trying to reduce them or even put an end to them.”

A male secondary principal (8) stated that having a diversity faculty “leads to exchange of ideas, thoughts and cultures,” while other principals suggested that having a diverse faculty provides different insight into particular issues stating:

During faculty meetings to discuss any issue, I am pleased to listen to teachers’ ways of dealing with the issue. The different ways brought by teachers are the fruit of the different cultures they come from. If teachers were all from the same culture, their ideas would be similar. (3MPR)

I have teachers from 11 countries, all with a university education (BA and MA) each with a different educational background and each with different teaching experiences in different settings. When they joined my school, they brought with them long years of experience, knowledge in their subject-matters and different teaching methods that help enrich education in Qatar. (7MS)

When principals were asked directly what are the influences of faculty diversity in their particular school, some principals provide responses that describe negative influences of diversity. For example, a principal (6MS) stated, “another influence is every nationality tries to impose its culture on Qatar…We should shape them [teachers] to serve Qatar.” When probed, this principal argued that expatriate teachers speak different dialects of Arabic. He stated, “Students start to speak that Arabic [dialect] instead of speaking standard Arabic.” Another principal (12FPR) demonstrated similar thoughts stating, “all students pronounce the Arabic letters the way [the expatriate teacher] does. This is can become a problem.” Finally, one principal (13FPR) summed up this concern, “imposing a dialect on the Qatari students leads to a loss of traditional Arabic language.” As you can see, the above comments from principals demonstrate both the positive and negative aspects of a diverse faculty.

Findings also provided insight into the challenges these principals face when working with a diverse faculty. Principals reported several challenges facing school leadership that required attention. One principal commented, “Having a diversified faculty isn’t an easy matter. It’s a challenge. It needs a strong and conscious management to lead a diverse faculty. That’s why some principals prefer to have one nationality to be able to deal with it.” It is clear from the comment that having a diverse faculty can initiate possible challenges and conflicts. As one principal (18FS) stated the challenge is, “how to stop conflicts arising between different cultures especially at the beginning of working together.”

Several principals voiced their anxiety regarding the challenges emerging when different nationalities work together. There were two principals who expressed a concern regarding the number of particular nationalities. Principal (10MS) stated that there are “problems when all the staff is from the same nationality.” Another (18FS) not only indicated the possible conflicts but provided within the statement how these conflicts should be addressed stating, the challenge is “how to reduce the number of certain nationalities at school because a large number from the same nationality stands against the others and tries to bully them…most new comers try to impose their cultures on us. This is very dangerous especially if there’s a large number of this nationality.” The concern about imposing cultures is not uncommon in the GCC. Abdulla (2006) suggests that GCC states have expressed a concern about cultural globalization. That is, the concern that the movement of ideas, attitudes and values cross national borders, thereby transcending local culture and traditions and transforming local culture. Furthermore, the potential of negative consequences from globalization on national identity and culture is in the minds of the governments and citizens of the GCC (Al Thani, 2017). In this case, the concern is that the large numbers of expatiate teachers could play a role in withering away local culture and traditions, thereby having an impact on national identity (Al Thani, 2017). As indicated by these comments, it is clear there are challenges and possible conflicts centering on diversity, in this case nationality.

A male secondary principal’s (10) statement indicated this concern when he stated, there are “conflicts between teachers occurring at the beginning of the year because of different points of view, different ideologies and religious beliefs.” Another principal (3MPR) stated, “problems arise when having different religions.” There are different practices within the various religions and this can cause conflict with students and even other faculty members. Some students do not accept religions other than their own, therefore, they create problems for the teacher even if he is a good teacher. Finally, one principal (14FPR) indicated possible problems with parents when she stated, “parents interfere when they learn that a certain teacher is not a Muslim. They are afraid that this teacher influences the religion of their children.” In addition, this principal reported it is important “to convince parents not to evaluate teachers on the basis of their nationalities but on their academic achievements.”

These challenges are not limited to faculty but also involve teacher and student relationships. For example, one male preparatory principal (2) stated that the challenges center on “how to make faculty change their way of dealing with students and parents because students in Qatar are different from students in other Arab states. Another challenge is the way teachers deal with Qatari students.” Several principals made comments providing insight into the possible conflicts between expatriate teachers and Qatari students. These are as follows:

Teachers come with practices from their own teaching experiences in their countries and try to impose them on Qatari students. This doesn’t work. Qatari students are different and when the teacher plays the role of the boss in class, he fails. (18FS)

Qatar culture is different. A teacher cannot expect from a Qatari student in preparatory or secondary to stand up when talking or to put his hand up to ask a question (4MPR)

Many Arab teachers use negative language with their students in their home countries, or using other punishment policies. This does not work in Qatar. (10MS)

These principals provide a very insightful and important element of diversity in the government schools. It seems some expatriate teachers are not fully aware of Qatari culture and dismiss knowing the local culture as an important aspect of teaching. Simple interactions can become problematic at times. For example, one male preparatory principal (4) points out, “some words that are accepted in other Arab countries are taboos here. Teachers should learn about the culture and avoid using them” and “giving something to a Qatari using the left hand is very rude & is considered lack of respect.” These types of interactions send subtle messages about respect or lack of respect for another’s culture.

Principals also addressed the issue of non-national teachers and Qatari culture. This issue is based on the idea that if teachers learn about and embrace Qatar’s culture there would be less conflict within schools. One principal (9MS) states that the “Challenge is to get teachers out of their ‘shells/safe zone’ and get them to accept the new culture.” Another principal (13FPR) argues that there is a “challenge in different dialects and cultures. For example, what is considered as a value in some countries might not have the same value in Qatar. The challenge is to make teachers understand the culture of the country [Qatar].” Other comments that indicated a concern for this issue are as follows:

Another challenge is to make teachers change their attitudes and practices to cope with the culture of Qatar. Changing attitudes takes a long time. We need to train teachers on how to change their attitudes to cope with the country. (7MS)

The time new teachers take to adapt to the culture of the country is long if they fail to adapt they decide to leave. (14FPR)

How to make the culture of Qatar clear to non-Arabic speaking nationalities. (11FP)

Furthermore, other principals stated, there is a “lack of understanding to the culture of the country and this creates problems between teachers and students…students do not accept some nationalities” (18FS) and one principal (10MS) explained:

Issues arise from challenges faced. How can we make teachers deal with Qatari students (secondary boys) with respect? These boys are responsible men in their houses. There are conflicts between teachers and boys…Lack of understanding of cultural backgrounds of students and the lack of understanding in different dialects spoken by teachers and students.

There were several suggestions as to how to address teacher–student cultural conflicts. Principal 11 (FP) stated, “how to make teachers forget about the way they dealt with students in their countries and embrace a new way of dealing with Qatari students.” Another principal (7MS) offered some advice, “teachers in Qatar should forget about the methods they used in their countries because they don’t fit here.”

These challenges are not limited to teachers and students but extend to relations between teachers and parents. However, the challenges with parents and diversity reflect those of students. One principal (13FP) states, there is a challenge “with parents when they can’t understand the different cultures at school or they refuse to accept them.” More importantly, there are “problems with parents when the faculty does not speak Arabic.” Principal (9MS) stated, “Challenges arise when some members of staff do not speak Arabic. This makes parents complain because they can’t deal with them. How to convince parents to accept the teacher is a big challenge.” Furthermore, “some parents favour certain nationalities over others and link teachers’ work to nationality.”

In closing, principals raised several important challenges that are often discussed regarding expatriate teachers in Qatar and increasing the capacity of Qatar nationals as teachers. First, one principal (8MS) states:

How to change certain attitudes and beliefs of some teachers who think they are here in Qatar to make money and leave after a few years. This way, they will not develop a sense of belonging and will fail. How to make teachers believe they are here to educate a generation and help this country develop.

This raises questions about some expatriate teachers’ lack of commitment to the society, schools, and students.

Second, there were some problems that emerged when “teachers who complain that things are done quickly for certain nationalities not for others (8MS).” This same principal commented on this issue, “how can we make teachers get rid of their beliefs that they are in ‘second rank’ and do not have equal rights? Qatar is developing fast and some teachers do not cope with this fast development. They lag behind even if they spent long years in Qatar.”

Finally, a fundamental concern in Qatar is the lack of Qatari teachers. This principal (18FS) raised this concern:

Having a diverse faculty is an issue because we need to have Qatari teachers in schools especially male teachers. We need Qatarization of education because the Qatari teacher is more respected by the students and parents. It’s the role of the College of Education at Qatar University to take care of this issue and provide us with Qatari male teachers.

The government and higher education officials are quite aware of the shortage and incentives are provided to draw Qataris (especially males) into the field of education. However, the low salaries, the perception that the Qatar educational system is not good, coupled with a wide range of high paying employment choices available to Qataris makes it difficult to solve or prevent this shortage. These above issues are common regarding not only teachers but also many areas of the workforce in Qatar where the majority of workers are expatriates.

Principals dealing with a diverse faculty

The majority of these principals are quite aware of the challenges and conflicts a diverse faculty can bring to the school. However, the principals are not passive observers but rather they attempt to develop and manage diverse faculty. Principals provided their perspectives and examples regarding how they manage a diverse faculty.

A common thought among expatriates is the different or unequal treatment they received compared to their Qatari colleagues. At this point, it is important to note that there are differences that exist between teachers in the government schools in Qatar often based on nationality. Generally, working conditions for expatriate teachers are very different from national teachers. In Qatar, expatriate teachers lack job security, there is little chance of promotion or advancement, and there is a lack equality in pay among colleagues where expatriate teachers’ salary is approximately half of national teachers (Ridge et al., 2017). Although this is a source of tension and often debated, principals also addressed this issue. For example, one principal (5MPR) addresses this issue stating “I deal with my faculty in an equal way no matter what their nationality. We have rules and regulations from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to treat everyone on an equal basis.” When probed the principal provides an example stating:

Teachers who miss school regularly without justifications are given warning then an action of transfer to other schools or dismissal is taken if the teacher continues missing school…many Qatari teachers’ contracts were terminated and many were transferred to further schools as punishment.

Another example provided by a principal (10MS) is “some incompetent Qatari teachers were dismissed while some competent non-Qatari teachers received certificates of excellence in teaching.” In support of this example another principal (15FPR) stated, “We deal with teachers in an equal way irrespective of their nationalities. We reward teachers on the same basis, no difference between Qatari and non-Qatari. We look at teachers’ competences not at their nationalities.” This same principal indicated, “if I have a competent non-Qatari teacher, I do my best to keep her at school regardless of the Qatarization policy. I value my competent teachers in this preparatory girls’ school. I deal with my teachers with respect.” The Qatarization policy sets quotas “for the percentage of Qataris employed in specific sectors, including Independent schools” (Zellman, et al., 2009: xxii).

These principals point out that the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE) is aware of the problems that may arise regarding a diversified faculty and the possible unequal treatment that could result. Some principals mentioned that they report their concerns to MOEHE either in writing or in their meetings with MOEHE officials or discussing them with MOEHE officials when they visit schools. Several principals supported this perspective by reporting that the MOEHE provides a plan on how to deal with international faculty and staff and principals. Also, some teachers completed a program designed for working in the State of Qatar. The program includes addressing Qatar educational politics, the school environment, the QNPSTSL, and a variety of basic pedagogical methods such as teaching strategies and the designing of objectives are addressed. However, the program is not consistently offered and more importantly, none of the principals in this study made reference to the program.

A primary school principal (2 M) states, “We have standards and rules from the ministry to deal with all nationalities with respect.” Another principal (15FPR) stated she used the “rules and regulations to deal with all staff and try to create a safe environment for all.” By safe environment she “tried to create a place free of any harassment from parents, students, or other teachers that target certain nationalities. All nationalities are respected and welcomed and teachers’ qualifications, experiences and competences are highly valued.” The above examples indicate there are rules and regulations that govern how principals must address the diverse faculty in their schools. It becomes evident that principals applied these as appropriate. Qatar National Vision 2030 targets the participation of international labor by recruiting the qualified labor, “protecting their rights, securing their safety, and retaining those who are outstanding among them” (General Secretariat for Development Planning, 2008: 18).

Also, principals indicated that they knew that it is essential to be aware of the important role of culture in schools and that they need to develop this awareness in their faculty. In addition, principals need to work at encouraging faculty to develop a respect for other cultures. One principal (9MS) reported that she tries to develop a blend “of cultures to create a new culture ‘school culture’. We set something called ‘Enterprise culture’ where every teacher was involved to set the principles and values. So now we have common values taken from the different values of each.” This principal provided an example stating that one important value that governs school life is “mutual respect between teachers and students; how teachers treat these secondary male students and what words or titles they use when talking to them…Mr or Sheikh…and how students should treat their teachers with respect.” Another principal (16FPR) provided her way of working with diversity faculty. She reported:

We base our relationships on mutual respect. I respect their cultures and values. And they have to respect culture of Qatar. For example, teachers should wear decent clothes (Hijab), short trousers and jeans aren’t allowed and the teacher should cover her head when leaving school so that she can be a role model to the girls in this preparatory school.

This principal further developed this point, describing how the schools held different informal meetings after school or even out of school with her international/Arab staff. Faculty members also prepared traditional dishes and wear traditional dress to show to their colleagues.

A secondary school principal (20F) added to this perspective of diversity reporting, “we deal with all teachers in an equal way, no matter what their nationality. As principals have to learn about the cultures of different nationalities so that it helps us bridge the gap between us and facilitates understanding.” This principal asks teachers from different Arab countries to prepare presentations with pictures and videos and present their cultures and inform colleagues in an informal “cultural meeting.” This is done with the new nationalities that joined the independent schools in recent years (Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco) because culture is different in those countries. The above examples address the cultural differences but these only touch the surface areas of culture such as dress and food.

Discussion

It is important to realize that Qatar’s reform has included extensive educational policy borrowing in order to improve their educational systems. Phillips (2004) defines the process of educational borrowing as “policy makers in one country seek to employ ideas taken from the experience of another country” (Phillips, 2004: 54). The educational products and policies borrowed include a range of presuppositions about human nature, curriculum and learning, and in this study, diversity. Educational borrowing leaves numerous challenges and one is the defining and implementation of concepts such as diversity.

We would argue that Qatar’s reform has embraced many Western views about education and this is evident with the issue of diversity when diversity is defined and presented as a Western concept based on Western research. Western definitions, theories, and practices are presented to Qatar’s schools, and leaders and teachers are then asked to implement these in their particular context. Knowing how diversity has obtained its meanings in the realm of the Qatar educational system is important to better understand both how diversity is addressed in Qatar and how the challenges and issues facing principals in Qatar may reflect those in the West.

Having said that, findings from this study indicate that principals first offered “textbook answers” as they define diversity and did not always provide supporting examples. One could infer that these answers are greatly influenced by educational borrowing as mentioned above. Principals have completed various professional development programs that address leadership, inclusion, learning styles and other topics relevant to diversity. However, as the interviews progressed, we begin to see how the concept of diversity is defined and understood by these principals.

Principals are quite aware of diversity in their schools and for them, diversity primarily means different nationalities, cultures, and religions. Since nationality plays a dominant role in culture in the GCC, it is expected that nationality and concerns over national culture are the dominant characteristics of and concerns about diversity according to these principals. From this we see that the concept of diversity and related practices differs from a Western context. This understanding of diversity must be considered regarding the interpretation of these findings.

In addition, principals indicated that they are aware of the benefits a diverse faculty can have on schools, such as enriching education by the exchange of ideas, which reflect different cultures, and constructing national identity. When probed, we begin to see a drift from the “textbook” responses about the benefits, and discussion begins to expose what is occurring in their particular schools and the various challenges and conflicts. However, principals provide textbook benefits of diversity but there were few detailed examples of how diversity specifically benefits their schools.

Findings indicate that Qatari principals manage and address diversity in a variety of ways in their schools. There was little in-depth discussion or examples of specific strategies that principals use in addressing diversity or any suggestions or discussion about building a strong school culture that embraces the differences between faculty members. Some principals attempt to make diverse teachers cope with the culture of Qatar and get them to accept the new culture, thereby hoping to minimize conflicts within school. Amaram states that “the traditional approach to handling multiculturalism in complex organizations has been to expect members of the minority culture to adapt to the cultural requirements of the majority group” (Amaram, 2007: 1). However, this assimilation lacks fairness and justice, and usually when cultural conflicts occur between the dominant culture and minorities the issues are resolved in favor of dominant the culture creating barriers for minorities to full participation (Amaram, 2007). From our experiences teaching and researching in Qatar, we would argue that this approach is dominant.

Examples provided by principals provide insight into the lack of complexity in their understandings and the way they address diversity. For instance, activities such as preparing traditional dishes, presentations, wearing traditional dress and making sure respect is demonstrated by wearing the appropriate clothing (i.e., Hijab and conservative clothing), indicate a rather simplistic understanding of culture that addresses the artifacts of culture while never addressing the exposed values and underlying assumptions (Schein, 1992) which are often the source of cultural conflict.

There was also a concern about national culture, identity, and organizational effectiveness embedded in these findings. For example, some principals address the influence of faculty diversity in their school, such as imposing a specific culture or dialect on students that could lead to a loss of Arabic language and Arabic identity and may affect the relationships between teachers and students and even parents. The loss of Arabic identity is a dominant theme within Qatar since the implementation of Qatar’s educational reform and it is not surprising that this is linked to various nationalities teaching in the schools. As previously mentioned, there is an attempt in the GCC countries to preserve national culture and heritage and maintain their distinctiveness. This is evident in some of the principals’ comments (Ariely, 2012; Exell and Rico, 2013).

Abu–Shawish states, “with such diverse cultures represented within the government schools, the issues of whose culture is developed in the school, whose values are represented and whose culture is valued are all issues that need to be addressed” (Abu–Shawish, 2016: 187). Some principals expressed a concern regarding conflicts that may arise in their schools as a result of having a large number of staff from the same nationality and how to address these conflicts such as developing a blended culture or “a new school culture” that considers “common values taken from the different values of each.” This is a good first step. According to Denison et al. (2004) and Hofstede et al. (2010) in order for organizations (in this context schools) to be effective, the national culture and value of all employees should be developed. This demands that school leaders create communities of difference that center on relationships, understandings of identity and difference, and dialogue (Shields, 2004). Educational leaders must develop and utilize culturally appropriate strategies that can be used to address diversity issues and build a school culture that embraces difference.

Therefore, we suggest that it is the school principal that must take the lead and develop a school culture that respects diversity because principals set the climate for cultural acceptance for the school (McCray et al., 2004). Based on the large diverse Qatari schooling context, we advocate for principals to engage in cross-cultural leadership defined as the “inter- and intra-cultural variations can be better understood by taking context into account (Hong and Mallorie, 2004: 60). According to Shields and Sayani this type of leadership “refers to attempts to lead across cultures, in other words to find some generic approaches to leadership that hold across time, place and socio-cultural context” (Shields and Sayani, 2005: 383). We would argue that principals are aware and provide teachers with opportunities to teach others about their culture and developing a respect for others’ culture, which is a nice starting point. However, when teachers bring their unique culture and perspectives into schools, the school, classrooms and interaction become quite complex and often contested. This requires principals to create a space for understanding, respect, and the development of an attitude that begins to see value in others, skills, knowledge, understandings of the world and their culture.

Principals must embrace the dispositions that enable them to understand, interpret, and act as agents of social justice and fairness as they address diversity in schools. Cherkowski states that school leaders are the ones who “can decide that inclusion, diversity, and multiculturalism become a way of life of school organisation and not merely an initiative by regularly engaging in discussions about who and what the culture of the school reflects” (Cherkowski, 2010: 29). This can best be summed up by Shields and Sayani, “an educational leader must consider the spaces of the school, both physical and metaphorical, as locations for inclusion, acceptance and respect or alternatively as locations for marginalization, exclusion, and despair” (Shields and Sayani, 2005: 385). Whether developing learning communities, actively seeking out new ideas, incorporating cultural awareness, principals must embrace cultural diversity, promote social justice and work at reaping the benefits of diversity because the benefits of having a diverse faculty will not occur by default.

Limitations of this study

There were several limitations regarding this research. First, this is an exploratory or initial study that examines the issue of diversity in Qatar’s government schools. The study was designed to simply explore the topic, and the findings are not conclusive. Rather, these findings should be used as the basis for future research studies, to conduct research design and to determine the best way to collect additional data. The findings can be useful to develop a questionnaire that could survey a large sample of teachers and/or students. Second, the data were self-reported and this could suggest that some of the responses might not be entirely accurate, particularly when addressing issues of diversity because principals may not want to provide a negative perspective. This concern might have constituted a difficulty recruiting some principals. Finally, we decided to limit this study to principals based on the reasoning that principals are responsible for implementing the country’s educational policies and practices. It would be valuable for future studies to triangulate these findings by examining teachers’ and assistant principals’ perspectives regarding not only principals’ understandings and awareness of diversity, but more importantly, the climate and actions that occur in school. Moreover, additional studies that examine the perspectives of teachers, students, and parents should be conducted. Nevertheless, the study provides valuable insight regarding principals’ perspectives toward faculty diversity in several of Qatar’s government schools.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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