Knowledge production on educational leadership and management in Arab societies: A systematic review of research

Abstract

The study that we report in this paper was undertaken within the context of recent efforts to diversify the global knowledge base in educational leadership and management (EDLM). This systematic review of research synthesized trends in EDLM research from Arab societies published between 2000 and 2016. In contrast with Oplatka and Arar's (2017) recent review of theories and findings within the Arab EDLM literature, this review focused on synthesizing trends in knowledge production. The review employed systematic methods to identify 62 articles published in nine core international EDLM journals. Information was extracted from the articles and analyzed using quantitative methods. Trends identified in the review were benchmarked against findings reported in recent reviews EDLM research from other developing societies in Asia and Africa. The review found that the Arab EDLM literature is relatively small, largely of recent vintage, and geographically dispersed. No ‘centers of research excellence’ were identified either in terms of societies or universities within the Arab world. The Arab EDLM literature is composed primarily of empirical studies with few conceptual or review papers. The authors conclude that this is an ‘emerging literature’ which bears similarities to literatures from other developing societies in Asia and Africa. Recommendations for strengthening future EDLM research from this region center on developing research capacity through international networking among Arab scholars and encouraging scholars to conceptualize distinctive features of leading and managing in Arab societies.