Online session presented by Mr. Rabih Murr– Academic Principal of Ahliya School in Lebanon.

This session is based on a case study and academic research for a master’s degree by Mr. Rabih El-Murr on the experience of a school principal in a private school in Lebanon (the Ahliya School in which he works). The session shed light on one of the organizational frames, which is the political frame, especially the micropolitical level, and the strategies and procedures that the school principal can follow under it to reduce resistance from members of the institution while leading the change process and taking the school towards renewal and continuous improvement while being respectful of the context and identity of the institution.

The session was attended by about 45 practitioners and educational researchers from TAMAM participating schools in different Arab countries, in addition to members of the advisory board of Al-Ahlia School, which is a TAMAM-friend school.

The session began by presenting the reality of ineffective educational reform in the Lebanese context, as well as the context of the case school. Then the international literature was explored to describe change as a complex process that is accompanied by many challenges, as it undermines the status quo and the identity of the institution. It is also accompanied by resistance to change, which is considered one of the most important challenges of change from the perspective or the political framework of the institution, especially from the micropolitical lens. The study considers the latter a promising lens for understanding change in the Lebanese context and deals with the concept of self-interest that may conflict with the interest of the institution, and the role of the educational leader in adopting strategies and political methods to reduce resistance to change and overcome obstacles towards achieving it. The study showed that prior to initiating change plans and actions, it is imperative for the school principal to have a good understanding of the school’s culture and identity and build an understanding of the culture’s reactions and attitude to change, coupled with building a thorough awareness of the school’s micropolitics – mainly power dynamics and personal interest versus the interest of the institution. Another key strategy that emerged from the study is the school leadership’s differentiated approach in managing groups of teachers, mainly those who were pro-change and those who were still resisting change especially during the first micropolitical landscape. The case study underscores the importance of achieving educational change through strategies that transform the school toward continuous self-renewal rooted in its unique identity by following a bottom-up approach to change. The session concluded with the model Mr. Rabih established to delineate a grounded process for initiating and effecting change in a context like that of the case study school. The model is based on a theory of educational change aimed at transforming the school into an institution continuously engaged in self-renewal that is rooted in its unique identity. The session then was followed with discussion of comments and questions from the attendees.  

To view the session, click on the following link.

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In person presentation by Ms. Stephanie Jureidini: Reflections on the Development of an Arab Feminist Framework: Lessons Learned from a Critical Inquiry with Women Educational Leaders

On April 19, 2022, Ms. Stephanie Jureidini (PhD student at University of Wisconsin-Madison) delivered a presentation titled: “Reflections on the Development of an Arab Feminist Framework: Lessons Learned from a Critical Inquiry with Women Educational Leaders” at the 66th Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES). The presentation is based on a study that she conducted with Dr. Rima Karami to examine the experiences of women educational leaders in TAMAM. The presentation presented a critical reflection on the methodology used and discusses its implications for the development of an Arab feminist framework. The conference was held from April 18 to 22, 2022 under the theme “Illuminating the Power of Idea/lism”.

Here is the link for the Facebook Post.

Online session presented by Mr. Abdalla Yousfi – president of the Moroccan Association of Teachers of English (MATE).

This session highlighted the experience of the CIRCLES -Club of Instructional Resources for Culture and Language Enhancement which is an innovative initiative organized by MATE and aims at building the character of learners and fueling their talents and diverse soft skills. It also builds on the agency of teachers to engage in this initiative and acquire the training and learning needed to achieve the desired outcomes of this initiative.

It is worth noting that TAMAM and MATE are eager to inaugurate their collaboration as they both share common vision of school improvement capitalizing the role of teacher leadership for teachers to act as change agents that lead and actively contribute in the process of school-based improvement.

To view the session, click on the following link.

Here is the link for the Facebook Post.

In pursuit of continuing the partnership between TAMAM and Manhajiyat after the successful contribution of TAMAM in Manhajiyat issue 5 in July 2021 in which the steering team served as a guest editor of the articles of the issue’s thematic file entitled “التطوير المستند إلى المدرسة”, TAMAM will be involved during the years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 in a series of symposia which Manhajiyat holds monthly. The first of which took place on the 23^rd of March 2022 entitled “Action Research in the Arab World: A Tool for Innovation and School Improvement”. Mrs. Rayan Katerji from the steering team was the moderator of this session and three members of the TAMAM network Mr. Jamal Abdo from Lebanon, Mrs. Mariam Al Mashrafiah from Oman, and Ms. Karima Ouerjani from Morocco were among the presenters showcasing their experiences of action research employed in their improvement journeys with TAMAM.  Around 99 attendees were registered in the zoom session in addition to a big number of viewers on Facebook. The symposium was an opportunity to accentuate and diffuse the experiences of TAMAM and its designs to a wider audience of educators in the Arab world highlighting its effectiveness and relevance to this context.

To view the session, click on the following link.

Here is the link for the Facebook Post.

The partnership plan for this year between Al Maymouna Education and TAMAM project in collaboration with the Center for Civic Engagement & Community Service (CCECS) at AUB for aims at evaluating learning and teaching in Al Maymouna Schools and the empowerment of a Central Instructional Team that will later take on this task.  After the end of the first phase of this year’s plan, during which the learning outcomes were evaluated in Al Maymouna schools, the steering team held on March 18, 2022 a training workshop for the team members to present the progress of the evaluation process, the criteria that were adopted, the indicators for each criterion and the rubrics that were developed specifically for Al Maymouna  and which included standard levels that respect the specific context of Al Maymouna.  After the presentation, there was a think tank about the most important learned lessons by the team and the most prominent concerns about the process and its outcomes. The steering team also stressed during the training its keenness to adhere to TAMAM pillars during the evaluation process, so that the process is collaborative, experimental, based on inquiry, far from personalization, in order to reach decisions based on evidence and needs.The session was valuable, as the team expressed, and is considered an entry point to later dependency, in order to achieve the ambitions of Al Maymouna staff and its founder.

Here is the link for the Facebook Post.

Online workshop presented by Al-Kawthar TAMAM school improvement team members.

This session showcased the experience of Al Kawthar school in the field of social and emotional learning (SEL) and how it was adopted in the institution in terms of the curriculum, with teachers and learners. The concept of SEL and its competencies were defined with emphasis on how they were incorporated in the curriculum and the school educational plans. The team then demonstrated the strategies and tools used by Al-Kawthar school to support their teachers socially and emotionally amid the taxing times they are floundering through in Lebanon.

Click on the following link, to view the session.

Here is the link for the Facebook Post