Research Themes
Research in TAMAM is on-going, building on a rich array of learning experiences in different types of schools and in various community contexts that emerge throughout the development work while building capacity for school basedimprovement. As a result, the TAMAM research outcome is mostly actionable geared towards refining the Capacity Building Program, and expanding its components to target a broader array of existing and potential challenges. Thorough documentation is ongoing in TAMAM, as such, TAMAM currently possess a rich data bank that captures the progress of all the activities being carried out towards achieving its strategic goals. This data bank can be categorized in many domains that are researchable and that promise to enrich the knowledge base on school-based improvement. These domains are:
Currently TAMAM has 15 publications (6 technical reports, 6 journal articles, one conference paper, one thesis and one book) in addition to several forthcoming publications that document the progress and outcomes of its research activities. These outcomes are also disseminated in the form of presentations in several regional and international conferences. TAMAM current research outcomes can be categorized under the following themes: Background research on school reform, development and implementation of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program, evaluation of TAMAM’s impact, and factors supporting or hindering school-based improvement.
Click on any theme to the right to access TAMAM’s research work.
Find the summary of the ongoing and completed research projects of TAMAM in the following link.
PART ONE INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: A Guide to the Resource Book A. Purpose of the Resource Book B. Audience of...
There is growing agreement that effective professional learning is enhanced when teachers connect and collaborate with colleagues (Hargreaves & Fullan,...
Karami-Akkary, R., Mahfouz, J., & Mansour, S. (November 2017). Sustaining School-based Improvement: Considering Emotional Responses to Change. University Council for Educational Administration...
Karami-Akkary, R., Meyers, C. (January 2020). Overcoming the barriers to Educational Change in the Arab Context: Examining pathways to building systemic...
Karami-Akkary, R., Mahfouz, J., & Mansour, S. (2019). Sustaining school-based improvement: considering emotional responses to change. Journal of Educational Administration....
The PST is supporting a member in the research team from Oman Ministry of Higher Education Research & Innovation and a graduate...
The PST is working to develop a comprehensive understanding of the influence of TAMAM experience on student learning from the...
Purpose: Inducing educational change in the Arab region seldom influences school organization or classroom instruction (Bashshur, 2005; Karami-Akkary, 2014; Shuayb,...
Masters Thesis – Rayan Katerji This research study involves an in-depth evaluation of TAMAM capacity building model in one of...
The study aimed at identifying the role of ‘TAMAM’ project in the administrative empowerment of schools in the Sultanate of...
The Impact of Collaborative Action Research on Inquiry Skills, Habits of Mind, and Orientations Toward Collaborative Action Research and Collaboration:...
After the conclusion of TAMAM project’s first phase, an evaluative case study was conducted to assess the impact its Capacity...
Highlights – Teachers showed varying growth in knowledge, skills and attitudes. – Professional learning of knowledge, skills and attitudes did...
Using narrative inquiry, the study offers a broad analysis of two principals’ profiles, pathways, and motivations to become inclusive leaders...
Despite the growing awareness of the need for educational reform, Arab reform attempts failed in positively influencing schools, classroom practices,...
MA Thesis by Stephanie Gabriella Jamil Jureidini This study examined the perceptions of Lebanese leaders and teachers about building school...
MA Thesis by Jennifer Cristine De Knight The aim of this study is to evaluate the alignment of the design...
MA Thesis by Layal Abdallah Abbas Fayad This study aimed at understanding the benefits and challenges of implementing a small...
The education wastage has various manifestations – notably the low level of academic achievement and performance of students – leading...
Karami-Akkary, R. (July 2018) Contextualizing teacher leadership for sustainable school-based improvement in the Arab region. BELMAS 2018. Presentation at the British Educational...
Karami-Akkary, R. & Mansour, S. (July 2018). Contextualizing and Elevating Student Leadership in the Arab Region: The journey of a...
Abstract The literature showed a near absence of research culture and knowledge production in the Arab world resulting lack of...
This report describes the case of TAMAM project as a new reform attempt in the Arab world that combines research...
This report describes the process followed by the Project Steering Team [PST] of the TAMAM project while designing and implementing...
TAMAM is a research and development project that adopts an evolving design approach in designing processes for school-based improvement that...
The TAMAM Lebanon Hub project was launched in 2015 with the aim of achieving school improvement that: 1) focuses on...
The purpose of the project was to obtain authentic, reflective, and critical perspectives of TAMAM participants regarding their experiences in...
This paper presents a descriptive case study of the TAMAM project as a new school reform initiative in the Arab...
Abstract The School Based Reform in Arab Countries (TAMAM) project aims to build leadershipcapacity for school-based reform. This paper asks:...
The PST is working to develop a comprehensive understanding of the influence of TAMAM experience on student learning from the...
The “TAMAM Resource Book” presents the TAMAM Capacity Building Program and makes it available as a resource for coaches who...
In the twenty first century, women are increasingly attaining gender equality with men in education and in the workforce (The...
Quality Indicators in Schools by Rana Ismail.This paper provided an overview on quality indicators in education. This paper aimed specifically...
Lessons Learned from School-Based Reform by Dr. Raouf Ghusayni.This paper presented an overview of school reform highlighting how there is...
Education systems in the world are vast organizations that are very complex to manage. They emerge over time and their...
Arab states have realized the importance of reviewing the state of education in their countries, and seeking the ways to...
Research by Design and School Improvement: A Review of Literature by Jamila MugharbilThis paper is divided into three major sections....
BouJaoude, S., Karami-Akkary, R. & Khuri, F.R. (2016). The challenges of sustainable education in the Arab world: AUB’s current and...
This report examines the design and approach of existing attempts at school reform in five Arab countries: Morocco, Egypt, Qatar,...
This paper discusses current educational reform attempts in the Arab world and their characteristics from the standpoint of international literature...
This paper pinpoints and discusses key aspects of the current approaches to school reform in the Arab world against the...
Karami-Akkary, R., Katerji, R.M., Sarrieddine, D., Katerji, R.R. (November 2020). The Experience of Schools in the Arab Region in Response...
Karami-Akkary, R., Katerji, R.M., Sarrieddine, D., Katerji, R.R. (2021), Sustaining School Improvement post the Pandemic: Teachers Empowerment for Leading Learning....
TAMAM Schools’ Experience during COVID-19
Conference papers and presentations
Sustaining School Improvement post the Pandemic: Teachers Empowerment for Leading Learning – Oman 2021.
Karami-Akkary, R., Katerji, R.M., Sarrieddine, D., Katerji, R.R. (2021), Sustaining School Improvement post the Pandemic: Teachers Empowerment for Leading Learning. Virtual Conference: Leadership for learning in disruptive times (COVID 19). College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. The Covid 19 pandemic revealed the depth of the educational crisis afflicting the education sector in the Arab countries and the weakness in the readiness of most schools in facing the challenges. The crisis has left thousands of students completely deprived of learning opportunities for periods, and in some cases, it has extended to the whole school year. Despite the global reach of this crisis, it has heavily weighed on the Arab educational systems, which are steeped in their stereotype and which are not keeping pace with the latest practices discussed in the educational research, particularly with regard to effective teaching methods. And despite some bright spots in some Arab countries, teachers have mostly faced the consequences of this pandemic with a sense of helplessness and panic over the future of their students and schools. With this reality, as the world prepares to re-frame the future of the educational process post-pandemic, Arab educators need to think about the effectiveness of the conceptions of our educational systems, particularly those dealing with the role of teachers and the tasks assigned to them in the school improvement process. Many academic researchers have agreed that leading learning and building leadership capacity in the school are directly related to learning effectiveness and student achievement as well as achieving sustainable school improvement (Darsh, 2001; Dorias, 2010; Lynn, 2002; Lethwood and Gantzi, 2005). Many school improvement initiatives in recent decades have focused on building teachers’ leadership capacities as a mean to achieve sustainable school-based improvement and have considered them as an essential pillar for the success of any reform initiative (Danielson, 2007; Dorias, 2010; Hilterbrunn, 2010; Katzenmayer and Muller, 2009). In this context, the definitions of effective leadership have varied, but it was linked to the concept of participatory and distributive leadership that transcend the authority of the position and gives the teacher opportunities to engage in different leadership roles in the school regardless of his /her job position. Consequently, the concept of leadership evolved to become within the scope of the teacher’s professional identity and extended this identity beyond the classroom. Hence, the teacher becomes a contributor in the process of leading learning in the school (Frost, 2012; Hallinger, 2010). The conference presentation discussed the results of a research study on the experience of four schools participating in the TAMAM project in facing the consequences of the pandemic and the nature and impact of the role played by lead team members as leaders of the learning and school-improvement processes. This research addressed two questions: What are the competencies that helped teachers in these schools to lead learning during this crisis? What is the impact of investing these competencies during this phase on the academic process and on the learning of students? TAMAM is a research and development project that aspires to establish an educational movement in the Arab world aimed at transforming the school into a self-innovative institution with a reservoir of leadership capabilities for sustainable change and innovation. TAMAM activities involve a Capacity Building Program that aims at enabling practitioners to gain leadership competencies that enhance their leadership capacities and increase their commitment and motivation to engage and lead the school-based improvement process. As for the sources of data for this research, the existing data was addressed through individual and collective communication that occurred with members of the TAMAM leadership teams in these schools during this phase and referred to all documented data within the activities of the TAMAM project. The data was qualitatively analyzed. Results showed that the schools that had participated in the TAMAM project showed high readiness to manage this crisis and to invest in the challenges for inducing change. It turns out that this readiness is because these schools have built leadership capacity to manage change and display innovation as a result of their teachers undergoing systematic training provided by the project that empowers them to act as leaders of change and to use their collective expertise to lead learning and sustain school-based improvement. The presentation of this research ended with recommendations at the research level and at the practice level in regard to school and educational policies to invest in the lessons learned from this crisis to achieve sustainable educational reform in the Arab region.
The Experience of Schools in the Arab Region in Response to Covid 19: A Critical Phase towards School-Based Improvement – Qatar 2020
Karami-Akkary, R., Katerji, R.M., Sarrieddine, D., Katerji, R.R. (November 2020). The Experience of Schools in the Arab Region in Response to Covid 19: A Critical Phase towards School-Based Improvement. International Virtual Conference: Covid 19: A Game Changer in Education: Reconnecting Virtually. National Center for Educational Development, NCED, College of Education, Qatar University, Qatar. Abstract The presentation discussed the reactions of the Arab schools with the resulting crisis from the Covid-19 pandemic, by presenting the experience of the schools participating in the TAMAM project. The Coronavirus pandemic has imposed a transformational change in education and allowed for an acceptance of this needed change. Schools in Arab counties showed varied readiness in its response to this crisis and management to its challenges and this is due to several reasons and conditions. However, the schools participating in the TAMAM project, despite their diversity and different circumstances (public or private, from different Arab countries, apply international or local curricula …), showed high readiness in managing this crisis and investing in its challenges, not because they are ‘smart’ technological schools, but rather because they possess leadership and institutional capacities that helped manage change and display innovation. This is due to the systematic training provided by the project within a comprehensive professional development model based on research and experimentation. The presentation provided a brief overview of the TAMAM’s approach to empower educators as leaders of change and use their collective expertise to lead and launch innovative initiatives for sustainable school-based improvement. Furthermore, the presentation provided real examples from TAMAM schools on their management of the crisis and how they invested in it as an opportunity to improve and renew their practices. The presentation also shed light on the role of the TAMAM professional community as a network of educators who supported each other during this period and shared their experiences in leading and exploiting this historic opportunity to unleash the Arab educational energies for renewal and innovation. All this with the aim of giving back the school its true role in building citizens and developing the Arab society. The presentation ended with lessons learned and prospects for the educational sector in the Arab region to become innovative, inclusive, interactive and equitable.
Background Research on School Reform
TAMAM research under this theme surveys school reform in the Arab region and the challenges associated with its shortcomings.
Journal Articles
Facing the Challenges of Educational Reform in the Arab World: by Rima Karami-Akkary J Educ Change– 2014
This paper pinpoints and discusses key aspects of the current approaches to school reform in the Arab world against the backdrop of what is accepted as the best practice in the international literature on effective school reform and educational change. The main goal of the paper is to highlight deeply ingrained assumptions and practices that are likely to create barriers for reformers who are interested in effectively implementing educational reform in the Arab region. The paper concludes with a list of recommendations informed by the current international literature on effective school reform, and deemed promising for overcoming the identified barriers and achieving effective and sustainable reform in the region. While the case of reform in the Arab region has its unique characteristics, it shares with other developing countries many of the challenges it faces. Lessons learned in this region offer promising insights to reformers in other developing regions of the world.
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School Reform in the Arab World: Characteristics and Prospects-By Rima Karami Akkary and Nadia Rizk-IJER- 2012
This paper discusses current educational reform attempts in the Arab world and their characteristics from the standpoint of international literature on effective large-scale school reform. The study followed a qualitative design using three main sources of data: 1) regional reform plans, 2) regional and international reports on education in the Arab world, and 3) journal notes and observations obtained from our work as consultants on educational reform in the region. The paper concludes by highlighting key lessons that Arab reformers can learn from international literature on effective school change in order to achieve effective school reform in the Arab world.
Full Report
Background Research on School Reform
TAMAM research under this theme surveys school reform in the Arab region and the challenges associated with its shortcomings.
Technical Reports
Technical Report 2: A Profile of School Reform in the Arab World- By Rima Karami-Akkary & Nadia Risk – 2011
This report examines the design and approach of existing attempts at school reform in five Arab countries: Morocco, Egypt, Qatar, Lebanon and Jordan.
Its main goal is to identify and discuss key characteristics of these attempts as well as the challenges faced to effectively implement them against the backdrop of what is accepted as best practice in the international literature on effective school reform.
The report focuses on the process and strategies of reform and highlights deeply ingrained assumptions and practices that are likely to create barriers to reformers in the Arab region.
Five key characteristics were identified:
- Highly politicized nature of educational reform process in the region where school and university educators play a limited role in initiating, planning and monitoring the implementation of reform;
- The absence of research as a tool for generating knowledge, developing policies and guiding actions within the scope of Arab educational reform;
- The uncritical adaptation of Western practices and ideas without attention to their cultural relevance;
- The neglect of adopting a clear design plan to guide the implementation, and of including evaluation as an integral function of the reform process;
- The limited attention given to going beyond skill building toward triggering the needed professional learning for effective and sustainable improvement.
The report concludes with a list of recommendations, informed by the current international literature on effective school reform, to overcome the identified barriers and achieve effective and sustainable reform in the region.
These are:
- Reconceptualizing the change process as “transformative” and based in re-culturing the educational system at all levels;
- Focusing on the processes of change and adopting a dynamic approach in designing and implementing reform plans;
- Moving towards a participatory systemic approach to reform that joins policy makers at the ministries of education, university scholars and practitioners at the school level in a concerted effort toward sustainable improvement;
- Building capacity for self-renewal and sustainable improvement that is directed at all levels and that should encompass human, social and institutional aspects;
- Building a knowledge base on effective educational reform grounded in the cultural realities to be used as a basis for policy making and action.
Background Research on School Reform
TAMAM research under this theme surveys school reform in the Arab region and the challenges associated with its shortcomings.
Relevant research reports
Sustainable Arab Environment in a Changing Arab Climate – Dr. BouJaoude, Dr. Karami-Akkary & Dr. Khuri – 2016
BouJaoude, S., Karami-Akkary, R. & Khuri, F.R. (2016). The challenges of sustainable education in the Arab world: AUB’s current and future roles -Arab. In Saab, N. & Sadik, A. Arab Environment In A Changing Arab Climate (pp. 102-104). Published in the Report of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED).
Sustainable education in the Arab world is facing a growing challenge owing to a combination of economic and political factors that require urgent solutions. Consequently, higher education is becoming increasingly unaffordable for most people, worsening social cohesion and increasing economic disparity. Tuition increases have accelerated in recent years at many universities, including the American University of Beirut (AUB). All this puts the major not-for- profit universities in the region in danger of being transformed from places of sustainable intellectual distinction to places of indefensible economic elitism. There is also a shortage of research on educational reform in Arab countries. As such, educational reformers are bound to rely on an international knowledge base that offers solutions that do not respond to local, culturally grounded needs (El-Amine, 2005). This raises the question for the role of universities in the Arab state in education for sustainable development. Over 150 years, AUB has graduated the finest physicians, engineers, businesswomen and men, classicists, political innovators, nutritionists, and public health specialists in the region. AUB’s value to the region remains unquestionable as it recruits, trains, and graduates the very best and the very brightest. Yet, addressing this problem, complex as it may be, will require that AUB help provide new opportunities for future leaders to make a difference in Lebanon, in the region, and in the world. That is, the university has proposed piloting a national service and teaching model for higher education in Lebanon, coupled with a debt-forgiveness approach in collaboration with the government of Lebanon, to restrict the brain drain. Finally, as exemplified by its leadership in TAMAM, AUB must also be a leader in pedagogy. This will serve to build the educational foundations for students who desire an AUB education, but are not yet fully prepared for its rigorous curriculum when they graduate from high school.
Research by Design and School Improvement: A Review of Literature – By Jamila Mugharbil -2013
Research by Design and School Improvement: A Review of Literature by Jamila Mugharbil
This paper is divided into three major sections. The first section deals with the topic of design-based research and is divided into the following six parts: 1) introduction; 2) basic characteristics of design-based research; 3) the process of design-based research; 4) design-based research versus other research methods; 5) methodological challenges with design-based research; and 6) status of the use of design-based research. The second part discusses school improvement and is divided into four parts: 1) introduction; 2) basic assumptions of school improvement approaches; 3) the process of educational change; and 4) principles for effective school improvement. The third and final section discusses the potential for the use of design-based research in the field of school improvement and presents a couple of research findings in this regard.
Current Trends of School Reform in the Arab World- Hammad Sioufi-2010
Arab states have realized the importance of reviewing the state of education in their countries, and seeking the ways to quantitatively and qualitatively promote and develop all the domains of education. However, the efforts to promote education did not sufficiently meet the aspirations set on them. In spite of noteworthy achievement in the quantitative expansion of education in Arab countries during the 20th century1, gaps still exist. Realizing that the issues and the problems of Arab education are interconnected and that it is possible formulate common solutions to them, the Arab leaders in their Khartoum Summit, called for a radical qualitative change in education and education policies, and to prepare a plan for the development of education in the Arab countries. With the help of educational experts and specialists and the support of specialized Arab and International organizations, a Plan ‘for the Development of Education in the Arab Countries’ (hereafter, the Plan) has been developed by the Secretariat General and adopted in the Tunis Summit 2008 for ten years (2008-2018). This paper presents a summary for the educational reform carried by five countries in the Arab region: Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt.
Education System Quality Indicators – Dr. Karma El Hasan– 2008
Education systems in the world are vast organizations that are very complex to manage. They emerge over time and their formation and maintenance reflect differing historical traditions, cultural values and religious interests as well as divergent views about the role of the state in shaping the life-chances of its future citizens (Hoffman, Hoffman, Gray, & Daly, 2004.). The quest for higher performance through educational reform has been a worldwide phenomenon, especially over the last decade, and accordingly, the world witnessed a trend towards restructuring education systems. Most countries experienced a change in relationships between different levels of the system, or changes in the role of the state, or changed methods and models of managing the education system (Wallin, 1995). This paper outlined the major factors that have dominated the education reform Movement in the last two decades in the Arab region. It further provided a conceptual framework for quality education, and presented different models emanating from this conceptual framework. Additionally, it elaborated on the indicators, their uses and types, and described some of indicator sets used for measuring education quality at system level. The paper concluded by highlighting the development of an indicators system, which is updated regularly, is essential for that purpose. Indicators are simple to implement, not very costly, and only political decision is needed to maximize the benefits of their use.
Lessons Learned from School-Based Reform- Dr. Raouf Ghusayni– 2008
Lessons Learned from School-Based Reform by Dr. Raouf Ghusayni.
This paper presented an overview of school reform highlighting how there is no specific meaning attached to the concept of school-based management; however, it is generally agreed that it represents a shift of authority toward decentralization, identifies the school as the primary unit of educational change increased decision-making power to the school itself. The paper further highlighted Key Features of Successful Reform Strategies including teacher empowerment and school culture. It is generally acknowledged that teachers have often been isolated from involvement in significant decision making and from frequent and meaningful contact with one another. School-based management has afforded an opportunity for broader teacher involvement in decision–making on school policies and operations. However, it has been argued that reform initiatives are not likely to succeed unless they incorporate teachers’ participation in making decisions in areas that are specially important to them. Furthermore, several writers emphasize that school-based reform or restructuring does not in itself insure the success of reform initiatives. Beyond that, what is essential is the presence of a collaborative school culture.
Quality Indicators in Schools -Rana Ismail – 2008
Quality Indicators in Schools by Rana Ismail.
This paper provided an overview on quality indicators in education. This paper aimed specifically at describing the various interpretations of quality in school settings. Presenting a special focus on the nature of quality management as practiced and exploring to which extent it is applicable to educational settings and organizations. This paper concluded by proposing that the term quality is ever evolving. What was quality in the past is not quality today and what is quality today will not suffice as quality in the future. What remain constant in the definition, however, is the basic requirement of meeting the needs and thus satisfying the needs of beneficiaries of the school, and continuous improvement. Beneficiaries of the school system are the students, the parents or guardians of the students, and the community that the school serves. Nevertheless, what education has long needed is a tangible definition of how to measure the schools‟ educational program. Terminology and Movements such as excellence, reform, or improvement have been dependent on arbitrary measures of indicators such as norm- referenced test scores, attendance percentages, dropout rates, or similar methods that are controversial. This is rightfully so because they are narrow instruments when compared to the broad scope of educational aims. They fail to significantly measure the effects of demographic, psychological, and sociological factors that are beyond the control of the school system. So the pertinent question is not whether schools need to go to learn about quality indicators, but how? Specifically, education needs to distinguish those quality practices in the manufacturing and service industries that can be adapted to education, and those that cannot. Then education must devise ways to implement and measure the practices that apply. Those practices will suffice as the quality indicators that schools should develop methods and instruments to consciously measure them; to keep the momentum of continuous improvement.
The Development and Implementation of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program
The unfolding of the experience of developing and implementing the TAMAM Capacity Building Program is reported in a series of technical reports that outline the actions and the design decisions that the TAMAM Steering Ream took. Part of these experiences were published as journal articles from these technical reports.
On-going research
Women Leading Educational Change in the Arab World: The case of the TAMAM Project – forthcoming
In the twenty first century, women are increasingly attaining gender equality with men in education and in the workforce (The World Bank, 2019). However, these promising figures have not been paralleled with an equal access to positions in the higher echelons of the organizations specially in Arab countries (The World Bank, 2019). Historically, leadership has been considered as a role for men rather than women, as men are deemed to have characteristics necessary for successful leadership such as aggressiveness, forcefulness and objectivity that women lack (Brenner, Tomkiewicz & Schein, 1989). Surprisingly, in the midst of all those challenges that hinder women from attaining leadership positions and from being successful as leaders, a group of women succeeded in leading a school improvement project called TAMAM that aims at developing leadership capacity of members in schools in different countries in the Arab world (Karami-Akkary & Rizk 2011; Karami-Akkary et al., 2012; Karami-Akkary et al., 2013). Such a project that is led by women is worthy of examination since these women who were socialized to be subservient are not only defying an unfavorable environment for women’s leadership but are also empowering and building leadership capacity in others, be it women or men. Hence, it is of added value to investigate what led to the success of this group of women who, without holding any formal leadership position, managed to implement an initiative that was neither popular nor supported by an authority and that consisted of inspiring others to become leaders in their schools. Thus, this research study focuses on the success stories of the project Steering Team (PST) leading TAMAM, and aims at examining the challenges that this team made up of only women faced and the factors that enabled them to overcome these barriers. For the purpose of this study, the following questions will be addressed:
From the perspective of the TAMAM project Steering Team:
- How does TAMAM view and lead change?
- What triggered the PST members to perceive themselves as leaders of change?
- What were the enabling conditions that allowed the PST to lead change successfully?
- What were some strategies the PST members used to overcome the challenges they faced?
The study will employ the narrative inquiry methodology for its data collection and grounded theory for its data analysis. The participants in the study will comprise all the eleven members of the project Steering Team. Individual interviews as well as focus group interviews will be the sources of data. The expected findings of the study add to the scarce literature and empirical data on the success stories of women leading school improvement, and would add to the understanding of how leadership is affected by gender. Also, it can provide strategies for women who aim at being leaders or who are in leadership positions to overcome the challenges that they will face.
Building capacity for school-based improvement: A Resource Book for TAMAM coaches- Forthcoming
The “TAMAM Resource Book” presents the TAMAM Capacity Building Program and makes it available as a resource for coaches who support schools that adopt the TAMAM vision and engage in building their leadership capacity for sustainable school-based improvement. It can also serve as a resource for practitioners, researchers and policy makers who want to be introduced to the TAMAM capacity building model. The TAMAM Capacity Building Program aims at building leadership capacity for sustainable school-based improvement at all levels and comprises of a job-embedded learning experience through which a team of practitioners acquire a set of leadership Competencies to lead school-based improvement.
The Resource book aims at providing university and school level coaches with the theoretical foundations of the program, its rationalized outcomes, and a general framework of its job-embedded learning experiences. It provides practical guidelines for potential coaches on how to engage school teams in the TAMAM Capacity Building Program. It includes 11 chapters that give an overview of the program, its foundations, as well as the role of coaches in training educational practitioners and building their capacity to lead sustainable school-based improvement. Moreover, the resource book gives an overview of the targeted learning outcomes and the job-embedded learning experience that the school teams go through as well as the coaching process that the coaches follow in training these teams. This resource book also highlights the tools available for coaches to manage the knowledge generated through the on-going action research throughout the implementation of the Capacity Building Program.
Toward a grounded model for promoting teacher leadership in schools in the Arab Region-Forthcoming
The Impact of TAMAM Capacity Building Program on Student Learning – forthcoming
The PST is working to develop a comprehensive understanding of the influence of TAMAM experience on student learning from the perspective of lead teams in TAMAM schools. The PST recruited a researcher to support the PST in researching the impact of TAMAM Capacity Building Program on student learning. The researcher supported by the PST prepared a proposal which has a three-fold purpose: 1) Identifying the influence of TAMAM experience on student learning, 2) Establishing a link between TAMAM’s Capacity Building Program and student learning, 3) Optimizing the TAMAM approach to promote student learning towards fulfilling the TAMAM student profile.
The PST is supporting a member in the research team from Oman Ministry of Higher Education Research & Innovation and a graduate student in Sultan Qaboos University, in preparing for his Master thesis about the role of TAMAM project in building the capacity of school administrators in TAMAM schools to carry out their roles from their perspective and those of teachers. The thesis will work on evaluating the impact of the TAMAM project on the school administrators who participated in phase one and two of TAMAM project in Oman. The findings of the thesis shall inform the PST of the nature of this impact and hence will be useful for the research related activities of the project.
The Development and Implementation of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program
The unfolding of the experience of developing and implementing the TAMAM Capacity Building Program is reported in a series of technical reports that outline the actions and the design decisions that the TAMAM Steering Ream took. Part of these experiences were published as journal articles from these technical reports.
Journal Articles
Rethinking Design-Based Approaches for School-Based Improvement: The Experience of the TAMAM Project – By Rima Karami Akkary & Jennifer DeKnight– IJER- 2019
Abstract
The School Based Reform in Arab Countries (TAMAM) project aims to build leadership
capacity for school-based reform. This paper asks: (a) To what extent can a design-based approach frame the design of school improvement projects such as TAMAM? (b) What characteristics of design-based approaches are most relevant to guide the design of school-based improvement projects? Results of the qualitative analysis demonstrate that a design-based approach can be used to describe TAMAM and highlight the most important elements. This study proposes that design-based approaches be used for designing and describing comparable school-based improvement initiatives, especially in contexts similar to the Arab region.
Shifting the Paradigm of Educational Reform in the Arab World: By Rima Karami-Akkary & Nadya Rizk – 2012 – IJER- 2012
This paper presents a descriptive case study of the TAMAM project as a new school reform initiative in the Arab world. The case addresses goals, strategies and assumptions of the project, its distinctive and promising design features, and the cultural and contextual factors critical to its successful implementation. The work adopted grounded theory procedures for collecting and analyzing data. The study provides researchers interested in cross cultural transfer of conceptual knowledge insights into the aspects of widely accepted reform models that need to be emphasized if those western models are to be successfully adapted to the Arab schools’ cultural context.
TAMAM: Voices from the Field by Murad Jurdak & TAMAM school team members – 2010-2016
The purpose of the project was to obtain authentic, reflective, and critical perspectives of TAMAM participants regarding their experiences in TAMAM during Phase I of the project (2007-10). For that purpose, participants were trained in narrative writing and inquiry and used these approaches to write their narratives in Arabic.
The Development and Implementation of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program
The unfolding of the experience of developing and implementing the TAMAM Capacity Building Program is reported in a series of technical reports that outline the actions and the design decisions that the TAMAM Steering Ream took. Part of these experiences were published as journal articles from these technical reports.
Technical reports
Technical Report 7: Toward an Educational Reform Movement in the Arab World: TAMAM Lebanon Hub Experience – By Dr. Rima Karami, Noha Chaar, Yusra Khattab (With TAMAM Project Steering Team: Feyrouz Salameh, Rania El Hage, Rola Katerji) – 2021
The TAMAM Lebanon Hub project was launched in 2015 with the aim of achieving school improvement that: 1) focuses on developing students holistically and prepares them to be productive and responsible citizens; 2) improves teachers’ performance and involvement in the school improvement process to become agents of change capable of facing the challenges of public schools while sustaining their momentum; and 3) engages the school’s parents, community and students in the shared responsibility of this improvement process. During its five years, the Hub project worked with six lead teams in geographically distributed public schools in Lebanon: Bzal Mixed Public School, Ghobeiry Second Mixed Public School, Jezzine Elementary Public School, Kfarruman Second Intermediate Public School, Rachel Edde Public School, and Tarbiya Haditha Public School for Girls. This report presents the experience of the TAMAM Lebanon Hub steering team (HST) while working with these six schools. The report starts with an overview of the initiation of the Hub project, then it provides a description of the profile of the selected schools, their improvement projects and the impact these projects had on the students, teachers, coordinators, principals, and parents. The report also describes the completed capacity building activities throughout the project, which included more than 230 encounters with the six public schools in forms of gatherings, workshops, training sessions, coaching and follow-up visits, meetings, and daily interactions. Moreover, the HST conducted several planning and monitoring meetings, networked with various stakeholders, engaged in ongoing research and experimentation on the TAMAM programs, prepared 3 proposals for expansion, made 4 presentations at international conferences and published one study in an international peer reviewed journal.
This report also describes the impact of the capacity building activities conducted with the school lead teams on their leadership capacity, motivation, mindsets and the institutional culture of their schools. The results of the monitoring conducted showed that the completed activities resulted in the lead team members acquisition -to different degrees- of the TAMAM competencies, and their successful planning and implementation their initiatives following the TAMAM Capacity Building Program starting with identifying their improvement needs up to monitoring/ evaluating their implementation plans. Moreover, the capacity building activities and the approach the HST followed with the school lead teams has a positive impact on their motivation to participate and engage in improvement. It was also apparent that the lead team members, including the school principals, have experienced a paradigm shift in their mindset and their patterns of unexamined beliefs, which is reframing the professional principles of their practices. The completed activities did not only result in impact on the development of team members and their schools, it also included several research activities and outcomes which includes a list of policy/administrative recommendations that need to be taken into consideration when working on improvement with Lebanese public schools. Finally, the report presents the conditions surrounding the implementation of the project at the ministry level and the school level, by describing some of the faced challenges and the corresponding attempts made by the HST to support the implementation of the project. The report narrates how the project came to a closure and what are the HST’s future plans for the project. The project ends with a description of the activities that the PST conducted after the closure of the project which included continuing the research activities about the schools’ experiences, applying for new grants, and sustaining relationship and engagement of members within TAMAM professional network. The last section also shows how the Lebanon hub schools’ members acted as agents of change, where they continued the implementation and expansion of their innovative interventions, and engaged in various activities within the TAMAM Professional Network.
Technical Report 5: Developing the TAMAM’s Monitoring and Evaluation: An Experience of Evolving Design Planning – By Rima Karami Akkary, Rasha El Saheli ElHage, Diana Sarrieddine, & Rola Katerji– 2013
TAMAM is a research and development project that adopts an evolving design approach in designing processes for school-based improvement that are grounded in the organizational and social culture of the schools.
TAMAM’s monitoring and evaluation model establishes a process that provides useful information on an ongoing basis to improve the project’s activities and how they are implemented.
As such, it puts into action the concept of the “evolving design planning” adopted by TAMAM, where evidence is collected as a basis for reflective practice and improved decisions.
The purpose of this report is to illustrate the journey of the TAMAM Project Steering Team (PST) in developing the project’s monitoring and evaluation model at the conclusion of the first Phase of its implementation.
It describes the various processes that led to the development of the current TAMAM monitoring and evaluation approaches from being reactive, practicing intuitive heavy data collection, to being proactive, following purposeful, efficient and effective data collection procedures.
The report will highlight how TAMAM’s monitoring and evaluation interventions were gradually conceptualized based on the lessons learned from Phase I and how their implementation in the schools’ settings helped test their usefulness and validity, and accordingly modify and improve their procedures.
The ongoing participation of the TAMAM school teams and the constant efforts of the PST to include all stakeholders in decision making to develop the suggested monitoring and evaluation model kept TAMAM true to its claim of participatory evaluation and evolving design planning.
In the midst of the absence of an evaluation culture and the scarcity of “participant oriented evaluation” approaches in the Arab world, TAMAM’s adoption of participatory evaluation grants the project the characteristic of being a pioneer in following such methodology and approach.
Technical Report 4: Building Leadership Capacity for School-Based Reform : TAMAM professional development journey in Phase I – By Rima Karami Akkary, Mary Saad, & Rola Katerji with Sara Halwani -2012
This report describes the process followed by the Project Steering Team [PST] of the TAMAM project while designing and implementing its professional development activities.
It highlights the “evolving design plan” approach the PST has used while planning and implementing PD activities. PST actions – and decisions on their sequence – have been based on evidence generated through monitoring training progress, and identifying the challenges faced during the training implementation.
The report narrates the evolution of the PD activities from being narrowly conceived initially around engaging teams in action research as the main foci of capacity building, to a broader conception of having the teams embark on a school-based improvement journey, where action research is a tool used among many to effectively implement and sustain this improvement. The report includes a description of the Competencies, and why and when they have been introduced throughout the PD process.
Also, it describes the PD approach used which is rooted in experiential learning, mentoring, and encouraging reflective practice. The report concludes by presenting an “emerging model” of PD grounded in lived experiences and mindful of the unique cultural characteristics of its context.
The model consists of a set of 11 Pillars and a proposed improvement journey along which the PD activities are organized.
The Pillars constitute the foundational principles guiding both the processes and the learning experiences along the journey which are:
- Experiential learning.
- Mentoring approach.
- Decisions and actions driven by needs.
- Systematic documented practice.
- Collaborative inquiry.
- Professional collaboration.
- Reflective dialogue and practice.
- De-privatization of practice.
- Leadership for change.
- Evidence based decisions.
- Evolving design planning.
The journey comprises of:
- Identifying a problem.
- Designing an innovative intervention.
- Implementing the intervention.
- Evaluating its impact; and finally.
- Taking actions based on this evaluation.
Throughout this journey, school teams will be trained on:
- Action research
- Collaboration
- Documentation of practice
- Professional dialogue
- Reflective thinking
- Evidence based decision
- Planning and leading change
Throughout this journey teams pass through cycles of inquiry that would allow them to gather data and reach insights that they need for taking action and moving forward along the journey; ultimately reaching their goals for improvement.
Technical Report 3: An Innovative Model for Educational Reform in the Arab World- By Rima Karami Akkary & Nadia Rizk – 2011
This report describes the case of TAMAM project as a new reform attempt in the Arab world that combines research to development in bringing about and supporting school based initiatives for school improvement.
The report focuses on the initiation stage of the project. It describes the project initial design, its goals, underlying assumptions and strategies as well as the culturally specific factors that shape the conceptualization and design of this project.
Based on the data gathered from interviews, document analysis and participant observant notes, TAMAM is found to be conceived as having three main goals: building capacity for school-based reform among school practitioners; produce research based understanding of best practices on school-based reform grounded in the cultural context of the Arab countries; and find ways to impact practices of university professors and policy makers at the ministry level.
Analysis of the results shows that in the initiation stage TAMAM activities have focused on building capacity at the school level through engaging teams of practitioners in action research projects at their schools.
Professional development was ongoing and went beyond “one-stop” workshops to include providing continuous support through close monitoring of the teams’ learning throughout the implementation progress.
The report concludes with identifying the promising features of TAMAM project design and its activities when compared to the current trends of educational reform in the Arab World and to the international theoretical literature on school reform.
These promises of TAMAM include:
- Distributing expertise for knowledge production by building capacity for research at the school level
- Activating and synergizing resources (teachers, principals, ministry representatives, university representatives, scholars…)
- Building capacity for internal as well as external agency for change
- Reframing professional development as an ongoing process of planned experiences aimed at professional learning at all levels of the educational system
- Building channels to continuously connect the work of researcher, practitioners and policy makers
The Development and Implementation of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program
The unfolding of the experience of developing and implementing the TAMAM Capacity Building Program is reported in a series of technical reports that outline the actions and the design decisions that the TAMAM Steering Ream took. Part of these experiences were published as journal articles from these technical reports.
Conference papers and presentations
Towards Linking Research to Educational Development: A Project Experience by: Rima Karami, Rola Katerji, and Diana Sarieddine, ICSEI 2020
Abstract
The literature showed a near absence of research culture and knowledge production in the Arab world resulting lack of reliable scientific research output, and solutions to the pressing problems of the professional practitioner to face the challenges of their work and play the role assigned to them in their educational institution and the development of their community (The Broken Cycle, 2014; El Amine, 2009). Added to this reality is a case of blind quotation of the concepts and educational practices prevailing in the Western world without looking at the extent of its adaptation to the Arab context and priorities of educators in it. This paper presents the experience of TAMAM project as a research laboratory that combines research and development with the aim of producing knowledge rooted in the context of the Arab school and its social environment that takes into account the specificity of the context and its educational institutions and meets the requirements of educational reform and community development. This paper illustrates the challenges and lessons learned from the use of action research to design a research-based development program model and on the experience gained from educational institutions that participated in the project.
Contextualizing and Elevating Student Leadership in the Arab Region: The journey of a research partnership. BELMAS Annual Conference -2018.
Karami-Akkary, R. & Mansour, S. (July 2018). Contextualizing and Elevating Student Leadership in the Arab Region: The journey of a research partnership. BELMAS-2018 . Presentation at the British Educational Leadership, Management Association (BELMAS) Annual Conference: “Education Policy and Sustainability: global perspectives from the field of educational leadership.” Beaumont Estate, Windsor, United Kingdom
Uprisings across the Arab region have evidenced youth’s discontent with the status quo and the reality of exclusion from public life and participation in their immediate realities. In schools, the status of youth has not been any different. Nonetheless, there has been an increasing interest in and evidence for the integration and participation of students in various aspects of schools as active contributors who can shape the process of teaching and learning. The study presents insight on the practices of student leadership from a collaborative action research project in a Lebanese public school participating in a university-based research and development project for school improvement. The presentation will: (1) examine the current nature of student leadership activities in this school within its national policy context, (2) discuss the challenges that impede the integration of student leadership activities in school, and (3) describe a contextual program for developing student leadership within a school-university research partnership. The study found that students do not have a say in school, particularly in processes that influence their immediate realities. They are not actively involved as partners in the teaching and learning process and in its improvement. Instead, students are positioned as beneficiaries of school efforts, such as efforts to create opportunities for active learning and extra and co-curricular activities. Some of the reported challenges to integrate student leadership activities in this school are: traditional and hierarchical school structures, accountability pressures and demands, time and limiting assumptions about students and their abilities. Through collaborative action research, the school improvement team developed and is implementing an improvement plan to integrate student leadership activities. Insight from this research partnership and understanding of international best practices provided evidence for the preliminary development of a contextual program for student leadership.
Contextualizing teacher leadership for sustainable school-based improvement in the Arab region. BELMAS Annual Conference-By Rima Karami Akkary – 2018
Karami-Akkary, R. (July 2018) Contextualizing teacher leadership for sustainable school-based improvement in the Arab region. BELMAS 2018. Presentation at the British Educational Leadership, Management Association (BELMAS) Annual Conference; “Education Policy and Sustainability: global
Abstract
This paper presents an alternative model for building teachers’ leadership capacity to promote sustainable school-based improvement grounded in the context of the Arab region. The model counters dominant ineffective approach to professional development delivered through top-down and large-scale reforms in this region. Professional development is mostly short, neglects teachers’ professional learning and emotional needs, focuses on decontextualized and disconnected technical skills, lacks any form of follow up and institutional support that ensures the transfer of new knowledge to practice, and treats teachers as passive executors rather than leaders of reform. As a result, most of the teachers in this context are dependent learners who lack agency as well as competence to implement and lead improvement initiatives. The grounded and contextual leadership capacity building model was developed through the TAMAM Project (www.tamamproject.org); a research and development initiative launched at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon in 2007. The project aimed to design a capacity building model that promotes the leadership capacities of teachers and empowers them to lead and implement sustainable school-based improvement. It has received large and long-term funding that allowed for the cumulative production of knowledge and the development of a network of professionals, including teachers, policy makers and researchers who are engaged in its research and development activities. The contextualized Capacity Building Model was developed after several iterations of research and development, responding to the local professional needs and challenges of participating teachers and schools. It builds the leadership capacity of teachers in a way that links their individual professional learning goals with school-wide improvement priorities. The model focuses on a set of Competencies integrated in a job-embedded professional learning experiences delineating the process of school-based improvement. They include reflective dialogue and practice, de-privatization and collaboration, inquiry, knowledge production and documentation, evidence-based decision making and evolving design planning. Teachers acquire leadership capacity and are provided an extended experiential learning opportunity where they plan for and implement school improvement initiative. As such, teachers develop their system understanding and view of learning and leading, while sustaining their motivation to learn and commitment to change. The model and its approach can be used to enrich pre-service teacher training programs. Its preliminary impact invites those involved in school reform in the region to include it as part of any Capacity Building Program, supplementing the technical focus of these programs.
Dealing with Wastage: Building the Capacity of Teachers – GASER, Manamah, Bahrain- 2017
The education wastage has various manifestations – notably the low level of academic achievement and performance of students – leading to academic failures and dropouts, which is a clear indicator of the low quality and inefficiency of education in most Arab countries. According to international scientific studies, the teacher is one of the most important factors behind the poor performance of the student compared to other external elements related to the institution, and this explains why we always see a disparity in the output of education in schools, despite the similar circumstances. Thus appeared the thought behind using methods to prepare teachers to acquire the basic skills that will activate their role as an influential agent and a key player in the development of the educational system, and in particular thinking about developing programs for their in-service training. Based on indicators of the quality of education and student performance, this paper presents the idea of the TAMAM project at the American University of Beirut, which was launched in 2007. TAMAM adopts a school-based approach to develop believes that help educators access solutions to educational problems which is primarily the responsibility of the teacher. This paper presents the model designed by the TAMAM project to build the leadership capacity of teachers. It reviews the results of a procedural research conducted by the team directed to the project to examine the effectiveness of an approach that aims to develop the teacher’s ability to think, inquire, solve problems, and continuous sustainable reform within their institution.
TAMAM Schools’ Experience during COVID-19
The Development and Implementation of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program
On-going research
On-going research
Factors Supporting or Hindering School-Based Improvement
The Development and Implementation of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program
The unfolding of the experience of developing and implementing the TAMAM Capacity Building Program is reported in a series of technical reports that outline the actions and the design decisions that the TAMAM Steering Ream took. Part of these experiences were published as journal articles from these technical reports.
Research reports
Monitoring the implementation of an innovative intervention: the case of enhancing Microsoft Office skills in fifth grade English class at a Lebanese public school – 2020
MA Thesis by Layal Abdallah Abbas Fayad
This study aimed at understanding the benefits and challenges of implementing a small scale, technology integration intervention in a Lebanese public K-6 school. The purpose was to examine the implementation of a small scale innovative intervention with the aim of improving its design and making it responsive to the context of the school. A Technology Integration English Unit using UbD framework was developed based on the official Lebanese curriculum for Grade 5 along with an implementation plan which contributes to school improvement within a specific context. The unit emphasized using technology tools such as Microsoft Office tools in the learning activities and was integrated in Grade 5 English classes over a period of four weeks. This study employed an action research design and covered pre and post methods of data collection such as test scores, observation tools, and teachers’ and students’ interviews. Data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative analysis methods. The results indicate a positive impact of the intervention on student learning and a positive change on the teachers’ views on the usefulness of integrating technology in their English classes. Moreover, teachers’ reflections on the facilitating and hindering factors that affected the implementation of the technology integration intervention were in alignment with what the literature has previously recorded on the factors that are influential to the success of innovative interventions at schools. The study concludes with implications for practice and suggestions for future research.
An Evaluation of the Design of the Civic Engagement Component of the First Cohort of the USAID University Scholarship Program at American University of Beirut – 2019
MA Thesis by Jennifer Cristine De Knight
The aim of this study is to evaluate the alignment of the design of the civic engagement component of the first cohort of the USAID University Scholarship Program (USP) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) by conducting a responsive evaluation on Cohort II. USP is a scholarship program for high achieving, financially needy Lebanese public school students from economically disadvantaged communities in all regions of Lebanon to attend Americanstyle universities in Beirut, including AUB, and is funded by USAID. Students are required to complete a civic engagement program. USP II provides a case study to examine the design of a civic engagement program in higher education to inform both practitioners and add to the literature on design and evaluation of civic engagement programs. The study uses a responsive evaluation methodology to address two research questions: 1) How does the design (objectives, activities and evaluation practices) of the civic engagement component of the first cohort of the USAID University Scholarship Program at AUB align with the program’s objectives? 2) How do evaluation practices of the first cohort of the USAID University Scholarship Program at AUB compare to standards of program evaluation? Existing data regarding the design and evaluation of USP II was collected from USP and analyzed using templates designed for the study to evaluate alignment of the program and compare to the identified framework for evaluation. Findings suggest that the design and evaluation practices of the civic engagement component of first cohort of USP are only partially aligned internally, and only partially aligned with the framework for program evaluation, and therefore do not best highlight the impact of the civic engagement component relative to the overall program. The results indicate a lack of coherence in the program design, whereby objectives of the civic engagement component are not clearly stated and mapped to program objectives and the evaluation plan was scattered in multiple places. This likely contributed to identified gaps between design and practice, misalignment at times between data collection and objectives and a lack of precise reporting to highlight the impact from evaluation data that was collected. In addition, the results show that evaluation practices only partially address the five suggested levels of program evaluation. Recommendations developed based on the study can guide practitioners that design, implement and evaluate civic engagement programs at AUB and other higher education institutions. The case adds to the growing body of literature on civic engagement in higher education by providing an analysis of the design and evaluation practices of a program in the Arab world. The methodology developed can be used to evaluate other similar civic engagement programs.
An Investigation of the Perceptions of Lebanese School Leaders and Teachers of Building School Capacity for Sustainable School Improvement – 2018
MA Thesis by Stephanie Gabriella Jamil Jureidini
This study examined the perceptions of Lebanese leaders and teachers about building school capacity for sustainable school improvement. It has a threefold purpose: (1) to identify the perspectives of teachers and leaders regarding building school capacity for improvement, (2) to analyze the perceptions of the leaders and the teachers through comparing their perspectives with what the literature recommends regarding building school capacity, (3) to come up with an action plan that would support the school in better building its capacity for sustainable improvement. The study adopted a qualitative case study design and employed the grounded theory methodology. Data included relevant school documents, semi-structured individual interviews and focus group interviews, and journal notes. Data were analyzed and coded using the constant comparative approach. The findings of the study reveal that the perception of the leaders and the teachers regarding building school capacity for sustainable improvement converges in some aspects with the recommendations of literature while in others it does not. However, even though there is some alignment with what literature proposes as effective ways to build the school’s capacity for improvement, participants do not seem to have a framework from which they are operating purposefully, as people’s actions and ideas seem reactionary and on prompt rather than strategically thought off. Drawn from the study results, recommendations for practice are suggested in the form of an action plan and recommendations for research are also proposed.
Evaluation of TAMAM’s Impact
Evaluative research in TAMAM involves the examination of TAMAM effectiveness and impact on participating schools in the TAMAM project. It examines the effectiveness of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program on the professional learning of lead team members in terms of the acquisition of the TAMAM Competencies and the TAMAM improvement journey related skills. It also explores the impact of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program on teams’ attitudes and motivation towards school improvement. Moreover, it describes the impact of TAMAM on the school’s organizational learning in terms of its professional norms and structure. And finally, it describes the impact of the implementation of the improvement project on students’ learning.
This theme includes research papers that elaborate on the factors that hinder or enhance, sustain and support school-based improvement initiatives and educational change.
On-going research
Evaluating the Impact of TAMAM Capacity Building Program: The Case of a Jordanian School forthcoming
Despite the growing awareness of the need for educational reform, Arab reform attempts failed in positively influencing schools, classroom practices, and students’ achievement (Bashshur, 2005). Many associated the failure of these attempts with certain design characteristics related to the planning, implementation and evaluation of the reform initiatives and are shaped by the sociopolitical context of the Arab region (Karami-Akkary, 2014). TAMAM a new educational reform initiative in the Arab region consists of a design for building leadership capacity among teams of practitioners for school-based improvements (Karami-Akkary & Rizk 2011; Karami-Akkary et al., 2013; Karami-Akkary, et al., 2012). Despite TAMAM increasing popularity among Arab schools, evaluation of the impact of its Capacity Building Program is still limited. This research study focuses on the Capacity Building Program of TAMAM and not the whole TAMAM reform program. Hence, it examines the effectiveness of TAMAM’s Capacity Building Program on the professional learning of the school lead team members and its impact on the motivation of the school lead team members and on the school organizational learning from the perspectives of the members of a team of practitioners who have participated in designing, implementing and evaluating the Capacity Building Program. Additionally, it aims to evaluate the extent to which the improvement project designed by lead teachers is effective in addressing the improvement need which is enhancing students’ behavior. For the purpose of this study, the following questions will be addressed:
- To what extent and in what manner did the TAMAM’s Capacity Building Program impact the school team members’ knowledge, skills and attitudes according to TAMAM’s competencies?
- What is the impact of TAMAM’s Capacity Building Program, on the team members’ acquisition of knowledge and skills of initiating, planning, implementing and evaluating a school-based improvement initiative according to the stages of the TAMAM improvement journey?
- How did TAMAM Capacity Building Program, promote school team members’ motivation to commit and sustain their commitment in school-based improvement?
- What is the impact of the school participation in the TAMAM capacity building model on the school’s organizational structure and professional norms from the perspective of the team members and school principal?
- To what extent and in what ways did the implementation of the improvement project designed by lead teachers impacted students’ behavior?
The selected case school is a public non-profit school which joined the TAMAM project in year 2013-2014 and volunteered to implement the newly designed, Capacity Building Program. The case school completed one full cycle of TAMAM’s school improvement journey in 2017- 2018.The participants in the study will comprise all the individuals who took part in the capacity building activities in the TAMAM project at the case school between 2013-2018, the school lead team members, the case school principal and assistant principal, and parents of the children who were at the school when implementing the project. Diagnostic checklists, individual interviews, focus group interview, as well as relevant school documents will be the sources of data. The diagnostic checklist and focus group questions are copyrighted documents prepared by the PST. The expected findings of the study add to the scarce literature and empirical data on capacity building in the field of school-based improvement and reform in the Arab World. It will also provide the designers of TAMAM with evidence on the nature of its impact. It can also provide the leaders of the participating school the conditions that can help in sustaining the impact or figure ways to enhance the areas that still need improvement. At a larger scale, this research paper can be also helpful to other schools’ practitioners and leaders in similar contexts as well as coaches and university educators involved in building capacity for sustainable schools’ improvement.
Building Capacity for Inclusive Leadership: The Case of a Lebanese Public School- Forthcoming
Using narrative inquiry, the study offers a broad analysis of two principals’ profiles, pathways, and motivations to become inclusive leaders in their attempt to build inclusive schools which foster equity and social justice. With inclusion being a collective process rather than a hierarchical one, it is conceived now as a transformational process that can cause tension for school leaders. This leadership for inclusive schools is framed now within change leadership where leaders, viewed as change agents, are expected to move members away from entrenched conventions to embrace new and unfamiliar practices and to engage in a school-wide reform. With the increasing awareness on the importance of inclusion as a response to the increasing diversity around the world and unfairness of opportunities in Lebanon due to wars, refugees and economic collapse, this study will offer an exploratory description of the leadership practices needed to shift the concept of inclusion from individual advocacy and initiative to a fundamental pillar in the organizational culture for sustainable school-based improvement.
Evaluation of the TAMAM Impact
Evaluative research in TAMAM involves the examination of TAMAM effectiveness and impact on participating schools in the TAMAM project. It examines the effectiveness of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program on the professional learning of lead team members in terms of the acquisition of the TAMAM Competencies and the TAMAM improvement journey related skills. It also explores the impact of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program on teams’ attitudes and motivation towards school improvement. Moreover, it describes the impact of TAMAM on the school’s organizational learning in terms of its professional norms and structure. And finally, it describes the impact of the implementation of the improvement project on students’ learning.
Journal Articles
Evaluating teacher professional learning in the Arab region; the experience of the TAMAM project: By Rima Karami-Akkary – TATE- 2019
Highlights
– Teachers showed varying growth in knowledge, skills and attitudes.
– Professional learning of knowledge, skills and attitudes did not develop linearly.
– Professional learning is influenced by the socio-cultural conditions of its context.
– Compartmentalized and linear evaluation does not capture complexity of learning.
– Ongoing monitoring and evaluation responds to teachers’ conditions and needs.
Evaluation of the TAMAM Impact
Evaluative research in TAMAM involves the examination of TAMAM effectiveness and impact on participating schools in the TAMAM project. It examines the effectiveness of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program on the professional learning of lead team members in terms of the acquisition of the TAMAM Competencies and the TAMAM improvement journey related skills. It also explores the impact of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program on teams’ attitudes and motivation towards school improvement. Moreover, it describes the impact of TAMAM on the school’s organizational learning in terms of its professional norms and structure. And finally, it describes the impact of the implementation of the improvement project on students’ learning.
Technical reports
Technical Report 6: Evaluating the TAMAM Impact: The Case of Al-Asriyya School – By Rima Karami, Rasha ElSahali ElHage, & Samaya Mansour, with Rola Katerji & Diana Sarieddine,– 2016
After the conclusion of TAMAM project’s first phase, an evaluative case study was conducted to assess the impact its Capacity Building Model had on the professional learning of a participating school team. This case study was conducted in Al-Asriyya School, one of the TAMAM project’s pioneer schools. Its purpose is to specifically investigate the following research questions: (1) to what extent and in what ways did Al-Asriyya School TAMAM team members acquire new Competencies or enhance old ones?; (2) to what extent and in what ways did Al- Asriyya School TAMAM team members apply the newly acquired Competencies or the enhanced old ones?; and (3) to what extent and in what ways can that learning be attributed to the Al-Asriyya team’s participation in the professional learning experiences of TAMAM? The report presents the results of this study and reveals the aspects of TAMAM’s Capacity Building Model that contributed to this learning and those that failed to do so. It also highlights the cultural peculiarities affecting the team’s acquisition and application of knowledge, skills and attitudes associated with TAMAM’s 11 Competencies. This study finds its evaluation criteria in the TAMAM 11 Competencies along with their detailed elements and evaluative rubric (TAMAM’s Master Rubric). Two sets of longitudinal data were collected in 2007 and 2012 respectively for the purpose of the study through field visits, focus group and individual interviews with the school team and the project Steering Team (PST) members; and through the examination of school reports and field observation notes that document the learning experience of the Al-Asriyya team over the span of four years. Comparisons between the 2007 and 2012 performance levels led to conclusions about the level of growth of the Al-Asriyya team members’ knowledge, skills and attitudes. Results show that the Al-Asriyya team members showed varied levels of performance and growth in the knowledge, skills and attitudes of every competency. These results are mainly due to the design of TAMAM’s Capacity Building Model, a triggered paradigm shift in the members’ professional habits, beliefs and practices. The study concludes with insights and lessons learned for effective school improvement practices, improving the learning and coaching experiences in TAMAM, designing professional learning experiences in the context of Arab schools and accumulating a relevant knowledge base in this context.
Technical Report 1: The Impact of Collaborative Action Research on Inquiry Skills -By: Murad Jurdak & Saouma BouJaoude– 2011
The Impact of Collaborative Action Research on Inquiry Skills, Habits of Mind, and Orientations Toward Collaborative Action Research and Collaboration: The Case of a School-Based Project in an Arab Context.
This study investigated the impact of engagement of TAMAM school teams in collaborative action research experiences on targeted elements of habits of mind, specifically inquisitiveness, reflection, and evidential decisions and on orientations toward action research and collaboration. The paper analyzes how this is mediated by the school and project contextual factors.
Results of this study indicate that the targeted habits of mind, the inquiry skills, the orientation toward collaborative action research, and attitudes toward collaboration in school teams were all positively impacted by the TAMAM project.
The participants reported that their collaborative action research experience has impacted the habits of mind of openness, recognition of self and others, and being critical and reflective of professional practice. With regard to inquiry skills, the participants reported that their collaborative action research experience has impacted 14 of the 19 inquiry skills close to ‘to a great extent’ on the average, and to ‘some extent’ for the remaining five skills.
With regard to attitude toward school team cooperation, the participants reported that they strongly agreed that their collaborative action research experience has been positive and working in TAMAM was an effective way to learn.
On the other hand, they have positive attitudes toward the remaining ten statements regarding school team collaboration.
Finally, the participants reported positive attitudes toward collaborative action research. The interesting and novel findings from the TAMAM research are those related to the contextual factors variables.
Results indicated that schools varied on dimensions related to habits of mind and inquiry skills. The variance could be associated with the schools’ affiliation and status.
Evaluation of the TAMAM Impact
Evaluative research in TAMAM involves the examination of TAMAM effectiveness and impact on participating schools in the TAMAM project. It examines the effectiveness of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program on the professional learning of lead team members in terms of the acquisition of the TAMAM Competencies and the TAMAM improvement journey related skills. It also explores the impact of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program on teams’ attitudes and motivation towards school improvement. Moreover, it describes the impact of TAMAM on the school’s organizational learning in terms of its professional norms and structure. And finally, it describes the impact of the implementation of the improvement project on students’ learning.
Research reports
The Role of Educational Projects in Administrative Empowerment of Schools in the Sultanate of Oman “Tamam Project as a Model”: Yousef bin Salem bin Saif Al-Yahmadi
The study aimed at identifying the role of ‘TAMAM’ project in the administrative empowerment of schools in the Sultanate of Oman from the point of view of school administrations and their teachers. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher used a mixed method, which is based on the integration of quantitative and qualitative research using two tools: a questionnaire and interviews. The study population and its sample consisted of all school principals and their assistants, and members of the school teams from schools implementing the TAMAM project in the academic year 2019/2020. A total number of (62) individuals participated during data collection. The study concluded that participants perceived the pillars of the TAMAM project to have had significant impact on administrative empowerment. The results revealed a lack of stable financial support for the project, shortage of time, a lot of burdens and daily tasks, lack of interest, and lack of follow-up on and encouragement for implementing schools. Add to that, the lack of administrative and technical staff is among the most significant obstacles facing the school, limiting and restricting the roles of school administrations in relation to the TAMAM project.
Keywords: TAMAM project, administrative empowerment
Evaluating the Impact of TAMAM Capacity Building Model: the Case of a Lebanese Private School – 2020
Masters Thesis – Rayan Katerji
This research study involves an in-depth evaluation of TAMAM capacity building model in one of its participating schools and follows a qualitative case study design that also adopts a collaborative evaluation study. It has a threefold purpose: (1) to examine the effectiveness of TAMAM’s capacity building model in reaching its desired changes in the professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the TAMAM school leadership team members, (2) to explore its impact on their motivation, and (3) to explore its impact on the school organizational learning in terms of its professional norms and structure. The case school is a private non-profit school that joined the TAMAM project in the year 2013-2014 and volunteered to implement its newly designed Capacity Building Program. The case school completed one full cycle of TAMAM’s School Improvement Journey in 2017- 2018. The participants in the study will comprise all the individuals who took part in the capacity building activities in the TAMAM project at the case school between 2013-2019, the school lead team members, the head of the Advisory Board of the case school, the school principal and the Project Steering Team (PST) at the American University of Beirut. Diagnostic checklists, individual interviews, focus group interviews, as well as relevant school documents, were the sources of data. The findings of the study reveal that members’ participation in the TAMAM project resulted in considerable growth in their acquisition of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of TAMAM Competencies and stations of its School Improvement Journey. TAMAM capacity building model seemed to have reached to a large extent, its desired changes in the professional learning and capacity building of members that enabled them in leading effective and sustainable school-based improvement. Findings also showed that the lead team participation in the TAMAM project had a mostly positive impact on strengthening the team motivation and sustaining their commitment towards leading improvement initiatives due to their increased feelings of competence, autonomy, and collaboration that subsequently increased their motivation and empowered them to be agents of change. Finally, findings also showed that the participation in TAMAM project had several impacts on the organizational learning manifested by a myriad of structural and normative impacts on the case school. Results reveal the effectiveness of TAMAM capacity building model illustrated in terms of the outcomes it achieved in building lead team members’ leadership capacities that prepared them and motivated them to lead school improvement and in terms of its alignment with what the literature proposes as effective professional development approaches that build leadership capacity for improvement. Drawn from the study results, recommendations for practice are suggested, and recommendations for research are also proposed.
Factors Supporting or Hindering School-Based Improvement
This theme includes research papers that elaborate on the factors that hinder or enhance, sustain and support school-based improvement initiatives and educational change.
On-going research
Overcoming the Barriers to Educational Change in the Arab Context: Examining Pathways to Building Systemic Capacity for Sustainable School-Based Improvement by Rima Karami-Akkary, Coby Vincent Meyers, and Mariam Yamout– 2020-2021
Purpose: Inducing educational change in the Arab region seldom influences school organization or classroom instruction (Bashshur, 2005; Karami-Akkary, 2014; Shuayb, M., 2018). Despite growing awareness about the importance of sustainable school improvement, translating this awareness into policies and practice is still a major challenge worldwide (Dinham & Crowther, 2011). Within the Arab context traditionally, building school capacity for continuous improvement is restricted to the individuals involved in implementing change with little consideration of systemic conditions. We consider school- and district-level factors in an all-girls Lebanese public school attempting to advance organizational improvement.
Perspectives/ Conceptual Background
The study adopts a conceptual framework advanced by Dimmock and Walker (2000) that leverages a cross-cultural approach where the school is the unit of analysis. Their model advances the examination of organizational functionality through a multi-layered model of culture: (1) organizational; (2) national/societal; and (3) regional/local.
Methods
This study follows a qualitative case study design that adopts the constructivist grounded theory methodology for collecting and analyzing data (Charmaz, 2015). It aims at understanding in depth the phenomena in “its real life context” (Yin, 2003, p.13). Generating codes happens through microanalysis with comparisons made at the level of incident.
Data Sources
The selected case is a high-achieving school that self-selected to participate in the TAMAM project (www.tamamproject.com) for the past four years out of interest in school-based improvement. The school is a K-9 all girls school with 1000 students and 76 teachers. Interviews with teachers, coordinators, school principal, district level officer, and ministry level inspector were conducted from September 2018 to April 2019, and relevant document data from 2015 to present were also examined.
Results
The school members’ views of school improvement are constrained. Teachers appear limited to view improvement as triggered by different members of the system in other positions. The principal is an eager learner to earn the label of a change agent and who is willing to take risks and adopt innovations yet very much “content” with the confines of her role within the system. At the district level, system leaders seem to be absorbed in performing clerical work and have very limited pedagogical expertise or strategic vision for improvement.
Educational Importance
Bain, Walker, and Chan (2011) argued that there is a need for explaining how “organizational support for capacity building for sustained change is theorized, developed and applied” (p. 703); and how to translate research findings on capacity building to practical, successful actions that schools could follow. This study underscores gaps in how practitioners conceptualize school improvement that result in limited understanding about how to lead change and consider possible policy change.
The Impact of TAMAM Capacity Building Program on Student Learning – forthcoming
The PST is working to develop a comprehensive understanding of the influence of TAMAM experience on student learning from the perspective of lead teams in TAMAM schools. The PST recruited a researcher to support the PST in researching the impact of TAMAM Capacity Building Program on student learning. The researcher supported by the PST prepared a proposal which has a three-fold purpose: 1) Identifying the influence of TAMAM experience on student learning, 2) Establishing a link between TAMAM’s Capacity Building Program and student learning, 3) Optimizing the TAMAM approach to promote student learning towards fulfilling the TAMAM student profile.
The role of TAMAM project in Building the Capacity of School Administrators: TAMAM public schools in Oman – forthcoming
The PST is supporting a member in the research team from Oman Ministry of Higher Education Research & Innovation and a graduate student in Sultan Qaboos University, in preparing for his Master thesis about the role of TAMAM project in building the capacity of school administrators in TAMAM schools to carry out their roles from their perspective and those of teachers. The thesis will work on evaluating the impact of the TAMAM project on the school administrators who participated in phase one and two of TAMAM project in Oman. The findings of the thesis shall inform the PST of the nature of this impact and hence will be useful for the research related activities of the project.
Factors Supporting or Hindering School-Based Improvement
This theme includes research papers that elaborate on the factors that hinder or enhance, sustain and support school-based improvement initiatives and educational change.
Journal Articles
Sustaining School-Based Improvement: Considering Emotional Responses to Change – By: Rima Karami-Akkary, Julia Mahfouz, Samaya Mansour, JEA – 2019
Karami-Akkary, R., Mahfouz, J., & Mansour, S. (2019). Sustaining school-based improvement: considering emotional responses to change. Journal of Educational Administration.
Abstract
Purpose: Emotions of school leaders influence school culture and structure. Understanding emotions is under-researched and under-theorized in non-western contexts, especially during educational change.
The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of the leadership team’s (LT’s) emotional responses to change, their coping strategies and conditions that maintain their commitment to change.
Design/methodology/approach: The study used intrinsic case study research, drawing on data from interviews and a focus group that illuminated perceptions of the LT in a school. The data set was analyzed following the general inductive approach.
Findings: The LT’s experienced three critical incidents (CI) of educational change that provoked a range of intense negative and positive emotions, a national curriculum reform. Despite the team’s attempt to cope with the national curriculum reform (i.e. CI1), negative emotions and unsupportive conditions challenged their commitment to change. In CI2, supportive conditions and effective personal coping strategies helped elicit positive emotions, which led to sustained commitment to change. Emotions experienced during the Capacity building program (i.e. CI3) were predominantly positive due to support from the school principal and coaches, resulting in sustained commitment to change.
Research limitations/implications: Findings from this small-scale case study in Lebanon are not generalizable to other contexts. The time lag could have affected the recollection of experiences. All participants were female, and their experiences might not reflect those of other school members affected by the changes.
Practical implications: Examining emotions during change uncovers insight into school leaders’
subjective experience, facilitates a more nuanced understanding of change, and supports change
implementation. Considering emotions during change informs the development of tailored interventions that provide effective support.
Originality/value: This study examines how emotions affect the success of educational change. Contrary to common understanding, change does not always generate negative emotions that impede implementation. School-based improvement creates structural and cultural conditions for effective change as it considers practitioners’ socio-emotional needs, eliciting positive emotions.
Keywords School leaders, Leadership effectiveness, Commitment to change, School improvement,
Educational change, Emotional leadership
Paper type Research paper.
Factors Supporting or Hindering School-Based Improvement
This theme includes research papers that elaborate on the factors that hinder or enhance, sustain and support school-based improvement initiatives and educational change.
Conference papers
Overcoming the barriers to Educational Change in the Arab Context: Examining pathways to building systemic capacity for sustainable school-based improvement. ICSEI Paper, Marrakech, Morocco – 2020
Karami-Akkary, R., Meyers, C. (January 2020). Overcoming the barriers to Educational Change in the Arab Context: Examining pathways to building systemic capacity for sustainable school-based improvement. ICSEI Paper accepted at the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, Marrakech, Morocco.
On January 8, 2020, Dr. Rima Karami, TAMAM Project Director and Principal Investigator, and in collaboration with Dr. Coby Meyers, Chief of Research in the Partnership for Leaders in Education initiative, at the University of Virginia delivered a presentation about their collaborative research study in the ICSEI – International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement in Morocco. Specifically, the presentation focused on reporting the progress of the data analysis and sharing some of the recent research findings of the study conducted in one of TAMAM public Lebanese school. The study is titled “Overcoming the Barriers to Educational Change in the Arab Context: Examining pathways to building systemic capacity for sustainable school-based improvement”. Dr. Karami continued working with Dr. Meyers to complete the data analysis and a manuscript for publication will be ready soon.
Sustaining School-based Improvement: Considering Emotional Responses to Change. UCEA 31st Annual Convention. Denver, USA – 2017
Karami-Akkary, R., Mahfouz, J., & Mansour, S. (November 2017). Sustaining School-based Improvement: Considering Emotional Responses to Change. University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) 31st Annual Convention. Denver, USA
Purpose: Emotions of school leaders influence school culture and structure. Understanding emotions is under-researched and under-theorized in non-western contexts, especially during educational change. The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of the leadership team’s (LT’s) emotional responses to change, their coping strategies and conditions that maintain their commitment to change.
Methodology: The study used intrinsic case study research, drawing on data from interviews and a focus group that illuminated perceptions of the LT in a school. The data set was analyzed following the general inductive approach.
Findings: The LT’s experienced three critical incidents (CI) of educational change that provoked a range of intense negative and positive emotions, a national curriculum reform. Despite the team’s attempt to cope with the national curriculum reform (i.e. CI1), negative emotions and unsupportive conditions challenged their commitment to change. In CI2, supportive conditions and effective personal coping strategies helped elicit positive emotions, which led to sustained commitment to change. Emotions experienced during the capacity-building program (i.e. CI3) were predominantly positive due to support from the school principal and coaches, resulting in sustained commitment to change.
Research limitations/implications: Findings from this small-scale case study in Lebanon are not generalizable to other contexts. The time lag could have affected the recollection of experiences. All participants were female, and their experiences might not reflect those of other school members affected by the changes.
Practical implications: Examining emotions during change uncovers insight into school leaders’ subjective experience, facilitates a more nuanced understanding of change, and supports change implementation. Considering emotions during change informs the development of tailored interventions that provide effective support.
Originality/value: This study examines how emotions affect the success of educational change. Contrary to common understanding, change does not always generate negative emotions that impede implementation. School-based improvement creates structural and cultural conditions for effective change as it considers practitioners’ socio-emotional needs, eliciting positive emotions.
Research for and on TAMAM programs’ design
Research reports
Inter-School Collaboration for School Based Improvement in the Arab World: The Case of TAMAM Project By Rola Katerji
There is growing agreement that effective professional learning is enhanced when teachers connect and collaborate with colleagues (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012; Strahan, 2003). A new paradigm for school improvement based on developing collaborative school structures as a mean for building the school capacity for improvement is emerging (e.g., Di´az-Gibson et al., 2017). Within this paradigm, inter-school collaboration has become increasingly popular as a strategy towards building and sustaining school improvement (Ainscow, Mujis, & West, 2006; Muijs, 2008). The practice of collaboration between schools as part of a new paradigm of school improvement is almost non-existent in the Arab world. The TAMAM professional network is one of the rare educational initiatives in the Arab region to incorporate professional collaboration as a foundation for its vision for developing innovative schools and as a strategy to achieve sustainable school improvement. Currently, TAMAM has an expanding membership of Arab educators and educational institutions that share its vision and goals. This study explores the experience of the TAMAM Jordan Hub, a voluntary network that emerged within the larger TAMAM professional network among 8 private schools in Amman who are members of the TAMAM network. This study uses a qualitative case study research design to understand the participants’ perceptions of professional collaboration and inter-school collaboration and explore the drivers that instigated this type of collaboration among these schools. It also examines the factors that shaped this initiative and the support received (especially from the university-based facilitators) during the initiation of inter-school collaboration as well as the impact of this initiative. The participants in this study were purposefully chosen from the Jordan Hub schools that initiated a joint improvement project (teaching and learning of Arabic language) following the TAMAM model for school-based improvement as the focal activity for their inter-school collaboration. The results mostly affirmed those reported in the literature yet made significant contributions through revealing contextually shaped drivers, as well as offering a framework that details the functions of external facilitators. A key contribution of the study is that university-based researchers and experts have a critical role in facilitating the initiation and the implementation of inter-school collaboration. Namely, they are needed to coach the school teams on how to successfully navigate the structural and cultural demands of implementing the newly adopted inter-school collaboration strategies and the content of their improvement project. Expertise in leading change and the content area the collaborative improvement initiative is targeting are needed to achieve the goals of inter-school collaboration to effectively impact large scale sustainable school improvement.