Developing leadership and managerial skills in educational institutions: towards effective education management

This study aimed to examine the level of leadership and managerial skill development among department managers in the UAE Ministry of Education and to explore how these skills contribute to predicting the effectiveness of educational management within a context of ongoing digital and institutional transformation. The study was grounded in an integrative framework combining transformational leadership, strategic management, and digital leadership, and adopted a descriptive survey approach. Data were collected through a validated questionnaire administered to a stratified random sample of 300 department managers. The results indicated that the overall level of leadership and managerial skill development was moderate across the three study domains. No statistically significant differences were found based on gender or academic qualification. The findings also revealed a strong positive correlation between leadership and managerial skills. Regression analysis further showed that these skills significantly predict the effectiveness of educational management, explaining 51% of the variance. These findings suggest that existing professional frameworks provide an acceptable foundation for leadership development; however, they still require strengthening in areas such as data-driven decision-making, change management, and leadership responsive to digital transformation. The study offers a field-based contribution within the UAE context and highlights the importance of integrating leadership and managerial skills to support effective educational reform. Nevertheless, the results should be interpreted considering the study's reliance on self-reported data and the use of a single-item overall measure to assess the effectiveness of educational management.