Hala Ibrahim Al -Jowder
The current era is witnessing rapid and successive changes that make it difficult to predict the future accurately, technology is developing amazingly, markets are constantly changing, and global events create unexpected challenges and challenges, this reality is the so -called VUCA world, the term that has become increasingly frequented in various fields, as it indicates a global environment characterized by fast fluctuations, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, and ambiguity It is also characterized by accelerated technological innovations, smart technologies, and the development of services and products; Consequently, it requires a major and comprehensive change in the nature of jobs, skills, capabilities, education, training and rehabilitation from quantity to quality. Today’s world is the basic skills of strategic leadership skills, the ability to solve problems, make decisions and improve performance.
In this world, success is no longer linked only to traditional experience or knowledge, but it has become reliable on flexibility, the ability to adapt, and make decisions intelligently and confidently. Individuals and institutions who can deal with this reality with a clear strategic thought and vision are those who can achieve excellence and sustainability in the face of continuous challenges.
These fluctuations constantly affect individuals, societies and institutions, and with the changing conditions, the need for rapid adaptation increases, especially in the field of education, which is directly affected by these transformations, as rapid changes in technology and developing and changing the needs and interests of students and the requirements of the labor market, in addition to global challenges that make it difficult for educational institutions to plan the future constantly, so these institutions must build flexible strategies Creative to respond to these accelerating changes to ensure the continuity of the development of the educational process and achieve the desired goals.
The term VUCA refers to a world full of challenges that are characterized by “volatility”, “uncertainty”, “complexity” and “ambiguity”. This term has been shortened from the following words: Volatility (volatility), UNCERTAINTY (uncertainty), composition (complexity), Ambiguity (ambiguity), this term appeared to describe the work environment. Unstable and rapidly changing, and with the passage of time this concept has expressed the challenges facing institutions, including educational institutions in light of the rapid and surprising global changes.
Volatility: refers to the speed in which changes occur in the environment or circumstances, in the world of VUCA changes are not fixed, but are characterized by continuous and unexpected movement, change can be related to any field such as technology, economics, and education, these changes may be rapid and strong.
Understanding: It is intended to lack information available on future events, in the world of VUCA, there is always clarity about what will happen in the future; Which makes predictions and decisions based on previously inaccurate or reliable data, and this may lead to difficulty in planning and making correct decisions in the future.
As for the complexity, it reflects the interconnected and intertwined nature of phenomena and events. In the world of VUCA, every decision or development may have side effects that may not be clear in the beginning, as many problems require multiple -dimensional treatment; This calls for a deep understanding of the different situations and its interlocking dimensions.
And ambiguity indicates a state of lack of clarity or ambiguity in determining possible results or interpretation of events, in the world of VUCA, the reasons and results are not always clear; Consequently, it is difficult to direct accurate strategies, and ambiguity indicates that the facts may be explained in multiple ways, and that it is difficult to verify the right answers, that is, there is a confusion of the relationship between cause and impact.
Educational institutions are currently facing increasing challenges that require school leaders to transcend the mere management of the educational institution to a more dynamic role, the leader must have a high strategic vision and flexibility to keep pace with these continuous changes, and the school leadership must play a crucial role in facing these challenges, through the leadership and management of schools effectively to ensure the continuity of the educational process and its high quality and its high and quality of conditions, in the world of VUCA No School leadership is limited to traditional management only, but also includes a rapid adaptation to variables, strategic decisions based on unclear data, and directing the difference towards achieving goals in an environment full of challenges.
In light of the world of ongoing challenges and changes, the leadership role in schools requires having special skills and capabilities to ensure the provision of effective and influential education, and one of the most prominent of these roles is the ability to drive flexibility and adaptation, which is the basis for success in the world of VUCA, where it is not possible to predict what will happen, so the leader should be ready to interact with rapid changes and volatile conditions, from here the flexibility is important, and this requires him to modify his strategies quickly In response to renewable challenges with deliberate decisions that combine caution and speed in decision -making based on the available information, with preparedness to reassess these decisions in light of any sudden changes.
Moreover, in an environment full of ambiguity and challenges, motivation and confidence building is one of the basic tasks that the leader must do. Teachers and students need a leader who inspires them and motivates them to continue despite the pressures, and to achieve this, the leader must build confidence through transparency and effective communication, which enhances the team’s sense of psychological security amid unstable circumstances.
Innovation and creative thinking is also a vital part of leadership in this changing world, the distinguished leader is the one who is able to encourage his team to think in new ways and out of the ordinary to face the increasing and complex challenges must have the ability to overcome traditional methods and find new strategies, and this requires him to have a clear vision of the future, and to lead his team towards that vision even in times of ambiguity; Which helps them to understand the largest image and the common goal they seek to achieve.
In this context, the leader must be a strategic plan, and he must balance the short -term decisions and follow -up long -term strategies, and have the ability to think about possible future scenarios and plan them to ensure the team’s readiness of what may happen in the future. Finally, the leader’s role here cannot be completed without focusing on developing skills and capabilities within the team. The smart leader provides continuous training opportunities for teachers and students alike to ensure their readiness to face the challenges of the digital age and adapt to the accelerated changes; This enhances their ability to adapt to the unknown future.
Accordingly, the skills needed by the school leadership in a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity include flexibility in the face of volatility, as crises can occur suddenly, and then school leadership must be fast to respond to facing these challenges, the flexibility of leadership is manifested in how to adapt to major changes.
With uncertainty, school leadership needs to have a clear vision for the future, but at the same time it has to be ready to adapt to any surprising changes. In a world full of uncertainty, the leader must develop a flexible strategic plan that can be modified according to the emerging conditions.
With regard to the complexity of the modern era, the leader is witnessing a challenge represented in managing and simplifying this complexity. The intertwining between technology and cultural and social values for students, and at the same time technology provides great potential to improve the educational process and expand the scope of knowledge, and the uses of modern technology may affect cultural and social values that are an essential part of the identity of students.
To respond to mystery, the leader needs the ability to make decisions based on the best available information, despite the lack of certainty and clear data in the positions of mystery.
To bring the topic to the minds in a practical way, I will give an example of a scenario (introducing artificial intelligence in education), and the challenges of the VUCA world elements when implementing this new system:
Volatility: Technology changes rapidly and the new system is still in the evaluation and experience stage, and this means the rapid and sudden change in education methods and the inability of teachers and students to use artificial intelligence in daily education, in addition to concerns about the loss of teachers’ jobs; Because of automation and dependence on technology.
Understanding: Doubt about the results of the application of artificial intelligence in education and will it achieve a real improvement in the level of students? Will there be a disparity in performance among students who have advanced technical skills and those who lack it? In addition to parents’ concern about the impact of artificial intelligence on their children’s thinking skills.
Complexity: The application of artificial intelligence requires a comprehensive training for teachers and its continuous guidance for students and the reassurance of parents as well as providing technical infrastructure (devices, fast internet) and integrating the current curricula with smart tools.
Mystery: There are no clear criteria for measuring the success of the experiment or its failure on how to integrate artificial intelligence with the current educational systems without confusion of the educational process and questions about who is responsible for data management and analysis? How is students’ performance evaluated with artificial intelligence tools?
As for how to deal and the flexible response with the challenges of these elements according to the previous scenario, they will be as follows:
Volatility: Organizing intensive training workshops for teachers and students about the use of artificial intelligence tools or smart performance analysis programs, as well as introducing artificial intelligence in gradual stages instead of sudden total change and emphasizing that the role of artificial intelligence is to help teachers, not to replace them.
Uncertainty: The launch of experimental projects (Pilot Projects) to test the effectiveness of artificial intelligence on a specific group of schools and then collect feedback from parents and students to assess and address concerns, in addition to setting clear criteria for using artificial intelligence in a way that ensures the development of basic skills such as critical thinking and creative writing.
Compassion: dividing the project into executive stages with the assignment of different teams to manage each side (training, technology, content) focus on the most ready schools in the beginning, then gradually expand the application with cooperation with local and international technical companies to support infrastructure.
Mystery: Forming research and development teams working to develop clear plans to use artificial intelligence and evaluate the results with the design of new evaluation criteria that combine traditional students’ performance and interaction with smart tools, and finally ensuring transparency in dealing with data by setting clear policies on privacy protection.
When implementing this scenario – the introduction of artificial intelligence in education – at a school level, its director had an active and vital role by setting a flexible plan in response to the application of the new system that included:
Clarify the common vision: The director realized the necessity of providing a clear vision for all the parties concerned; Therefore, holding clarification meetings and sessions with teachers, students and parents to explain the goals of the new educational system and how it can be reinforced from the role of the teacher instead of replacing it, as he stressed that technology is a support tool and not an alternative, and that the role of the teacher in building human and educational relations remains pivotal.
Training and Development: To reduce fears and increase confidence in the school principal organized intensive training workshops for teachers, with a focus on how to use the new system and enhance their confidence that they are indispensable in the education process, and launched a program to support students in adapting technology, including practical counseling and training sessions.
Building a support system: It was important for all concerned to feel that they had a platform for communication and expressing their concerns, so the director established a committee of teachers, students and parents to follow up the implementation of the new system and submit proposals to improve it, and provided an open line to communicate with the school administration to answer any inquiries or concerns that may occur.
Expectations Management: The principal realized that the initial results may be different, so he stressed that the school will follow the impact of the new system periodically to ensure the achievement of educational goals, and stressed that the change is a process that needs time, and called on everyone to be patient and effective participation in achieving future success.
Flexibility investment: Noting the difficulty of some students in adapting to the new system, the director decided to provide a parallel educational option based on traditional methods alongside the artificial intelligence system, and added programs focusing on basic skills to ensure that there are no gaps in students learning because of technology.
The result: Over time, the teachers began to feel empowering instead of anxiety, as artificial intelligence tools have become supporting their educational methods, and they are not replaced by them as well as students showed a gradual improvement in their performance with their integration into the new system. As for parents, they have become more confident in the system after seeing its early results and hearing positive reports from the school administration.
This scenario has proven that the introduction of change in the world of VUCA requires effective management of concerns, the enhancement of skills, and the creation of a comprehensive educational environment that encourages everyone to cooperate, and that continuous communication with all the parties concerned contributes greatly to turning mystery into clarity, and enhances confidence in the educational process, which contributes to the success of change and adaptation to the volatile conditions.
Thus, school leadership is more than a daily administration of the educational institution. Rather, it requires the school leader to be flexible, innovative, and ready for unexpected challenges through strategic planning, participatory leadership, technology use, and effective communication, school leadership can face this world effectively, and guarantee a stable and exemplary educational environment for all students.
* An educational leader and an expert in leadership, strategic planning and quality
