Date of Award

2024

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Master of Education (MEd)

First Advisor

Dr Meher Rizvi

Department

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Abstract

Acceleration in global migration resulted in ever-growing diversity in educational institutions. The greater the diversity in schools, the more tasks the school heads and teachers must do. School heads greatly affect students' success through managing diversity (Leithwood et al., 2017. p.1). Therefore, the primary purpose of the school heads is to develop a welcoming, inclusive, and equitable environment where students feel valued, respected, and included urban schools in Karachi are new in providing equal opportunities for students and managing diversity for heterogeneous groups regarding linguistic ethnic and religion of people in schools (Syed, 2008). Hence, the study was conducted to identify the principal's strategies to develop a school culture that supports diverse students in one of the Private Secondary Schools in Karachi, Pakistan. My study is based on a unique qualitative case study because of the diverse backgrounds including socioeconomic, cultural, religious, linguistic, day-scholars, and boarding students from broken, separated, and low socioeconomic families. Hence this study has been employed to get an in-depth understanding of the school principal's initiatives to achieve the overall success of students. Data were gathered through extensive interviews with the principal, vice principal, and teachers, focus group discussions with students, observations, and document review. Collected data were then analyzed by developing themes and sub-themes. The findings revealed that the principal used a variety of initiatives, including changing admission criteria, supporting students in academics and adjusting to a new environment, appreciating cultural diversity, appreciating students’ success, and engaging stakeholders. Moreover, the principal faced many challenges while dealing with day-to-day matters. These challenges include scarcity of resources, budget constraints, policy limitations, student and family-related issues, problems of discipline, and the language of students. However, the pragmatic approach led to some counter strategies to achieve students’ success. Furthermore, a few challenges have not been resolved due to financial, administrative, and policy restrictions. The study recommends flexibility in policy, provision of resources, parent engagement, and special training and skills for those in positions of school leadership and teaching so that students can attain success without feeling discrimination and isolation.

First Page

1

Last Page

123

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