The Role of School Principals in the Governorate of Ma’an in Promoting Intellectual Security among Students

This study aims at identifying the role played by school principals in the Governorate of Ma’an to strengthen intellectual security of the school students; and identifying whether there are statistically significant differences in the roles of principals attributed to the variables: gender, academic level, and years of experience in administration. To achieve this, the researchers adopted the descriptive approach which is appropriate for the nature of this study. Data were collected and analyzed by using a questionnaire that determines the role of school principals in the promotion of intellectual security. The questionnaire includes three areas: the role of principals toward teachers, the role of principals toward school activities, and the role of principals toward community service. The study sample consisted of 120 male and female school principals in Ma’an governorate. The results showed that the arithmetic means of the three domains in the questionnaire ranged from (3.547-4.129) with high degree of agreement; where the domain: “the role of principals toward teachers” scored the highest value, and the domain: “the role of principals toward community service” scored the lowest value.


Introduction
Schools are of one the most important social institutions entrusted with the upbringing of generations, assessing their behavior, and modifying their ideas and attitudes.When crises and tribulations befall nations and communities, schools bear the burden and remain the successful tool to correct concepts.Hence, the roles of the schools in promoting intellectual security and addressing intellectual deviations faced by students became an urgent need and a vital requirement under the current circumstances and the successive challenges in the era of globalization and the transformation of the world into a small village (Al-Sulaiman, 2006).
Security is a goal sought by all communities.Moreover, security awareness is a preventive tool that enables communities to avoid the social and economic consequences of moral deviation.Thus, well-thought-out plans that ensure security awareness should be made.One of the most important fields to achieve this is educational institutions, as these institutions instill security awareness in their fields of study (Al-Hoshan, 2005).
Security includes everything related to the bank of human memory; such as the cultures, values and moral principles that the human receives.It also includes the protection of all his rights related to freedom of choice and freedom of acting provided that this freedom does not violate or conflict with the rights of others; as well as the human's right in maintaining intellectual property (Tomlinson, 2006).
Intellectual security in our contemporary life is no longer just a cultural and intellectual goal; it also became an inclusive target which involves political and national aspects not less important than the intellectual aspects.It is an indispensable element of social advancement, and a manifestation of the ability to be free from external influences.Moreover, intellectual security represents maintaining national identity which was targeted by third parties as a first step absorption and control processes.Those who believe that intellectual security is closing doors and staying away from modern means of communication and media are completely mistaken.Intellectual security is not a negative issue that embodied in keeping people away from potential risks (Mahfouz, 2006).
Achieving intellectual security for the individual means an automatic achievement of security in all other aspects; as the mind is the focus of the conscious senior leadership in humans.It is entrusted with all other security aspects (Afifi, 2004).
There is no doubt that the concept of intellectual security is relatively new, but its content is as old as human society.Therefore, many contemporary researchers who are interested in the security issue tried to find definitions in this field; Al-Jawarneh (2011) defined security as: keeping the human mind and thought safe from deviance when comprehending religious and political matters.Al-Luwaihiq (2005) defined security as: the safety of human thought from deviance or getting away from moderation in his understanding of religious, political and social matters; thus, leading to maintaining public order, and achieving tranquility and stability in the political, social and economic life.
While Al-Haider (2002) defined it as: securing the thoughts and minds of community members from any impurities or wrong beliefs which could pose a danger to the security of the society, in order to achieve security and stability in social life.
Since education has an important role in protecting communities from deviant behaviors and thoughts as well as its role in establishing the spiritual and moral values; security can be achieved in communities through making the most of the means of education (Karah, 1999).
There are a number of measures that can be taken by the educational institutions for the contribution in achieving security, namely:  Continuing the process of students' socialization in order to refine their personality, and to ensure their familiarity with the surroundings. Making the student familiar with his social duties; as education is not only an informative but also a social and humanitarian process. Expanding the circle of human relations and interacting with various community groups.
 Linking students to the culture prevailing in the community and introducing them to the heritage of their nation, as well as spreading the spirit of innovation and creativity in response to cultural developments and changes. The integration of educational efforts between home, school, and community.
 Examining social behavior and lifestyles and introducing them to students to become useful members in the society and to ensure they do not fall in the circle of deviance. Training students on discipline and good disposition; the ability to understand the surrounding circumstances, and how to deal with it properly. Linking educational activities with the community efforts (Faraj, 2004).
The importance of school management in achieving intellectual security stems from for two facts: first, the school includes all segments of society of all ages.Second, those who run these institutions are the intellects of the nation, and they must meet good qualities (Al-Qarni, 2004).

Previous Studies
The following is a presentation of previous studies related to intellectual security in the educational institutions.The studies were displayed in chronological order from oldest to newest.
The study of Al-Yousuf (2001) examined the security role of the school in Saudi society.The study aimed at reviewing the impact of education on the general level of criminality, and determining the security themes emphasized by the vocabulary of learning.The study found that the school plays an important security role through its activities and programs in supporting all various security aspects.It also showed the importance of deepening dialogue and openness between educational and security institutions.Al-Bura'i (2002) aimed to identify the role of university in confronting the issues of intellectual extremism and violence among young people.He used the social survey method through a sample that represented the study population which consisted of three universities.The study found that young people represent the pillar of the future, and they feel worried and frustrated when the state is unable to ensure their unity with social life.Johnson (2005) aimed at identifying the intellectual security features provided by the Internet to the students in Mankato city in the state of Minnesota, United States.He found that 81% of the students achieved their intellectual security features in terms of freedom of expression via the Internet.Students also achieved intellectual security in terms of freedom of using the internet in education and searching for information that provide them huge amounts of information, thus leading to achieve a kind of intellectual and information security.The researcher also noted that 19% of the students do not care about knowledge and science provided by the internet; rather, they turn to intellectual and moral deviance in their use of the Internet.Tomlinson (2006) study pointed out the interest of the educational institutions in strengthening intellectual security principles by integrating ethical and cultural values in the educational curriculum in America.The researcher used the analytical approach through addressing a number of studies that tackled intellectual security issue.The study concluded that the school and the teacher lead a major role in strengthening the intellectual security among students through their efforts in spreading the concepts of values and ethics and culture, which are of the educational foundations upon which the curriculum is based.Al-Sulaiman (2006) examined the role of school administrations in promoting intellectual security among students.He aimed to determine the role of school administration and its contribution to the promotion of intellectual security among general education students in Riyadh.The researcher used the descriptive approach.He found out that most of the respondents believe that there is a great need to strengthen intellectual security among students.He also found out that 49% of respondents follow the procedures used in the promotion of intellectual security.Khoraif (2006) addressed the role of the assistant school principals in achieving intellectual security among the students.He aimed at identifying the means and procedures taken by the school administration for achieving intellectual security.The study showed that there is a great importance of attending seminars and workshops in order to promote the intellectual security of the students; and that there is a great importance of the extracurricular activities programs in the promotion of intellectual security.
Al-Reb'i ( 2009) examined the role of the curriculum in strengthening the intellectual security concepts among university students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.The study aimed to show the importance of the educational institutions in general and the curriculum in particular, in the formation of the human personality.The study also determined the roles of the school curriculums in explaining, straightening and strengthening the intellectual security concepts among students.The results showed that the role of the curriculum in enhancing intellectual security was moderate; and that the courses that provide the most concepts and information related to intellectual security are those in Education of Islamic Culture.

The Study Problem and Questions
School is considered one of the most important thought providers of any individual in society.It includes the most important group in society, that is, students of various stages of age.Therefore, students thought can be protected through the provision of sound educational and instructional foundations within the educational processes and within the students' activities.
School administration assumes responsibility to run the educational process, which involves the protection of students from falling into intellectual deviance.School is responsible for protecting students from the effects of ideological invasion.This can be achieved through applying administrative regulations and through providing students with standards and values and moral ideals.Tash (1993) indicates that the school can rectify any defect in the students' behavior through the teachers' instructions; monitoring the pupils' behaviors and actions, as well as any physical, mental or psychological changes; and finding the appropriate remedy for each case.
This study seeks to answer the following questions:  What is the role of school principals in Ma'an in promoting intellectual security of the students? Are there any statistically significant differences attributed to the variables: gender, academic level, and years of experience in administration in the responses of school principals regarding their role in strengthening the intellectual security of the students in the Governorate of Ma'an?

The Importance of the Study
The importance of this study is determined by the following:  The importance of intellectual security and its role in promoting national security.
 The important role of school principals in promoting intellectual security. The age group for school students is considered the most appropriate period to consolidate the concepts and trends. This study provides a set of recommendations for strengthening the role of school principals in the promotion of intellectual security.

Limitation of the Study
 This study was limited to identifying the role played by school principals to promote the intellectual security of students. This study was conducted during the second semester of the academic year 2015/2016. This study was limited to the schools in Ma'an Governorate.

The Study Terms
The procedural definitions for the main terms of the study:  School principals' role: a group of procedures emanating from the duties and tasks that are entrusted to the school administrations, derived from the laws and regulations of the Ministry of Education in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Intellectual security: securing school students from deviant thoughts and erroneous beliefs, in order to achieve stability in the various spheres of life.

The Study Method
The descriptive approach was appropriate for the nature of this study.A questionnaire based on the theoretical literature and the previous studies was prepared.The questionnaire was distributed to the study sample; then, the data was analyzed using the SPSS statistics.

The Study Population and Sample
The study population included all school principals in the Governorate of Ma'an, totaling 193 principals, according to the directorates of education statistics in the Governorate of Ma'an, in 2016.All the principles were invited to participate in the study.One hundred and twenty principals, in the Governorate of Ma'an, participated in the study.Table 1 shows the distribution of the sample according to the preliminary data.The paper version of the questionnaires were handed to and collected from the principles by group of teachers who worked with the researchers.
Table 1.Distribution of the study sample according to the preliminary data Table 1 shows that: 1) The number of males in the study sample was 59 with a percentage of 49.2%, while the number of females was 61 with a percentage of 50.8%.
2) The academic level (BA) got the highest percentage 80.0%, while the academic level (PhD) got the lowest percentage 0.8%.
3) Years of experience in administration (5-10 years) got the highest percentage 60.0%, while the years of experience in administration at the lowest percentage (less than 5 years) got the lowest percentage 18.3%.

The Study Tool
The researchers used a questionnaire designed to determine the role of school principals in the Governorate of Ma'an in promoting intellectual security of the students.The questionnaire consisted of three domains: first, the role of principals toward the teachers which included 14 items; second, the role of principals toward school activities and included 9 items; and third, the role of principals toward serving the local community which included 6 items.Total items in the questionnaire were 29 items.Appendix A shows the instrument.

Validity of the Study Tool
To determine the validity of the study tool, it was presented to 10 specialized, expert evaluators from the faculty members in a College of Education.In light of the observations and recommendations of the evaluators, some linguistic amendments were made to some of the questionnaire items.

Reliability of the Study Tool
To ensure the reliability of the study tool, the Cronbach's Alpha equation was used on the study sample, to determine the stability of the internal consistency of each domain and the instrument as a whole.Table 2 illustrates these values.The role of principals toward serving the local community 0.89 The tool as a whole 0.71 It can be noticed from Table 2 that the reliability coefficients values for the domains of the study tool and for the tool as a whole ranged between 0.71-0.89which are high and medium values and sufficient for the purposes of the study.

Scoring the Questionnaire
A Likert-type scale was used as follows: very high, high, medium, low, very low, and the following numerical values (5, 4, 3, 2, 1) were given respectively.The following statistical was used for the distribution of the arithmetic means: First: (1.00-2.49)low level Second: (2.50 -3.49) medium level Third: (3.50 -5.00) high level

Statistical Procedures
In the current study the dependent variable was: the role of school principals in the Governorate of Ma'an in promoting intellectual security.The independent variables:  Gender: which has two levels, (male and female)  Academic Level: which has four levels, (Diploma, BA, MA, and PhD)  Years of experience in administration which has three levels, (less than 5 years, 5-10 years, and more than 10 years) The researchers used the following statistical procedures: arithmetic means, standard deviations, and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA).

Results and Discussion
This study aims to determine the role of school principals in the Governorate of Ma'an in promoting intellectual security of the students.What follows are the results of this research, according to the study questions.

Answer of the First Question: What Is the Role of School Principals in Ma'an in Promoting Intellectual Security of the Students?
To answer this question, the arithmetic means and standard deviations for each item of the scale, and for the scale as a whole, were calculated as described in the Tables 3-6.Table 3 shows that the arithmetic means of the domains ranged from 3.547-4.129with high degree of agreement.The highest mean value was for the domain "the role of principals toward the teachers" with a standard deviation 0.480.While the lowest mean value was for the domain "the role of principals toward serving the local community" with a standard deviation of 0.559.The arithmetic mean for the domains as a whole was 3.942 with a standard deviation 0.398 and a high degree of agreement.
This result can be attributed to the fact that intellectual security has become an important issue for all institutions, especially the educational ones.Educational institutions need to confront the tools of intellectual invasion of society represented by various means of communication.These tools have led to an unprecedented openness on the world.The only way to control such tools is by enhancing intellectual security of students through educational institutions.
9.1.1The First Domain: The Role of Principals toward Teachers Table 4 shows that the arithmetic means of the items of the domain "the role of principals toward teachers" ranged between 4.017-4.308.The highest value 4.308 was for item no.3: "Encouraging teachers to enroll in courses on the art of dialogue and persuasion" with a standard deviation 0.708; followed by the value 4.300 for item no.1: "Urging teachers to clarify the negative effects of deviant thought for students" with a standard deviation 0.795.While the lowest value was for item no.10: "Directing Islamic Education teachers toward instilling the right religious values and concepts" with a standard deviation 0.648; all of which with agreement degree.
This result can be attributed to the high awareness and responsibility among principals toward directing teachers to strengthen intellectual security.The teacher is the closest to the students.He can adjust any defect in their thought and conduct through monitoring their behavior and any intellectual changes that may occur; in order to achieve security and stability of the individual and society.Table 5 shows that the arithmetic means of the items of the domain "the role of principals toward school activities" ranged between 3.367-4.475.The highest value 4.475 was for item no.8: "Organizing national and religious celebrations" with a standard deviation 0.698; followed by the value 4.200 for item no.7: "Introducing elements of attraction into students' activities in order to increase demand for them" with a standard deviation 0.7950.While the lowest value was for item no.4: "Utilizing the students' leisure time, especially in the holidays, in scientific and cultural activities" with a standard deviation 0.7550.
This result is attributed to the clear impact of classroom activities in the refinement of the students' characters, trends and tendencies.This result also shows that school principals were very interested in directing teachers to employ classroom activities in the promotion of intellectual security.As classroom activities have a prominent role in identifying students' abilities and tendencies; instilling and developing positive values; utilizing students' free time in activities that are good for them and their society; and identifying students' problems in order to resolve them.Table 6 shows that the arithmetic means of the items of the domain "the role of principals toward serving local community" ranged between 3.200-3.725.The highest value 3.725 was for item no.1: "Holding regular meetings with parents in an atmosphere of dialogue and discussion" with a standard deviation 0.698; followed by the value 3.692 for item no.3: "Guiding students to participate in the national, religious and cultural activities organized by community centers" with a standard deviation 0.838.While the lowest value was for item no.6: "Making various school facilities available for members of the community in the summer vacations to practice different activities" with a standard deviation 1.066 and a medium degree of agreement.
This result indicates that there is a great appreciation of the leading role of the school in serving the society.It is not possible to separate school which qualifies students to be active elements in the development process from society.Therefore, schools must provide their members with an environment that is consistent with external community; so that the student does not experience any contradictions between his life inside the school and his life outside the school.Hence, there should be an active role for schools in strengthening the intellectual security of the community.To answer this question, the arithmetic means and standard deviations of the study sample estimates regarding the role of principals in strengthening intellectual security were calculated according to the study variables, as shown in Tables 7-8.To determine the presence of differences among the arithmetic means of the respondents' estimates regarding the role of principals in strengthening the intellectual security according to the study variables (gender, academic level, and years of experience in administration), the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used, as shown in Table 9.We can see from Table 9 that there are no statistically significant differences between the arithmetic means of the respondents' estimates regarding the role of principals in strengthening the intellectual security attributed to the study variables (gender, academic level, years of experience in administration).

Recommendations
In light of the results that have been reached, the researchers recommend the following:  Activating the role of school principals by giving them greater authorities to take measures that enhance the concept of intellectual security. Directing school activities toward the significance of intellectual security through festivals, lectures and trips. Cooperating with security agencies to hold lectures and meetings concerned with strengthening intellectual security of the students and protecting them from drifting towards intolerance and extremism. Familiarizing parents and the local community with the concepts of intellectual security.
 Organizing advanced training courses for school principals on ways of achieving intellectual security or facing ideological extremism. Utilizing the leisure time of students through joining cultural, social and sports clubs.
 Future studies should be conducting with different research methods (e.g., Qualitative study) to deeply understand the subject of the current study.
9.1.2The Second Domain: The Role of Principals toward School Activities

9. 1
.3 The Third Domain: The Role of Principals toward Serving the Local Community

Table 2 .
The reliability coefficient of the domains of the study tool

Table 3 .
The arithmetic means and standard deviations for each domain of the tool and for the tool as a whole in descending order (according to arithmetic means)

Table 4 .
The arithmetic means and standard deviations for the respondents' estimates regarding the domain: "the role of principals toward teachers" in descending order

Table 5 .
The arithmetic means and standard deviations for the respondents' estimates regarding the domain: "the role of principals toward school activities" in descending order * The highest value is 5.

Table 6 .
The arithmetic means and standard deviations for the respondents' estimates regarding the domain: "the role of principals toward serving local community" in descending order Question: Are There Any Statistically Significant Differences Attributed to the Variables: Gender, Academic Level, and Years of Experience in Administration, in the Responses of School Principals regarding Their Role in Strengthening the Intellectual Security of the Students in the Governorate of Ma'an?

Table 7 .
The arithmetic means and standard deviations of the respondents estimates regarding the study fields according to the "gender" and "academic level" variables

Table 8 .
The arithmetic means and standard deviations of the respondents estimates regarding the study fields according to the "years of experience in administration" variable

Table 9 .
The arithmetic means and standard deviations of the respondents estimates regarding the study fields according to the "years of experience in administration" variable Encouraging the students' interest in the school theater, and the development of the acting skill as a means of expression