Leadership for teachers’ action learning

Abstract

Action learning can help teachers gain the necessary professional competence for making better judgements and taking effective action in ambiguous situations. It thus enhances teachers’ professional practice and performance in a changing and uncertain environment. This paper intends to propose a leadership framework for facilitating teachers’ action learning in school. This framework may not only bridge the theoretical gap between school leadership and teachers’ action learning but also enrich the knowledge base of school leadership. The framework comprises three dimensions – inspiring, social supporting, and enabling – and eight components. The inspiring dimension is composed of three components: building and institutionalizing shared vision, providing individualized job design, and modeling. The social supporting dimension encompasses another three components: reducing defensive routines, fostering learning culture, and mobilizing social support. The enabling dimension comprises two components: enhancing theoretical knowledge and repertoires of skills, and providing intellectual stimulation. A principal who exercises this framework has high potential to facilitate teachers’ action learning in school. A list of expected teachers’ cognitive/behavioral characteristics is incorporated in the framework as indicators for the occurrence of teachers’ action learning. Some implications of this framework for research and theory development, and particularly the knowledge base of school leadership, will be discussed at the end of this paper.