Leadership Perceptions Of Teachers Research Articles

A mixed methods investigation of administrators’ and teachers’ perceptions of teacher leadership

ABSTRACT Teacher leadership has received attention for empirical and practical reasons. However, despite the evolution of the concept over the last several decades, there is still dissonance regarding the concept of teacher leadership. This study was grounded in the theory of professional identity to understand how administrators and teachers conceptualize teacher leadership. We studied the perceptions of administrators and teachers about teacher leadership using a survey and interviews. While there was some overlap in how administrators and teachers perceived teacher leadership, administrators viewed teacher leadership as occurring outside of the classroom while teachers located it inside of the classroom. Teachers also valued formal and informal mentoring. We provide implications for research and practice based on these findings.

Perceptions of teacher leadership in the Arab region: A comparative analysis of three countries

This study compares teachers’ perceptions of teacher leadership in three Arab countries: Qatar, Oman and Egypt. Using the Teacher Leadership Inventory tool, the study examined the factors and demographic variables associated with teacher leadership in the selected countries. Specifically, the study explored the four factors identified by the TLI: Sharing Expertise (SE), Sharing Leadership (SL), Supra-Practitioner (SP), and Principal Selection (PS) and investigated if teachers’ perceptions of these factors would differ based on their country, gender and school type. Three sets of data were collected from the selected countries, and the respondents were teachers working in primary and middle public schools. Means, standard deviations, t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The results showed the overall level of teacher leadership to be moderate, with Sharing Expertise being the highest ranked factor, followed by Sharing Leadership, Supra-Practitioner and Principal Selection. The study also found both similarities and differences between the three countries. For example, the Qatari sample provided the highest scores on all TLI factors, followed by Egypt and Oman. Differences were also noted based on school type and gender. Implications emerging from the results are discussed and suggestions for improvement are provided.

School culture as the predictor of teacher leadership

This study aimed to examine the relationship between school culture and teacher leadership based on the perceptions of teachers working in primary schools. The study was designed with a predictive correlational model. The sample consisted of 625 teachers who were determined through a simple random sampling technique. The data were collected through the School Culture Scale and the Teacher Leadership Scale. In data analysis, mean and standard deviation were used to reveal the participants’ level of perception. Additionally, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and multiple regression analyses were performed. As a result, it was revealed that the teachers have relatively higher levels of perception about the task culture, success culture, and support culture while their perceptions of bureaucratic culture are moderate. Moreover, it was concluded that the participants’ overall perceptions of teacher leadership are partially high. It was found that there is a moderate positive and significant relationship between teacher leadership and the sub-dimensions of the task, support, and success cultures, and a low level of positive and significant relationship with the sub-dimension of bureaucratic culture. Finally, it was yielded that task culture, support culture, success culture, and bureaucratic culture predict teacher leadership significantly. Therefore, it is suggested to develop informal relationships, create an environment of trust, promote horizontal organizational structures, support teacher autonomy, and appreciate teacher achievement to develop teacher leadership at schools.

The Relationship between Organisational Support and Teacher Leadership Perceptions of High School Teachers

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between organisational support and teacher leadership perceptions of high school teachers.Design/Methodology/Approach: The population of this study, which was designed in the relational screening model, consists of teachers working in state high schools in the central districts of Hatay in the 2018-2019 academic year. 298 teachers were selected through the random selection method. The research data collected by the “Perceived Organisational Support Scale” and “Teacher Leadership Scale” were analysed via arithmetic means frequency values, percentage, standard deviation, Kruskal Wallis test, Mann Whitney U test, Pearson product of moments, and simple linear regression analysis.Findings: According to the results, it was determined that teachers’ perceptions of organisational support and teacher leadership are high. Teachers’ perceptions of the teacher leadership’s dimension of collaboration with colleagues differ significantly according to seniority and educational status variables. It has been observed that teachers working in schools accepting students without examination have a higher perception of organisational support than teachers working in schools that accept students with aptitude tests. There is a moderately positive significant relationship between teachers’ perceptions of organisational support and teacher leadership. The study determined that organisational support is a significant predictor of the sub-dimensions of teacher leadership, institutional development, professional development, and collaboration with colleagues.Highlights: Teachers who accept students without an exam have a higher perception of organisational support than teachers who accept students with aptitude tests. This shows that the school type is an important variable. In this direction, qualitative studies can be conducted to gain in-depth information on why the perception of organisational support differs according to school types. Considering that organisational support is a predictor of teacher leadership, it can be stated that there is a need for studies to determine the factors affecting teachers’ perceptions of organisational support.

A scale for measuring teacher leadership in early childhood education in China: Development and validation

This article describes the development of a teacher leadership scale (TLS) that can be utilized in early childhood education in China. A mixed methods research design was developed to meet the research aim, and both qualitative and quantitative data on the perceptions of teacher leadership from both middle leaders (i.e. vice-principal, key stage coordinator, subject leader) and classroom teachers were collected. In the qualitative study, semi-structured interviews with seven middle leaders and seven classroom teachers were conducted. The qualitative findings were then used for item pool generation in a quantitative study to create the TLS in four stages of development. The TLS questionnaire was distributed to 175 respondents and then to a further 419 respondents for exploratory factor analysis. The scale was further validated by confirmatory factor analysis with another 597 respondents. Its concurrent validity was also examined: teacher leadership was found to be positively associated with job satisfaction and the principal’s authority openness. The article demonstrates that a four-factor model of teacher leadership as follows is psychometrically sound: (a) leading teaching and professional development; (b) characteristics of teacher leaders; (c) participating in school-wide decision-making; and (d) diversity and continuous improvement.

Becoming a Teacher Leader: Exploring Malaysian In-Service Teachers’ Perceptions, Readiness and Challenges

The ever growing demand for educational transformation in Malaysia has placed greater responsibilities upon school leaders to improve school performance. This brings to light the need to explore alternative approaches of school leadership where teachers can be roped in to help, lead and manage the operational tasks of the school. This study explores in-service teachers’ perceptions of teacher leadership within their contexts. The study also investigates teachers’ readiness and the challenges they face while practising informal teacher leader roles. The study employs a mixed-methods design and data were collected through questionnaires from 587 primary and 189 secondary in-service teachers and semi-structured interviews with eight selected teachers. In-service teachers have positive perceptions towards teacher leadership with most acknowledging familiarity with the concept. They admitted that they were ready to be selected as informal teacher leaders, for professional reasons. The findings further reveal that in-service teachers face challenges from various parties within the school community in executing their role as teacher leaders. Moreover, the findings recommend a framework for policy and school based initiatives for improving teacher leadership practices in Malaysian school context.

Comparison and Evaluation of Four Models of Teacher Leadership

The purpose of this quantitative study was to employ confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to compare the four-factor model of teacher leadership with three alternative models. The alternative models of teacher leadership include: (a) a two-factor model investigating teacher leadership as teacher-driven and principal-driven factors, (b) a three-factor model of teacher-driven factors of teacher leadership, and (c) a five-factor model in which a factor from the four factor model is split into two separate factors. While the fit indices indicated that the three-factor model provided the best model fit for the data used in this study, evaluation of CFA models of the strength and interpretability of the parameter estimates demonstrated that the four-factor model provides a better representation of teachers’ perceptions of teacher leadership in a school. Though focused on the four-factor model of teacher leadership, this study filled a theoretical gap by examining educational leadership through the lens of teacher as the cornerstone.

Relationship between High School Principals' Humor Styles and Teacher Leadership

This study aimed at examining the relationship between high school teachers' perceptions of teacher leadership and school principals' humor styles. A total of 252 teachers employed in 12 high schools located in the city centre of Ankara, Turkey participated in the study. “The Humor Behavior Scale” developed by Cemaloglu, Recepoglu, Sahin, Dasci and Kokturk (2013) and “The Teacher Leadership Scale” developed by Beycioglu and Aslan (2010) were used to gather data. Results of the study indicated that productive-social humor style was positively and significantly correlated with such dimensions of teacher leadership as institutional improvement, professional improvement, and collaboration among colleagues. Results also revealed that the productive-social humor style was a significant predictor of institutional improvement and professional improvement. Results were discussed within the context of the improvement of the leadership behaviors of teachers.