Against this backdrop, the purpose of my research was to examine the implementation of teacher leadership in three schools in the Pinetown District. The study examines how teacher leadership is achieved in schools by looking at factors that promote or hinder the implementation of teacher leadership in schools.
Background of the study
Teacher leadership takes leadership roles in relation to the subject and stage, if necessary, joins teachers in organizing and carrying out additional and extra-mural activities (SASA, 1996). Furthermore, teacher leadership has the potential to positively influence, nurture, and support the educational improvement efforts of other teachers.
Problem statement
While that is the case, there are many factors that appear to hinder the functioning of teacher leadership in South African schools. This means that the SMT must distribute leadership roles in schools so that teacher leadership becomes a reality, provided that teachers demonstrate their capabilities when given the opportunity to do so.
Rationale of the study
On the other hand, the maintenance course should support teacher leaders as they exercise their teacher leadership skills, otherwise the implementation of teacher leadership in schools is unlikely to succeed. According to the findings of a case study conducted by Lawrence (2010), it appears that most teachers were not familiar with the concept of teacher leadership.
Purpose of the study
Hashikutuva (2011) claims that teachers themselves resist leadership activities assigned to them because they seem to have no idea of what teacher leadership is. In order to find out how exactly teacher leadership is enacted and what reinforces and inhibits this legislation in schools, a closer exploration of how teachers understand teacher leadership and its application in school examinations is warranted.
Significance of the study
Objectives of the study
Key research questions
Clarification of concepts
- Leadership
- School leadership
- Teacher leadership
- Teacher leaders
Teacher leadership is the ability to inspire other teachers to adapt to effects that cannot normally be considered without the guidance of skilled teacher leaders (Wasley, 1991). Teacher leadership is a flexible structure to allow 'teacher leaders' to shape the development of trust with their colleagues (Riveros, Newton, & da Costa, 2013).
Organisation of the study
Teacher leadership in the whole school development forms part of Grant's (2012) zone 3 according to which teacher leadership takes place at school level and roles of teacher leaders mainly involve organizing and leading in schools (Kajee, 2011). Teacher leadership in the community forms part of Grant's (2012) theory as zone 4, which involves going beyond one's own school to neighboring schools by providing curriculum knowledge (Kajee, 2011).
Chapter summary
Theoretical framework
Grant’s (2012) teacher leadership model
The teacher leadership model developed by Grant (2012) will be used to conceptually explain teacher leadership zones. Grant's (2012) teacher leadership model indicates that teacher leaders are involved in the education and guidance of both teachers and learners.
The importance of teacher leadership
To follow on from the explanation of teacher leadership in the community, is the explanation of the importance of teacher leadership. Through the positions of teacher leaders in their schools to enhance the teaching profession, the importance of teacher leadership is shown.
Teacher leadership in the classroom
Harris and Muijs (2005) therefore show that leadership activities for teachers consist of continuous classroom teaching, which contributes to improving individual teaching skills. Teacher leadership in the classroom is likely to include practices such as classroom management, classroom administration, and monitoring, inspiring, and teaching students.
Teacher leadership beyond the classroom
One international study states that teacher leaders assist other teachers as resource providers, sharing teaching materials and being teaching experts who assist their colleagues by implementing operational approaches to teaching (Harrison & Killion, 2007). It appears that teacher leadership does not only take place in classrooms, but extends teacher leadership skills to other teachers in the form of extracurricular activities.
Teacher leadership in the whole school development
Schools are seen as communities where teachers and learners develop and learn together and teacher leaders do this by involving themselves in school activities, professional development through the support they get from fellow teachers and using the SBS (Harris & Mujis, 2003). Outside the classroom in whole school development, teacher leadership seems essential as teacher leaders participate in schools' decision-making, organizing and leading other teachers.
Teacher leadership in the community
At the garden school, both teacher leaders demonstrated evidence of enactment of teacher leadership in Zone 4. Teacher leaders partially enact teacher leadership in whole school development as subject leaders.
Factors enabling the enactment of teacher leadership
Factors enhancing teacher leadership
The school culture
It is through this culture that the school will produce representatives who will be brave enough to market their school. The school culture should support teacher leadership for this to happen.
Collaboration
The most important factor in strengthening teacher leadership in schools is the existing school culture. Culture is a very important factor because it determines whether or not teacher leadership occurs in the school.
Support from school principals
However, at the school where collaborative practices were well established, responses to teacher leaders appeared to be more positive and strong peer networks are an important source of support for teacher leadership. However, I also believe that not only principals, but teacher leaders themselves are a source of their own empowerment and support of teacher leadership within the school.
Challenges that need to be overcome
The top- down structural leadership style used by school princpals
Teachers as barriers
Another challenge to teacher leadership is the 'teachers' as they themselves pose a challenge to teacher leadership as they have no training to assist them and no financial resources to support themselves (Leithwood, Jantzi & Steinbach, 1999). Other teachers do not want to use leadership roles because they do not want to take the initiative in leading outside of their classroom because they trust that it is the principal's role to lead (Grant, 2006).
Time as a barrier
Sometimes it is challenging to financially support teacher leaders, especially in the "no fee schools" (Mokhele, 2016). Other teachers feel isolated from colleagues when they take on leadership roles and Grant (2006) notes that most teachers believe that the principal's role is to lead and that the teachers' role is to obey and follow instructions.
Other challenges
My study explored the implementation of teacher leadership in three schools in the Pinetown district.
Chapter summary
Introduction
Sampling methods, data generation methods, description of participating schools, key research participants, reliability measures, and ethical issues are discussed in detail in this chapter. 29 After outlining the delimitations and limitations of the study, I conclude this chapter by summarizing it.
Qualitative approach
Interpretive Paradigm
My understanding of the enactment of teacher leadership was driven by intimate relationships and interactions I had with the research participants in their. As an interpretivist researcher, I take the position that my explanation of the enactment of teacher leadership in three schools in the Pinetown district depended on intimate relationships and interactions I made with the participants in their context.
Case study design
I understood that these interactions could lead to many possible interpretations of how teacher leadership is practiced in schools. The aim was to capture the perceptions of research participants in the real-life setting of my study, three schools, in order to develop an in-depth account explaining teachers' experiences related to the implementation of teacher leadership in schools.
Sampling
In my research I used a case study style because this is the most appropriate style finding data needed. 33 are in the SMT and can provide information relevant to the research problem and research questions.
Methods used to generate the data
Semi-structured interviews
Before each interview session, I asked permission to use the tape recorder to capture everything that was said during the interview. Before the interview I had a strategy, but was flexible during the interview by sticking to the questions and following the interviewee's discussion.
Data analysis
The transcripts were used to divide the responses into four distinct themes that represented Grant's four domains of teacher leadership. From the frequency of the colors, I was able to determine in which zones the teacher's guidance prevails.
Trustworthiness
- Transferability
- Credibility
- Confirmability
- Dependability
I also ensured credibility as the series that the case study forms the scope of the issue (Rule & John, 2011). Credibility is the veracity of the data and the researchers' understanding of the views of the research participants (Polit & Beck, 2012).
Ethical considerations
Again, the emphasis was on determining whether the study's conclusions could be confirmed by other researchers (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). Consent was obtained from all teachers who would be part of the study for interviews and content analysis.
Delimitation of the study
39 interview, the research participants were also given letters indicating the details of the study such as the topic, purpose and activities of the study. Research participants had an option to withdraw from the study at any time if they did not feel comfortable continuing to participate in it.
Limitations of the study
During the conduct of this study, I was exposed and the three schools and teachers interviewed were given pseudonyms to protect their identities (Bertram & Christiansen, 2014). In accordance with university regulations, I have agreed to keep the data obtained in my study in a secure location for five years to maintain anonymity even after the research is completed.
Chapter summary
The aim of the study was to investigate the enactment of teacher leadership in three schools in the Pinetown district. In summary, the research objective of this study was to investigate the enactment of teacher leadership in three schools in Pinetown County.
Profile of the sampled schools and research participants
Garden High School and Participants Profile
I ensured that the characteristics of the research participants and those of their schools did not in any way compromise the assurance of confidentiality and privacy afforded to the research participants throughout the study. The verbatim expressions of the research participants are presented as they are, as no changes have been made to correct the language as quoted from the interview responses to clearly capture the thoughts of the research participants, as they are to make the analysis and interpretation of data much easier.
Colour High School and Participants Profile
Animal Farm Secondary School and Participants Profile
Data presentation
Analysis, findings and discussion of the data
Understanding of teacher leadership at Garden School
Zone 1: Teacher leadership in the classroom at Garden
Zone 2: Teacher leadership beyond the classroom at Garden school
Zone 3: Teacher leadership in the whole school development at Garden school
Zone 4: Teacher leadership in the community at Garden School
Challenges that needed to be overcome at Garden School
Teacher leaders at Garden School considered the challenges to be overcome in implementing teacher leadership as an element commonly noted by teacher leaders. From the data generated, it appeared that all the research participants interviewed at Garden School agreed with each other that teacher leadership was faced with a number of challenges that needed to be overcome.
Factors enhancing teacher leadership at Garden School
However, despite the challenges mentioned above, below is a theme that reveals the factors that strengthen teachers' leadership in their school. At the garden school, the participation of research participants led to the mention of various factors that improved the leadership of teachers in their school.
Understanding of teacher leadership at Colour School
The next theme of the issues related to the implementation of teacher leadership at Color School follows. Both the generated data and literature agree that teacher leadership must occur holistically in the school environment and beyond.
Zone 1: Teacher leadership in the classroom at Colour School
Miss Aqua and Miss Beige also showed that teacher leadership did not just stop in the classroom, but went beyond a teacher leader being expected to participate in school activities and management and leadership tasks. Miss Beige described her role as a teacher who leads in the classroom and how she modeled leadership in the classroom.
Zone 2: Teacher leadership beyond the classroom at Colour School …
Also on the stage of the meeting, the teacher leaders were reminded of their duties. It is clear from the responses of the research participants that the teacher leaders at the Color School were also involved in extracurricular activities.
Zone 3: Teacher leadership in the whole school development at Colour School
Teacher leaders engage in various activities, including writing the school newspaper and organizing market days. Chatturgoon (2008) and Gumede (2011) postulate that the roles of teacher leaders in whole school development also include decision making at the school level where teachers participate in school collection, school.
Zone 4: Teacher leadership in the community at Colour School
Through their answers about the involvement of parents in the school, emphasized the teacher's leadership introduction in the community. Within Zone 4 of the Garden School, few facts were cited as evidence that the teacher's leadership was adopted in the community.
Challenges that needed to be overcome at Colour School
He also stated that there must be a positive connection between parents and the SBS to protect teacher leaders. So somewhere in the findings it seemed that teacher leaders were discouraged by the SBS from introducing their teacher leadership roles in schools because they did not get support from the SBS.
Factors enhancing teacher leadership at Colour School
Teacher leaders' responses to improving teacher leadership were personal rather than shared. It was clear from their responses to improving teacher leadership that teacher leadership is an informal school structure.
Understanding of teacher leadership at Animal Farm School
Miss Caterpillar's voice was also heard when she was asked to explain the term teacher leadership. It confirmed what DeHart (2011) refers to as teacher leadership as an agency that encourages teacher leaders to influence their colleagues to develop their teaching skills by contributing to school development.
Zone 1: Teacher leadership in the classroom at Animal Farm School
69 (2006) is that teacher leadership leads student study groups, while teacher leaders confine themselves to the classroom and direct students on how to study in preparation for any form of assessment. Below is an interpretation of the data on teacher leadership implementation outside the classroom at Animal Farm School.
Zone 2: Teacher leadership beyond the classroom at Animal Farm School …
Grant (2012) states that teacher leaders are concerned with teaching that takes place in the classroom under the direction of a teacher leader. Animal Farm School's teacher leaders covered facilitating, coaching, training, and creating new approaches.
Zone 3: Teacher leadership in the whole school development at Animal Farm
Whole school development also involved teacher leaders who worked beyond classroom activities by participating in extramural activities. In contrast, it appeared from the data generated that the teacher leaders at the Animal Farm School did not participate in all school decision-making as they were only members of school committees that included students only.
Zone 4: Teacher leadership in the community at Animal Farm School
73 out of how teacher leaders introduced teacher leadership in society, there were only a few answers from the research participants. Again, the involvement of parents at Animal Farm School, who were invited by teacher leaders to attend to critical issues regarding their children, served as the introduction of teacher leadership into the community.
Challenges that needed to be overcome at Animal Farm School …
The teacher leaders interviewed also agreed that there were indeed challenges to be overcome when teacher leadership was adopted in the school. Teacher leaders expressed their frustration when asked about the challenges that hindered the implementation of teacher leadership in their school.
Factors enhancing teacher leadership at Animal Farm School
Mrs. Buffalo also endorsed communication as the factor that improved teacher leadership in their school. Miss Caterpillar also recognized communication as one of the factors that improved teacher leadership in their school.
A descriptive comparative analysis of the enactment of teacher leadership practices
The enactment of teacher leadership across the school contexts
- Understanding teacher leadership
- Zone 1: Teacher leadership in the classroom
- Zone 2: Teacher leadership beyond the classroom
- Zone 3: Teacher leadership in the whole school development
- Zone 4: Teacher leadership in the community
- Challenges that needed to be overcome
- Factors enhancing teacher leadership
Summary of findings
My study attempted to examine the implementation of teacher leadership in three schools: one urban school, one rural school and one township school. Although challenges limited the implementation of teacher leadership in these three schools, there were also factors that strengthened teacher leadership.
Chapter summary …
Their teacher leadership was expansive in these three zones, except in Zone 3, as teacher leaders did not contribute anything to the decision-making processes in their schools. The chapter also sought to explore the challenges that teacher leaders had to overcome in implementing teacher leadership in the school.
Introduction
It can be seen that the research participants in this study demonstrated leadership across three zones, namely Zone 1, Zone 2 and Zone 4 as identified in Grant's (2012) model of teacher leadership. What are enhancing or inhibiting factors in the introduction of teacher leadership in the three Pinetown District secondary schools.
Summary of the study
They also shared similar responses to subject teachers about the introduction of teacher leadership in the classroom. It could be concluded that the teacher leaders' design of teacher leadership in the classroom was similar.
The enactment of teacher leadership across the research participants
Understanding teacher leadership
At Kleurskool, both teacher leaders understood teacher leadership as a leader in school activities outside the classroom and one teacher leader further understood it as a leader in the classroom. A teacher leader in Animal School understood teacher leadership as leader in the classroom and another understood it as leader in the community.
Zone 1: Teacher leadership in the classroom
Their HoD confirmed that indeed the head teachers in their school adopted teacher leadership by engaging in classroom teaching and that one of their main roles was to look after students' human relationships, monitor study periods and communicate with parents if necessary.
Zone 2: Teacher leadership beyond the classroom
The HoD cited that teacher leadership was adopted by teacher leaders in their school because the management team provided the teacher leaders with the teaching materials. As SMT, they assisted subject leaders in drafting subject policies to make the introduction of teacher leadership beyond the classroom a success.
Zone 3: Teacher leadership in the whole school development
Both head teachers spoke about promoting good academic relations with teachers in their respective departments.
Zone 4: Teacher leadership in the community
The teacher leader had to connect community members with the school; such was the approval of the teachers' leadership in the community, the HoD surmised. A teacher leader at Color School adopted teacher leadership by participating in leadership roles in the community.
Challenges that needed to be overcome
At Color School, teacher leaders complained about the challenges they encountered when adopting teacher leadership in the classroom. One teacher leader indicated that there were no specific roles given to teacher leaders by the SMT.
Factors enhancing teacher leadership
94 After discussing the issues related to the adoption of teacher leadership by the research participants of the three case study schools, the following are the main research questions on which my study was based. Consequently, these key research questions are used as a source of presentation of the findings of my study.
Key research questions restated
How is teacher leadership understood in schools? …
How is teacher leadership enacted in schools?
In the urban school context, the institution of teacher leadership was flexible because of the resources and facilities they had. The enactment of teacher leadership in the township school context was somewhat evident through sports with the neighboring schools.
What are enhancing or inhibiting factors in enacting teacher leadership in schools?
In the rural school context, creativity and being organized favored the institution of teacher leadership in the classroom. The above statement encouraged the institution of teacher leadership in the community, especially in the rural school context.
Conclusions
It is observable from the study that there are challenges that teacher leaders face while introducing teacher leadership in schools. The findings also showed that there is very little support and guidance given to teacher leaders and very often they have to rely on their own experience and feeling.
Recommendations
101 The results reveal that as such in teacher management there is very little effort, duplication of work and overlapping tasks. The way in which teacher leaders have designed teacher leadership has been largely based on their own experiences, as there has been very little guidance and support from SMTs or other agencies.
Chapter summary
A case study of teacher leadership in a special education school in KwaZulu-Natal. Beginning teachers and teacher leadership: A case study of a secondary school in the KwaDukuza region.
