Teacher Leadership. Behaviors and Importance of Teacher Leaders - Essay Example

? Teacher Leadership Affiliation Teacher Leadership Introduction For several years continuous research on teacher leadership has been conducted and its importance for students as well as educational institutes has been identified (Ackerman, 1996). Teacher leadership has been linked with various aspects of education such as professionalism of teachers and changes in the structure of educational institutes. Teacher leadership is believed to have played a major role in the act of changes in education. The concept of teacher leadership has played a vital role in changing the professional nature of teachers, changing the reward system of teachers, improvement in the teaching profession with the concept of continuous change and elevating participation of the teachers in the process of making effective decisions. When researchers started researching the notion of teacher leadership, they associated the notion with those teachers who are situated in the formal leadership roles such as teachers working as experienced teachers and teachers working as the department heads (Saha, 2009). Teachers who have assumed these formal position were found to conduct their leadership responsibility outside the class rooms and were given extra time to conduct these responsibilities. Teachers who had assumed formal position as leaders helped other teachers in problem solving and improving school conditions. Teachers assumed these position only with the aim of gaining growth in their professional life or if it was necessary to help their students and classrooms. Teachers who assume these positions do not act as a superior being, they rather work with other teachers as partners or teammates. When teachers assume these leadership positions their roles as teachers increased and these roles enhanced their professional life and teachers started gaining increased say in administrative as well as curriculum aspects of the educational institute. The main point that needs to be taken into consideration is that the effects of this kind of leadership of teachers was obtained because these teachers assumed formal leadership positions in educational institutes and they did not practice leadership roles inside the classroom setting. Researchers have figured out that more positive impact of teacher leadership can be obtained if teachers practice leadership roles within their classrooms (Muijs, 2007). The authority structure of schools and educational institutes has been altered in such a way that responsibilities of teachers of these institutes have been increased and these responsibilities promote the notion of teacher leaders within the context of classrooms. Body According to Muijs, the concept of teacher leadership refers to the various behaviors and activities that are together conducted by teachers within an educational institute(Muijs, 2007). This definition of teacher leadership differentiates between the leadership roles played by a teacher within the class and outside the class. The difference is that teacher leaders make use of their relationship with students and colleagues along with curriculum to bring improvement to the educational institute. According to Rinn, the leadership behaviors that are exhibited by the teachers result in enhanced performance of the educational center and the students inside the institute as well as outside the institute but these behaviors are exhibited by teachers within the classroom only(Rinn, 2003). These behaviors are quite informal as compared to the formal behaviors that a teacher exhibits while she is conducting leadership roles outside the classroom. The leadership roles that are conducted outside the classroom are conducted with the aim of enhancing performance of other teachers. The difference between conducting teacher leadership roles within and outside the classrooms does not clearly explain or simplify the notion of teacher leadership. Various activities have been referred to activities conducted by teacher leaders. These activities include: development of the curriculum, leading participants in teams that work for the development of schools, and mentoring and coaching teachers who have less experience and are new to the field of teaching. These are some of the activities that a teacher leader may conduct; the horizon of the activities that a teacher leader has to conduct is quite wide due to which researchers have failed to provide one specific definition of teacher leadership. According to Silva, the notion of teacher leadership has developed over a long period of time in different stages (Silva, 2000). In the first stage, teacher leaders were expected to conduct formal leadership roles such as being the head of the department, in the second stage teachers were assigned with the leadership role of creating the curriculum of the institute and mentoring inexperienced teachers and the in the third stage teachers were assigned with the role of changing the culture of the schools and roles that teachers have to conduct within and outside the boundaries of classrooms. Behaviors of Teacher Leaders There are various behaviors that have been associated with a successful teacher leader; Rinn states that a teacher leader exhibits behaviors such as motivating other individuals, collaborating and helping others and leading different assignments and projects (Rinn, 2003). According to Moller, a teacher leader is one who helps other teachers and teacher leaders develop, motivate others towards the betterment of procedures of education and conduct leadership activities within and outside classrooms (Moller, 1996). According to Lambert, teacher leaders are those who have a dream to make a difference to the profession of teaching and education (Lambert, 2003). He further states that those teachers, who have such dreams want to take responsibility of educating children, are ready to take actions, have an inquisitive nature and they know themselves quite well. Such teachers are always ready to learn new things and they give importance to learning of students, other teachers and self learning. Teachers, who are considered as leaders have the ability to develop quite positive interpersonal relationships, are easily accessible, give importance to integrity and are quite competent. Teacher leaders even give importance to working in teams and working with others in a team work environment and they even encourage other teachers to communicate their ideas about how they can serve students in a better way. When teachers start working in teams and develop instructions and curriculum together, they are able to implement their ideas and curriculum without gaining any approval from their superiors or principals. According to Beachum, teacher leaders are very important to principals and principals seek their aid and advice in various matters pertaining to educational institutes (Beachum, 2004). Australian researcher Crowther states that there are six elements that make teacher leaders successful (Crowther, 2009). These elements include: they must covey a message of a better future to other teachers and students, they try to create their own way of teaching, assessing and learning, they help facilitate others in the learning process, they try to eradicate barriers that are an obstacle in better learning and teaching, they use their ideas into their practices and create a culture that works for the success of the stake holders of an educational institute. Importance of Teacher Leader According to Conley, teacher leaders are important because they increase others participation in educational institutes, increase the level of satisfaction of other teachers, increase the professionalism in the profession of teaching, encourage and implement change in educational institutions, and they accomplish the task of doing things in an effective and efficient manner (Conley, 1999). Teacher leaders are even important to empower education; this means that teacher leaders increase the level of student learning and participation. According to Bowman, teachers who are passionate about teaching work closely with other teachers and develop curriculum by communicating with other teachers and they even see teacher leadership as an integral part of class room learning (Bowman, 2004). Teacher leaders are even able to witness that due to their efforts, students have changed in a positive way in different aspects of life. Teachers who are highly committed towards their students do not believe in status quo and are ready to take challenges and risks. When the work load of teachers is increased and they become a part of the decision making and implementation process, they feel highly motivated and work with a sense of responsibility. MacNeil states that change is very essential for the betterment of educational institutes, thus it is very important for principals to hire teachers who encourage change and give importance to teachers who are ready to accept change (MacNeill, 2007). Crowther states that teachers that are ready to adapt to change are found in different shapes and sizes and they exhibit various personality traits and have different ways of managing organizations (Crowther, 2009). According to a study conducted in accordance to OECD, if teachers are given authority; the entire profession of teaching will become quite attractive as a career option and will even enhance the overall teaching quality (OECD, 2005). Researchers from New Zealand have identified that teacher leadership leads to increased effectiveness and efficiency of organizations (Fitzgerald, 2003). Teacher Leader Emotional Involvement Emotions are an integral part of the entire teaching process; Crowther states that if educational institutes need to become better, teachers of these institutes need to feel that they are an important of the entire betterment process (Crowther, 2009). Van Veen argues that teachers have their own believes and perception on how educational institutes should operate (Van, 2006). Good teachers are considered those individuals who are very passionate about their profession and they think creatively and add challenges to their curriculum to provide a better learning experience to their students. Teachers are said to be very heavily emotionally attached with students and they gain satisfaction if their students and schools gain success. The way a teacher teaches and what they teach is dependent on the emotional attachment of the teachers with the students and schools. Teachers feel more rewarded if they are able to design their teaching method in accordance to their evaluation of students. Cranston, an Australian researcher suggested that teachesr that are working in midlevel positions of the organization were struggling because what they were teaching and how they were teaching was very different from what they wanted to teach and how they wanted to teach (Cranston, 2000). These teachers even were not satisfied with their organization as they felt that they had more to offer to the organization than they were being allowed to offer. Teachers that are allowed to work in accordance to the way they want to operate are highly satisfied and are putting in great effort and they enjoy what they do to the extent that they are ready to perform their duties even if they have to pay a heavy cost. Factors Promoting Teacher Leadership Various factors have been identified that promote teacher leadership practices or they become an obstacle in these practices. Educational settings that promote the development of teachers promote teacher leadership, this means that teacher leadership works best in those educational settings where teachers are involved in the continuous process of learning and where they can develop new skills and exercise their learned skills freely. Time is another factor that can either hinder the process of teacher leadership or promote it. Teachers complain that they do not get enough time to exercise their leadership behaviors during working hours, thus teachers need to be given enough time to practice leadership activities such as, devising curriculum and teaching methods. The relationship between the teacher and the principal is another important factor. Principals who allow teachers to practice their leadership activities in schools promote teacher leadership as teachers are more freely able to conduct teacher leadership behaviors in such settings. Teacher leadership activities are highly promoted in settings where teachers have a good understanding with each other because teachers need to work as teams in order to exercise their leadership behaviors. Conclusion The concept of teacher leadership has gone through three stages, in the first stage, teachers’ assumed formal leadership positions, in the second phase teachers exhibited leadership behaviors such as creating curriculum and in the last stage, teachers were expected to exhibit leadership behaviors within the context of classes and outside the classes. Various behaviors have been identified that make a successful teacher leader, these behaviors include: helping other teachers in their practice, creating an environment in which both the teachers and students learn, increased participation of teachers in decisions making and teachers working as team members to solve problems. Teachers who assume leadership positions are highly motivated as they are able to operate in accordance to the way they want to operate. References Ackerman, R. H., Katzenmeyer, M., & Moller, G. (1996). Every teacher as a leader: Realizing the potential of teacher leadership. San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass. Beachum, F., & Dentith, A. M. (June 06, 2004). Teacher Leaders Creating Cultures of School Renewal and Transformation. Educational Forum, The, 68, 3, 276-286. Bowman, R. F. (May 01, 2004). Teachers as Leaders. Clearing House, 77, 5, 187. Conley, S., & Muncey, D. E. (January 01, 1999). Teachers Talk about Teaming and Leadership in Their Work. Theory into Practice, 38, 1, 46-55. Cranston, N. (July 01, 2000). Teachers as Leaders: a critical agenda for the new millennium. Asia-pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 28, 2, 123-131. Crowther, F., Ferguson, M., & Hann, L. (2009). Developing teacher leaders: How teacher leadership enhances school success. 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