The Notion of a Teacher Leader - Case Study Example

What is a teacher leader and why are they important? 2007 The notion of a Teacher Leader was introduced in 1983 by Nation at Risk report. Though almost three decades have past, teacher leadership continues to be poorly developed. Meanwhile, it is one of the most promising solutions for multiple long-lasting issues in education. There is no official definition of the term “a teacher leader”. The interpretations differ, underlining the leader abilities in the teachers. The notion of a teacher leader is very broad indeed. Roland S. Barth in 2001 declared that every teacher is a leader. The notion seems to be linked with the promotion of educator’s profession and an attempt to motivate young and experienced teachers. Numerous programs and institutes are directed at coining teacher leaders, training “teachers as leaders”. For instance, CBU’s program is aimed at training teachers, to make them able to cope with the present day challenges, “ to adopt a position of persistent belief in student potential” and do their best to develop that potential, “to relate effectively not only with students but also with parents and the community” instead of taking on the role of mastery in classroom, effectively interact with colleagues, “influence the policy, practice, character, and culture of the entire building in positive directions”. This program is to develop the teacher’s striving for excellence assuming creativity and critical thinking, technology infusion, and values-based education, skills of interpersonal communication and the ability to work in team. The program encourages teachers to take a holistic view of their students as “members of the human community” consider students’ emotional, physical, intellectual, social and spiritual dimensions of human experience, enhancing students’ social interactions and belief in democracy. CDU states: “The teacher is a leader whose influence appears in many forms, sometimes quiet and unobtrusive, but always persistent”. The program explains to teachers that every student can learn, schools can become better, all teachers can achieve high levels of professionalism and success. “The teacher leader encourages, recognizes resources and talents, offers comfort to those in stress, challenges students to achieve deeper understanding, interprets the world and events meaningfully, and walks the moral road”, advocates for and empowers the ineffective students and inspires colleagues to adopt the same position, takes active part in school renewal, “views a school as a learning organization and seeks skillful means to encourage thoughtful change processes”. “Whether faced with a colleague in despair, a school in chaos, or a child in need, the call to educate is a living vocation in the teacher-leader, - concludes the author of the article (CBU 2007). However, it remains not clear entirely what functions and responsibilities a teacher leader should take, if a person taking the position is to continue working with children or to complete mere administrative tasks. To understand what a teacher leader is and what functions he is expected to fulfill, we turned to a description of the job that can be found online. The MLTI Teacher Leader Job Description placed by State of Maine Department of Education read, “Teacher leadership is critical to the successful implementation of technology use in “whole school capacity building” to increase student and educator learning.  It is recommended that each school designates a “lead teacher” (a classroom teacher with influence and power) that has the respect and confidence of their own colleagues in the classroom” (ACTEM 2007). The skills required included, leaders qualities such as ability to moderate discussion and make decisions, familiarity with government structures in schools and other organizations, knowledge of the school reform movements history, strategies of change management, resilience to change, knowledge and experience in linking learning and technology. The rest of requirements were associated with the technology program the teacher leader was to promote and research on (ACTEM, 2007). In fact, they needed not quite a teacher leader but a promoter of the program and the researcher of its effectiveness, familiar with the school work. This description did not help us. Michael Kelley (2005) carried out the case study of the functions of a mentor teacher who was to assist child care teachers in their implementation of High Scope curriculum program. The teacher was mainly involved into technical assistance, and 26 percent of his time the teacher was engaged into meeting with teachers. Kelley found out that the variety of the activities the mentor teacher was expected to conduct hindered his work, the teacher leader lacked experience to resonate with the old teachers, who resisted the proposed changes, as well as the specialized professional training for the job she was to do. The case study reveals some aspects and issues related to the concept of a teacher leader. The position of the teacher leader in this case was an administrative. The author came to a conclusion that to achieve improvements in education it is necessary to involve classroom teachers, so that they could affect and distribute resources. Thus we define a teacher leader as a classroom teacher who is encouraged to actively participate in administrative work. The Teacher Leader Network (2003) offers six nonofficial definitions of the term. Perhaps the most concrete of them is: “A teacher leader is a proficient handler of curriculum matters in the classroom. From the classroom she/her emerges to share ideas, collaborate with others, and influence issues that affect students, teachers, and schools. The teacher leader sees the classroom as the best starting point to institute change”. Another one compares a teacher leader with “Galileo: a maverick who learns as much as she can about her field, envisions what most cannot see, questions provincial wisdom, and holds up against a system that rewards mediocrity and resists”. The rest are descriptive definitions outlining the major expectations from the teacher as a leader, including all those mentioned in the CBU program. The teacher Leader Self-Assessment Guide highlights the major traits that a teacher needs to become a leader. They are: good physical conditions and ability to work under stressful conditions, attractiveness and ability to associate with others, being liked by them, brilliant, exceptional intelligence, exceptional responsiveness to the feelings and needs of others, ability to constructively meet trying situations, warm, rich and growing character, outstanding ability to lead, inspire others and maintain their confidence, superior creative abilities, ability to formulate, carry and execute plans to conclusion, willingness to serve teamwork as needed, ability of quick decision making, basing on experience and judgment (Kimmelman, Handout 2). Roland S. Barth (2001) mentions the four-year study carried out by Robert Hampel in 10 schools within the Coalition of Essential Schools. Hampel found that there are four types of teachers emerging within each school: the "cynics," the "sleepy people," the "yes-but" people - and the teacher leaders and that the teacher leaders never constituted more than 25% of a faculty even within reform-minded schools (p.445). Barth also quotes Haim Ginott, who once said: “Ive come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. Its my personal approach that creates the climate. Its my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a childs life miserable or joyous” (Barth 2001, p.446). Explaining his understanding of teacher leadership Barth summarizes that all teachers are leaders and may be the “decisive element” both within their classrooms and entire schools. He also distinguishes 10 areas where teacher leadership is essential, those being: “choosing textbooks and instructional materials; shaping the curriculum; setting standards for student behavior; deciding whether students are tracked into special classes; designing staff development and in-service programs; setting promotion and retention policies; deciding school budgets; evaluating teacher performance; selecting new teachers; and selecting new administrators” (Barth 2001, p.445-446). The summary of Teacher Leader Endorsement concretizes the possible roles of a teacher leader, including: mentoring or coaching of new teachers; development and delivery of professional development activities; curriculum standards committees running; curriculum development; conducting of School Improvement Initiatives; serving as department or grade level chairs; serving on school leadership teams; being a union chapter leader; participating in committees, task forces, etc.; responding to crises in the schools (e.g., serve as a substitute, student discipline, respond to teacher’s instructional needs, etc.); collection of assessment data and assistance to administrators and teachers in its implementation for school improvements (State Illinois 2006). Now as we have clarified the notion of a teacher leader and his/her possible functions, roles and areas of activities, let us outline the rationales for teacher leaders. The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) pointed to numerous issues the US education faced at the beginning of the 21st century, stating the teacher leadership is the method of solving those problems. The basic position is that “student learning depends first, last, and always on the quality of the teacher” (IEL 2001, p.7). The state of the US education is still in demand of improvement. In 2000 President Bush launched initiatives “America reads” and “America counts”, while the research data had shown that student of the 4th grade were not able to read properly. Many schools still fall behind the National Educational Standards, no matter how well they are funded, how large the classes are or how many computers per student are available. The situation caused hot legislative debates, it has been widely discussed nationwide by politicians, scholars and journalists, numerous report and books having been issued, commissions, councils, task forces and working groups having been organized. The initiatives absorbed great budgets, and yet, today seven years later we continue discussing the issue which proves that the situation has not changed significantly. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers did their best in attempt to raise teachers’ salaries and benefits, in order to stimulate the professionals, whose work was ill paid and underappreciated. Almost 3 millions of nation’s teachers had little or no representation in the key political, organizational and pedagogical decisions affecting their jobs, profession and personal lives. Meanwhile, it became clear that the organizational structure of schools as it was could not survive. The two linked themes were constantly underscored by the members of the Task Force: 1) “the vital role of the teacher in providing instructional leadership”, which is of special significance in times when the issues of up-to-date management, political pressure promoting tests and standards, and across-the-board accountability made principals pay particular attention to what happened in classrooms; 2) the permanently repeated proposition that effective school reforms could be implemented only by the well-prepared professional teachers. The flexibility of school organization had become an anachronism. New times demanded new structures. Teacher leadership afforded the more flexible system, beneficial for all the stakeholders, while the more democratic a school culture, “the more students come to believe in, practice, and sustain our democratic form of governance” (IEL 2001, p.10). IEL explains that teacher leadership is not about “teacher power”. The purpose is to mobilize the teacher resources which would allow strengthening student performance, the collaboration, shared leadership between the school members, which could provide answers to numerous questions our society and educational system face today. Teacher leadership is beneficial for everybody: students, schools, teachers, principals, communities and government. The students are the first stakeholders to benefit from teacher leadership. The more personalized approach to their education and the right of teachers to set the behavior standards could do much good for the growing generations. In 2004 a short BBC news article informed the audience that the teachers were disturbed by the worsening behaviors of the students. Teachers being limited on all sides are not able to cope with the youth, who overcomes the boundaries of the social norms. Besides as Barth shows, teacher leadership could improve the students’ perception of democracy. The democratic school structure has many benefits, as it was shown in one study conducted in 1990s: “in high- performing schools (those with few discipline problems and high pupil achievement), decision making and leadership are significantly more democratic. The teachers are more involved and influential in establishing discipline, selecting textbooks, designing curriculum, and even choosing their colleagues than are teachers in low-performing schools” (In Barth 2001, p. 447). The school also wins from teacher leadership. When teachers are interested in their work and ready to develop, the students following their example learn too. Besides, the teamwork supposed by teacher leadership, provides schools with the mechanism for improved decision making. Finally, “the more educators who are a part of the decision making, the higher their morale, and the greater their participation and commitment in carrying out the goals of the school”, suggests Barth (2001, p.448). Teacher leaders also provide administrative support in crisis. The teacher’s benefits are also obvious. Teaching is often called “the noblest profession” and “the heart and soul of a school”. However, teachers usually feel themselves “rushed, crunched and isolated”, and, as John Merrow added, “distrusted” and “undervalued” (In IEL 2001, p.12). Evidently, teachers are professionals that get constant overall criticism and are reminded of their mistakes and shortcomings. Meanwhile, this profession lacks many important qualities to be perceived as a real profession. Income continues to present a discouraging picture. In 2000 elementary and secondary school teachers got wages, which were within the same brackets as those of telephone installers, mail carriers, and nurses and below those of police officers, detectives and firefighters. Numerous debates aroused around the legitimacy of treating teaching as a real profession and the necessity of teachers to represent themselves in the political organizations. IEL emphasizes that “many of the hard realities of public school teaching tend to undercut the satisfying features of a career in the classroom. Some of the demeaning factors of the teacher’s work life are so routinely accepted as natural features of the job that they are usually not even discuss” (p.112). Teachers are wholly deprived of autonomy and often perceived as “replaced workers on assembly line”. The young teachers coming to schools quickly get disillusioned and 30% of them work no longer then five years, while most half of new comers in urban areas leave within three years. Those who stay and try to improve the situation are known to spend huge sums of their miserable wages on educational purposes (IEL 2001, p.13). Teacher leadership affords to acknowledge the teachers serving in leadership roles. Besides, it encourages teachers to shape their destinies as educators instead of being passive recipients or even victims. As Barth suggests, the teacher who leads: “gets to sit at the table with grownups as a first-class citizen in the schoolhouse rather than remain the subordinate in a world full of superordinates; enjoys variety, even relief, from the often relentless tedium of the classroom; and has an opportunity to work with and influence the lives of adults, as well as those of youngsters” (Barth 2001, p.448). The principal encouraging shared teacher leadership gets support from teachers and can delegate some of his tasks to teachers. As Barth puts it, “effective principals dont work harder than less effective principals; they work smarter” (p.449). Clearly enough, teacher leadership becomes beneficial for communities and authorities, while schools work more effectively, teachers do not leave their jobs so often, and many decisions can be made by teachers themselves thus easing the task of governments. In brief, teacher leadership is a potential of every teacher, benefiting from it. Feeling their significance, teachers become active learners, stimulating students. Teacher leadership provides better decisions and a democratic school structure, which is enjoyed by students and diminishes the principal’s task. Teacher leadership, making classroom teachers the decisive elements of educational process, is an initiative to be promoted and supported. References: ACTEM (Association of Computer Technology Educators) (2007). MLTI Teacher Leader Description and Registration for High School Leaders. Retrieved November 8, 2007 from www.actem.org/Pages/ACTEM_News/024DD84B-007EA7AB - 27k Barth, Ronald S. (2001). Teacher Leader. Ohi Delta Kappan, Vol.82, pp.444-456. BBC News 24 (2004). Teacher leader’s behavior fears. Tuesday, July 27. Retrieved November 8, 2007 from news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3929481.stm - 32k CBU (Christian Brothers University) (2007). Teacher as Leader. Retrieved November 8, 2007 from www.cbu.edu/arts/ed/teacher_as_leader.html - 12k IEL (the Institute for Educational Leadership)(2001). Redefining the Teacher as a Leader. School Leadership for the 21st Century Initiative. A Report of the Task Force on Teacher Leadership. April. Retrieved November 8, 2007 from http://www.iel.org/programs/21st/reports/teachlearn.pdf. Kelley, Michael (2005). Mentoring for Quality Improvement: A Case Study of a Teacher Leader in the Reform Process. Childhood Education. Volume: 81. Issue: 3. Publication Year: 2005. Pp. 185-199. Kimmelman, Paul. Teacher to Teacher. Building Teacher Leaders. Handout 2: Teacher Leader Self-Assessment. Retrieved November 8, 2007 from http://paec.org/teacher2teacher/bldgteacherleaders_handouts2.pdf. State of Illinois (2006). Teacher Leader Endorsement: Concepts and Strategies. School Leadership. Meeting 1031. Retrieved November 8, 2007 from http://www.ibhe.state.il.us/SchoolLeadership/Meeting1031/EndorsementSummary.pdf. The Teacher Leader Network (2003). Our First Conversation: What Does It Mean to Be a Teacher Leader? March. Retrieved November 8, 2007 from www.teacherleaders.org/old_site/Conversations/chat1_short.pdf Read More