Teacher Leaders and School Management - Essay Example

Methodology Introduction The research "A Case Study of Teacher Leaders as Group Leaders: Implications for Research and Teacher Education" written byFeigning Du (2007) has clearly emphasized the importance of teachers not only in their actual teaching roles, but their roles as leaders of small group organizations in the school. His aim was to develop and describe the functional roles of teacher leaders and identify the school-related and group-related factors that affect leadership performance. Our school management recognized and appreciated the information provided by this research. As a result, our school has created a team to probe further on Du's case study. The task of the team is to submit a research proposal to the Dean of the Education Department for approval for funding with the aim of determining the functional roles assumed by our teacher leaders and their influence in the performance and development of work groups in our school. This paper is part of the intended research proposal. It will present a detailed discussion of the methodology to be used in the study, particularly the research design, the sampling, the data collection techniques and instruments, the data analysis method and proposed time frame for the conduct of the research. Research Questions The study will seek to answer the following questions: 1. What are the functional roles assumed by teacher leaders in workgroups 2. How does teacher leadership affect workgroup performance in school Functional roles as the main variable for the first question, will be classified according to the four (4) common work group functions (L.A.I.G.) essential to a successful group, as developed by Parson (1961) cited in Hare (1992) and as referenced by Du (2007). These are Latent pattern maintenance, Adaptation, Integration and Goal attainment. The teacher leader assumes varied and observable roles and these will be categorized in any of the above-stated common workgroup functions. The main variable for the second question, the teacher leadership, will be based on the factors, leadership attainment, group size and stability, characteristic of group leaders and members and school environment. These factors will be the basis for determining how the teacher leadership affects the performance and development of the workgroup. Methodology Research Design The research design is the main plan of action that will be used in the conduct of this research. Different designs have different applicability depending on the objective of the research and the problems presented. Other factors are also considered such as resource and time. (Ardales 1992) This paper considers the critical analysis on Du's case study prepared by our colleagues which recommends Case Study as the appropriate design for this research. According to Ardales (1992), "when the aim of the study is to have a deeper, more thorough and more comprehensive understanding of an individual or group" then case study is the appropriate design to use. It is also true especially when the researcher wants to "capture the processes which explain the characteristics and behavior of a person, group or institution under investigation". (p. 42-43) The expected responses that will be generated are very valuable inputs to this research. The use of other research designs like survey or correlational studies, have stricter procedures in statistical handling, which may limit the desired results. I intend take note of the observations, feeling, hesitations and other remarks that the respondents will provide; all these will be treated as very important in the analysis of this study. Research Site It is I deep loyalty that I decided to choose our school as the site for this research. The results of the research will benefit not only our school and our community. It will also benefit me, personally, as a teacher and a workgroup leader myself. Our school, a suburban elementary school geographically located in the southeastern United States, is noted for academic and management excellence. It is one of the flagship schools in our district which boasts of high student achievement scores and strong parental and business support. It is also rated as successful school in terms of student achievement in 2001 and 2002. Aside from excellent academic strategies, the school has established strong linkage and shared governance with league of schools and universities in southern United States. Among the reasons for the school's success is its strategy of activating workgroups that have major influence in the school's decision making processes and in the management and facilitation of the teachers, students and the entire school community affairs. Research Samples The research will follow the standard procedures for determining samples for research. Due to the limited population of teacher leaders of work groups, the purposive sampling design is selected for this study. 12 teacher leaders from different workgroups were selected, consisting of all female participants. The selection a spread of work group whose functions are significant to the school's operations; 64% or 8 leaders from subject based groups, 17% or 2 leaders from school counselors and 17% or 2 from advisory councils. Based on the master list of teacher leaders taken from the Records Office, the selected 12 respondents have a mean residence duration of six (6) years in our school and an mean of 18 years lifetime work experience. Data Collection Techniques The following activities will be the sources of the data for the research: 1. Face-to-face interview with the respondents 2. Observation of three (3) workgroup meetings or sessions 3. School Documents. As soon as the research instruments or the interview questionnaires will be ready, I intend to prepare a formal communication to the school management to seek approval to the conduct of the research in the school. This will include the approval to conduct the actual interview with the proposed respondents, the observation of 3 workgroup meetings or sessions and the retrieval of the different documents from the Records Office. Upon the approval of the request, the names of the respondents will be retrieved from the Records Office and they will also be informed about the activity. Appointment for the face-to-face interview will be sought from the respondents the interview will be scheduled. The face-to-face interview will be held in conducive venues, within the school campus and these will be voice recorded. Transparency will be practiced and the respondents will be informed of everything that is going to happen. They will also be assured of the confidentiality of their responses. Data Collection Instruments The following questionnaires will serve as interview guide for me on the course of the interview with the respondents of this research. The questionnaires will be a semi-structured form which will provide the respondents more leeway to give as much information as needed. 1. Why do you think you were chosen leader for your work group 2. What do you think are the desirable traits of a workgroup leader 3. What do you think your group should do to achieve the workgroup objectives 4. What are the limitations of your group to achieve the desired objectives 5. What is your style of leadership 6. How do your members respond to your style of leadership 7. What can you say about teamwork 8. How can the school and the environment help in the achievement of your objectives These semi-structured questions are simply guide questions for me on the course of my interview. Other follow-up questions will be asked related to these as the need arises. I may probe into other responses that need clarification or more information. I will have to be quick and alert on key words that may be important inputs to the research. The questions will have to be guided by the leadership functional roles and the four (4) broad factors related to group leadership performance. I will have to keep in mind the two (2) major research questions: 1. What are the functional roles assumed by teacher leaders in workgroups 2. How does teacher leadership affect workgroup performance in school Data Analysis Method I have done a thorough review and analysis of the case study done by Feigning Du and benchmarked from responses of his interviewees. Because case study method is being used for this research, comparably, a qualitative method, particularly the constant comparative analysis deemed best method of data analysis. Constant comparative analysis is a "method of analyzing qualitative data where the information gathered is coded into emergent themes or codes." (Hewitt-Taylor 2001) I plan to transcribe the responses from the voice recorder and from the notes that I made during the interview. The responses will be listed according the question number, with reference from the interview questionnaire. Each response will be coded. The codes will represent themes, ideas or other logical points that are arranged according to categories. The codes will use a combination of letters and numbers like A-1, A-2, B-1, where the letter would be the category and the number would represent the nth response in that category. All responses will be coded. All redundant and similar responses will be grouped together until I will arrive at the major responses representing all the responses made during the interview with the 12 respondents. These will now be subject to thorough and deeper analysis. The same treatment will be made on the notes recorded during the observations of the workgroup meetings and the findings on the other school documents gathered. I recognize that there will have to be extra care in the treatment of the analysis to assure reliability and validity of results. The respondents will be gathered for a special meeting to discuss with them the emergent findings of the research. The respondents may either change or add some information that will be useful resource to the findings. This will be the validation stage of the data gathering process. I recognize that there will have to be extra care in the treatment of the analysis, that the logic and ideas are retained, well represented and are not diminished to assure reliability and validity of results. Similarly, when quantitative analysis is used, the frequency and measurements are carefully computed to arrive at reliable and valid information, qualitative analysis using constant comparative analysis will have to undergo careful processing. Timeframe for data collection The research process in its entirety will take at its minimum, a 3-month duration. The Gantt Chart below present the detailed scheduling of the different activities to be undergone for the research, from the preparation of the research proposal to the actual conduct of the research until its submission to management. The activities commenced last June 10, 2007 and is expected to be completed and submitted on August 15, 2007. Figure 1. Gantt Chart of the Research Timetable References 1. Ardales, Venancio B. (1992) Basic Concepts and Methods in Research. Quezon City. Great Books Trading. 2. "Guide to Writing a Funding Proposal" (1996) learnerassociates.net. Retrieved from http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/hints16.htm 3. Hewitt-Taylor J. (2001) "Use of constant comparative analysis in qualitative research". Nursing Standard. pp.39-42. Retrieved from http://www.nursing-standard.co.uk/archives/ns/vol15-42/vol15w42p3942.pdf 4. Israel, Glenn D. (n.d.) "Determining Sample Size" University of Florida IFAS Extension, Florida. Retrieved from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PD006 5. McLennan, W. (1999) "An Introduction to Sample Surveys"A User's Guide, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/CA25687100069892CA2568880020B400/$File/12990_1999.pdf 6. "Research Methods and Statistics" (1996) Athabasca University Center for Psychology Resources. Retrieved from http://psych.athabascau.ca/html/aupr/tools.shtml 7. "Sampling Methods" (2004) Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310116.NSF/a91a469056624a32ca256eb000026ca7/116e0f93f17283eb4a2567ac00213517 8. Schunk, Dale H. (2000) "Learning Theories, An Educational Perspective". 3rd Edition: New Jersey. Prentice Hall, Inc. 9. "The Survey System" Survey Design. (2006) Creative Research Systems. Retrieved from http://www.surveysystem.com/sdesign.htm 10. Thorndike, Robert M. (1997) "Measurement and Evaluation in Psychology". 6th Edition: New Jersey. Prentice-Hall Inc., A Viacom Company: 352-392. Read More