Contribution
Description: Educators, as well as researchers, attribute great importance to the question of teachers' role in change processes at schools. This research investigates the professional growth of teacher-leaders, their main perceptions as teachers and as teacher-leaders as well as the characteristics of their leadership practice.The call to expand teachers' leadership roles stems from the recognition that decisions concerning curriculum and teaching approaches should be in their hands as they are the agents of change closest to the learners. The research on teachers as leaders shows that teacher-leaders are those who move from thinking in terms of the "class" to thinking in terms of the "school". Several studies revealed that teachers in leadership roles experienced a professional, as well as personal growth. Research also shows that the organizational culture at schools creates a convergence of factors that could at times support the leadership process and could also become a barrier (Silva et al., 2000).
Methodology: The participants in this study were three high school teacher-leaders, who were chosen as coordinators for the program "learning from success" in their schools. This study is based on the narrative biographical approach. This approach enables a profound understanding of teachers' authentic human experience, while offering a platform for the expression of teachers' voices concerning their perceptions of their role as leaders and their, work environment (Elbaz-Luwisch, 1991).In the current study, the open ethnographic interview was used. A series of three interviews were conducted with each of the three participants. The texts produced from the interviews contained the teachers' life stories and the stories of their leadership practice through their professional growth. These stories enabled the building of a descriptive framework that allowed an in-deep examination of the teachers' professional growth as teachers as well as teacher-leaders. In addition, a "cross- case analysis" was conducted of leadership characteristics. A "within-case analysis" was carried out to explore the participants' perceptions, meanings and actions of leadership.
Conclusions: The descriptive framework for the teachers' professional growth comprised three circles: A circle of professional becoming, a circle of professional growth and a circle of organizational leadership.The findings pointed to the sense of vocation as an essential component of teacher-leaders' professional identity. In addition, the teachers' perception of change as a challenge was significant. The participants' main leadership actions included creating collaboration among colleagues from different staff levels, the confronting obstacles, providing support to their colleagues and raising childrens' voices as a leverage for change.The results of this study indicate the importance of encouraging leadership practice among teachers, by ensuring an organizational environment which supports their activity. Conditions should include; a supportive approach by the principal, organization and allocation of time to enable collaboration among colleagues and an organizational culture that supports cooperation and impedes isolation.
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