Teacher leadership and collective efficacy: teacher perceptions in three US school districts

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 738-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Angelle ◽  
Ginger M. Teague
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
Teacher Leadership ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Shared Leadership ◽  
Teacher Leaders ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Southeastern Us

Purpose – Collective efficacy and teacher leadership, two constructs central to school reform, were examined in this quantitative study of three school districts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between teacher perceptions of the extent of teacher leadership and the extent of collective efficacy. Research was guided by the following questions: Do teachers who perceive a strong sense of collective efficacy also perceive a greater extent of teacher leadership in their schools? Are there differences in perceptions of collective efficacy and the factors of teacher leadership, specifically, sharing expertise, shared leadership, supra-practitioner, and principal selection? Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected utilizing two instruments, the Teacher Leadership Inventory (TLI) (Angelle and DeHart, 2010) and the Teacher Efficacy Belief Scale – Collective Form (Olivier, 2001). Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were run to examine mean differences by district in teacher collective efficacy and the extent of teacher leadership in the school (n=363). In addition, ANOVA were run to examine district differences in the four factors on the TLI. A one-way ANOVA contrasted the overall collective efficacy mean scores of Districts A, B, and C. Demographic data were also collected from participants. Findings – Findings indicate a clear and strong relationship between collective efficacy and teacher leadership. District B was markedly stronger in teacher leadership and collective efficacy than the other two districts. The highest percentage of participants indicating they have a leadership role were from District B. Findings from this study also indicate that teachers perceive the informal aspects of teacher leadership as a greater indicator of collective efficacy. District B, which reported significantly higher collective efficacy than did District A or C, also reported a significantly lower extent of principal selected teacher leadership. Formal roles such as department heads and grade level chairs were not perceived as extensive indicators of teacher leadership as were teacher roles in collaboration or extra role behaviours. Research limitations/implications – This study took place in three small districts in a southeastern US state. Generalizability to larger school districts should be approached with caution. This study may be limited in that teacher leaders may have a greater tendency to complete a survey on teacher leadership than teachers who do not take on leadership roles. Practical implications – This study provides support for developing shared leadership which can impact the collective beliefs of the faculty in a positive manner. Results from this study affirms those leaders who believe in the power of professional learning communities, shared decision making, and other indicators of teacher leadership. Success of teacher leaders depends, in large part, on the principal's philosophy of power sharing in the context in which they work. Teachers can be given the power to lead but they must also be willing to accept the roles this power brings. Originality/value – While several studies have been conducted on collective efficacy in schools, most of these studies have been quantitative. Studies of teacher leadership have tended to focus on the formal roles of teacher leaders with a qualitative. Using quantitative methodology for collective efficacy and teacher leadership, this study approaches teacher leadership from an organizational perspective, examining the extent to which both informal and formal, or principal selected, teacher leadership exists across the school. The authors also argue that teacher leadership is a construct greater than administrative roles assigned to teachers but also includes informal leadership, primarily through their influence on organizational effectiveness.

scholarly journals Scaling standards-aligned instruction through teacher leadership: methods, supports, and challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Cassata ◽  
Elaine Allensworth
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Teacher Leadership ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Teacher Leaders ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
School Context ◽  
School Level ◽  
Instructional Change ◽  
Teacher Leader

Abstract Background The Common Core Standards for Mathematics and Next Generation Science Standards were adopted by states with the goal of preparing students with knowledge and skills needed for college, careers, and citizenry. Adopting these standards necessitated considerable changes in instructional practice. While teacher leadership is known to be important for instructional change, there is little research that articulates the processes through which that influence occurs, and how contextual factors constrain or support those processes. This paper provides a case study of efforts in the Chicago Public Schools to promote widespread instructional change around standards reform through a teacher leader model using retrospective from 2013 to 2017 interviews with 16 math and science teacher leaders serving grades 6–12, along with quantitative analysis of district-wide data showing patterns of change and professional learning. It builds off prior research to articulate a framework of how teacher leaders promote instructional change. Findings There were five patterns of teacher leader action: inspiring others, sharing with colleagues, working in collaboration, advocating for change, and providing individual support, and an interplay between teacher actions and school-level contextual factors, with some contextual factors more important than others for different types of actions. In particular, sharing and collaborative work were facilitated in schools with designated collaboration time, trusting relationships, and colleagues who were also trained and knowledgeable about the new standards. The degree of collective efficacy the teacher leaders felt seemed to be driven mostly by the presence of other knowledgeable change agents in the school. Conclusions and implications The study adds to the existing literature on teacher leadership by articulating the mechanisms through which teachers exert influence around instructional improvement of their school peers and providing examples of each. Further, the study illustrates how these mechanisms are facilitated or constrained by the larger school context. Together, the articulation of mechanisms and contexts, along with illustrative examples, provides a guide for supporting instructional change through teacher leadership in schools and districts.

scholarly journals Empowerment through a teacher leadership academy

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy D. Visone
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Teacher Leadership ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Teacher Leaders ◽  
Leadership Capacity ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Leadership Academy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Suburban School District

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of a teacher leadership academy (TLA) organized through a school district/university partnership in a small, US Suburban School District in increasing teachers’ participation in leadership activities. Design/methodology/approach TLA participants (n=11) were surveyed using the Teacher Leadership Activities Scale, and their results were compared to a control group of teachers in the district who were not participating in the TLA (n=12). Interviews and open-ended response items provided qualitative data to examine how the TLA contributed to teachers’ growth as leaders. Findings Results indicated that teachers in the TLA did increase participation in teacher leadership activities. Qualitative data revealed themes of many espoused benefits from TLA participation, including increased interactions with administrators, improved understanding of the obstacles associated with implementing changes, and expanded leadership capacity. Research limitations/implications Conditions that both enhanced and detracted from teacher leaders’ growth were identified and outlined, including formal leaders’ participation in TLA activities, material support for projects, and a supportive atmosphere (enhancers) and administrative roadblocks and the inability to remediate capacity issues for teacher leaders (detractors). Originality/value The conditions outlined above will assist those interested in creating TLAs in doing so with purpose and increased chance for buy in and success.

The relationship between teacher leadership and collective teacher efficacy in Chinese upper secondary schools

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Liu
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Efficacy ◽  
Teacher Leadership ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Collective Teacher Efficacy ◽  
Positive Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools ◽  
Positive Environment

PurposeThe aim of this study was to understand the relationship between teacher leadership and collective teacher efficacy in Chinese upper secondary schools.Design/methodology/approachBased on survey answers from 1,074 upper secondary teachers in a Chinese city, path analysis was conducted to understand the relationship.FindingsThis study identified that a number of dimensions of teacher leadership (recognition, collegiality, participation and positive environment) had positive relationships with group competence. Meanwhile, the dimensions of developmental focus, participation and positive environment had positive relationships with task analysis. Additionally, when the authors treated collective efficacy as a single variable, the dimensions of developmental focus, congeniality, participation and positive environment had positive relationships with collective efficacy.Originality/valueThis study is to understand the relationship between teacher leadership and collective teacher efficacy in a collective culture and hierarchical education system.

Proximate sources of collective teacher efficacy

2006 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 625-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Curt M. Adams ◽  
Patrick B. Forsyth
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Teacher Efficacy ◽  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
School Level ◽  
Collective Teacher Efficacy ◽  
School Structure ◽  
Contextual Variables ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sources Of Efficacy

PurposeRecent scholarship has augmented Bandura's theory underlying efficacy formation by pointing to more proximate sources of efficacy information involved in forming collective teacher efficacy. These proximate sources of efficacy information theoretically shape a teacher's perception of the teaching context, operationalizing the difficulty of the teaching task that faces the school and the faculty's collective competence to be successful under specific conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of three contextual variables: socioeconomic status, school level, and school structure on teacher perceptions of collective efficacy.Design/methodology/approachSchool level data were collected from a cross‐section of 79 schools in a Midwestern state. Data were analyzed at the school level using hierarchical multiple regression to determine the incremental variance in collective teacher efficacy beliefs attributed to contextual variables after accounting for the effect of prior academic performance.FindingsResults support the premise that contextual variables do add power to explanations of collective teacher efficacy over and above the effects of prior academic performance. Further, of the three contextual variables school structure independently accounted for the most variability in perceptions of collective teacher efficacy.Research limitations/implicationsA sample of 79 schools was considered small to accurately test a hypothesized model of collective teacher efficacy formation using structural equation modeling. That approach would have had the advantage of permitting the researchers to identify the relationships among the predictor variables and between the predictors and the criterion. Additionally, there was a concern of possible aggregation bias associated with aggregating collective teacher efficacy scores to the school level. Despite these limitations, the findings hold theoretical and practical implications in that they defend the theoretical importance of contextual factors as efficacy sources. Furthermore, formalized and centralized conditions conducive to promoting perceptions of collective efficacy in teachers are identified.Originality/valueExtant collective efficacy studies have generally not operationalized Bandura's efficacy sources to include the effects of current context. This study does.

Transitioning to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: differences in access and participation among students in disadvantaged school districts

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-270
Author(s):  
Amy J. Catalano ◽  
Bruce Torff ◽  
Kevin S. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
K 12

PurposeThe novel coronavirus, COVID-19, which emerged in 2019 and quickly spread to the United States, resulted in widespread closure of PreK-12 schools and universities and a rapid transition to online learning. There are concerns about how students in high-needs school districts will engage with online learning, given the limited access many disadvantaged students have to Internet and computers. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to determine teacher perceptions of students' access and participation to online learning, as well as concerns about educational outcomes among different groups of learners.Design/methodology/approachThe authors surveyed 300 K-12 teachers in NY state about the tools and accommodations they employed in their online teaching, whether their students were participating in the online learning and the reasons for their lack of participation.FindingsRespondents reported that nearly 30% of all of their students were not regularly completing their assignments. Students in high-needs districts were significantly more likely to not complete their work. Teachers reported being very concerned about their students' educational outcomes, particularly students with disabilities (SWDs) and English language learners (ELLs). Respondents also provided suggestions for improving educational access to online learning in the future.Originality/valueNo published research has yet examined student compliance in online learning during an emergency and, in particular, during this unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic and months-long stay-at-home orders.

scholarly journals Utilizing Teacher Leadership as a Catalyst for Change in Schools

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 151
Author(s):  
Raymond J. Ankrum
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Leadership ◽  
Shared Leadership ◽  
Teacher Leaders ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
School Community ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Maximum Output ◽  
School Building ◽  
Leadership Potential ◽  
Community Responsibility

<p>School leaders are constantly trying to find alternative ways to leverage and explore teacher leadership potential in their school building(s). Teachers leaders that are willing to go above and beyond their general duties. Teacher leaders are the type of educators that fall under the motif of potentially taking on additive responsibilities that will help to improve the school community. This paper looks at ways to leverage relationships between teacher leaders and school leaders in order to get maximum output from school staff. By infusing shared leadership in the school community, responsibility and accountability becomes a shared belief, that can be utilized as a catalyst for change in the school community.</p>

The Role of Teacher Leaders in School Improvement Program: The case of Atse Naod primary school.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 408-423
Author(s):  
Tesfamariam Shimekit ◽  
Getnet Tizazu
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Teacher Leadership ◽  
Teacher Leaders ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Education Leaders ◽  
Improvement Process ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
School Improvement Process

The purpose of this study was to understand teacher leaders’ role in school improvement program. More specifically, examined how teacher leaders formally or informally lead school improvement; what potential challenges they face when attempting to lead school improvement; and what strategies /mechanisms they employ to improve teacher leadership role in school improvement process were the basic questions of the study. In-depth interviews with five teacher leaders and field notes were used to collect data. The data were tape recorded and then transcribed. Categories themes and patterns from data i.e. inductive analysis were used for data analysis. The findings revealed that, teacher leaders lead school improvement by different methods like collaboration, effective planning, and experience sharing, influencing others by their hardworking habit and, communicating with school community. Besides, teacher leaders face different challenges in leading school improvement such as lack of leadership and management skill, time constraints and absence of recognition and incentive. In sum, the school improvement process is not being led by teacher leaders due to different challenges. Therefore, education leaders should enhance teacher leadership by promoting and supporting teacher leadership role and Policy makers should develop a platform for teacher leadership to enhance teacher leaders’ role in school improvement program.

Teachers as reform leaders in Chinese schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-677
Author(s):  
Darren A. Bryant ◽  
Chunping Rao
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Leadership ◽  
Teacher Leaders ◽  
School Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Shanghai School ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Middle Leaders ◽  
Instructional Reforms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of teacher leadership on the enactment of educational reforms in southeastern China. It considers how the work of middle and teacher leaders in schools is structured to support reform enactment at the school level. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted in three case study sites in one school district in Shenzhen, China. Low, moderate and high academic achieving schools which had engaged teacher leaders in instructional reforms were selected. A combined total of 34 senior, middle and teacher leaders participated in semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed through a comparative coding process. Findings Across the three schools, teacher leaders without positional authority strongly influenced the instructional reforms. Their influence was strongest when bolstered by a combination of formal recognition systems, opportunities to lead projects that were directly related to the reform efforts, and mentorship systems that skilled novice teachers in reform-related skills and experienced teachers in leading reform enactment. Mechanisms and structures embedded in schools, when coherently focused on selected reforms, supported the efficacy of teachers without formal authority. And, middle leaders’ impact was enhanced when working collaboratively with formal and teacher leaders. Originality/value This research yields insight on teacher leaders’ influence of reform. It considers how the work of middle and teacher leaders can be structured as a collective that impacts on reform enactment at the school level. And, it illuminates teacher leadership in a Chinese context other than the scrutinized Shanghai school system.

Student teachers’ development as teacher leaders during the practicum experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 927-942
Author(s):  
Youmen Chaaban ◽  
Rania Sawalhi
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Teacher Leadership ◽  
Leadership Practices ◽  
Teacher Leaders ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Government Schools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inductive Methods ◽  
Practicum Experience

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of student teachers’ development as teacher leaders during a 12-week practicum experience at Qatari government schools. Design/methodology/approach The investigation involved a qualitative research methodology entailing multiple data generation methods, including pre/post interviews, weekly journals, mid- and post-reflective essays, classroom observations and multiple assignments. Data analysis was carried out using deductive and inductive methods, by adapting the conceptual framework of teacher leadership practices, identity and views, but allowing for new analytical themes to emerge. Findings Upon initiating leadership practices, two pathways to leadership development were revealed, mediated by the presence or absence of supportive factors. Both pathways, however, led to the development of divergent teacher leadership identities and varying views toward teacher leadership. Originality/value The study includes implications for the design of initial teacher preparation programs designed to prepare student teachers as teacher leaders.

Social media engagement, service complexity, and experiential quality in US hospitals

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 833-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngsu Lee ◽  
Joonhwan In ◽  
Seung Jun Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Media Engagement ◽  
Experiential Quality

Purpose As social media platforms become increasingly popular among service firms, many US hospitals have been using social media as a means to improve their patients’ experiences. However, little research has explored the implications of social media use within a hospital context. The purpose of this paper is to investigate a hospital’s customer engagement through social media and its association with customers’ experiential quality. Also, this study examines the role of a hospital’s service characteristics, which could shape the nature of the interactions between patients and the hospital. Design/methodology/approach Data from 669 hospitals with complete experiential quality and demographic data were collected from multiple sources of secondary data, including the rankings of social media friendly hospitals, the Hospital Compare database, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) cost report, the CMS impact file, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Analytics database and the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. Specifically, the authors designed the instrumental variable estimate to address the endogeneity issue. Findings The empirical results suggest a positive association between a hospital’s social media engagement and experiential quality. For hospitals with a high level of service sophistication, the association between online engagement and experiential quality becomes more salient. For hospitals offering various services, offline engagement is a critical predictor of experiential quality. Research limitations/implications A hospital with more complex services should make efforts to engage customers through social media for better patient experiences. The sample is selected from databases in the US, and the databases are cross-sectional in nature. Practical implications Not all hospitals may be better off improving the patient experience by engaging customers through social media. Therefore, practitioners should exercise caution in applying the study’s results to other contexts and in making causal inferences. Originality/value The current study delineates customer engagement through social media into online and offline customer engagement. This study is based on the theory of customer engagement and reflects the development of mobile technology. Moreover, this research may be considered as pioneering in that it considers the key characteristics of a hospital’s service operations (i.e., service complexity) when discovering the link between customers’ engagement through a hospital’s social media and experiential quality.

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