By Olufemi Mosaku-Johnson
“Teacher leadership is the process by which teachers, individually or collectively; influence their colleagues, principals, and other members of the school community to improve teaching and learning practices with the aim of increased student learning and achievement.”York-Barr & Duke, 2004, p. 287
The days in which we live are in many ways darkening ones. Crime is spiraling: examination malpractices are common place. Shocking immorality, mark selling, and corruption are being uncovered in all places including education institutions; violence and occultism are becoming more deadly and is involving teachers, students and young people; homes are breaking up at alarming rate; abuses and sexual molestation grows more heartless: anti –morality is becoming more acute; in too many schools, untoward, uncharacteristic, defiant behaviours and compromise have come to replace sanity. You can go on and on.
Schools, like other organizations are complex and dynamic, and in many cases, plagued by bureaucracies that impede the teaching and learning process.
Teacher is a leader for his students. He inspires them. He cares for them. Most importantly, he drives them to work hard in order for them to achieve success. A teacher as a matter of necessity, has to see himself as a leader and lead his students for the excellence in the learning process. The ways teachers can lead are as varied as teachers themselves.
Teacher leadership is critical in all schools. As mentioned earlier, schools are just too complex today not to have some type of shared leadership paradigm. Through teacher leadership, school administrators and teachers play a role in leading the school, facilitating change, engaging stakeholders, empowering others to lead. By enabling teacher leaders to be a part of the collaborative leadership constructs, the complexities that confront education can be alleviated.
The need for Teacher Leadership
The idea of teacher leadership is not new. In the past, teacher leadership roles have been limited in scope and teachers needn’t parade any leadership quality. The teacher only has to teach. Today, Teachers must learn to serve and be able to serve as team leaders, department heads, association leaders and curriculum developers. In addition, leadership roles for teachers have traditionally lacked depth and required a lengthy, ongoing commitment of learning, time and energy. Often the decision to take on leadership tasks has been accompanied by a decision to get out of teaching and into administration. But teachers have a pivotal role to play in leadership.
The time has called for compelling leadership roles for teachers and increased professional development. While recognizing the centrality of teaching, teachers are encouraged to extend their sphere of influence beyond the classroom and into schoolwide leadership activities.
We firmly believe that teachers, because they have daily contacts with learners, are in the best position to make critical decisions about development of a learner also about curriculum and instruction. They are also positioned to implement changes in a comprehensive and continuous manner.
Teachers as Bad Leaders
Many teachers have proved to be a very bad example over the ages. I had a very horrid experience from two teachers in my primary school on Broad Street, Lagos. One was when I was in Primary 5. I had gently protested against the teacher’s predilection to play weird plays with the girls in the class. I got a slap for my audacity. He was not done, when the report card was given to the pupils, the teacher gave me 8th position. I knew that wasn’t my result. The school dispersed by 12 noon. I refused to go home. I told myself that, until justice was done, I wasn’t going to go home. When the gate of the school was to be shut, I was shunted outside. I decided to sit at the entrance of the Church beside the School. At about 6pm, the headmaster returned to School. When he saw me, he asked what I wasdoing at that time. I told him that, I was given 8th position. He said you were given 8th position or you came 8th position. I said I knew I never came 8th position. He asked me to follow him to his office.
He then began to work on the school’s master sheets. He calculated the sheets for about 30 minutes and he came to the conclusion that no one scored more than me in that class. He collected the result from me and cancelled the 8th position and signed it and wrote 1st position and signed it. Needless to say that my mother was all over the place looking for me. My father was furious. He had to follow me to the school on resumption and there was war. The reason for the war was that his small lad was exposed to sleaze too early.
On getting to Primary 6, the teacher was a Ghanaian. He was worse than an infidel. If you make noise you will pay some money. If you score 9 out of 10 you will pay. He told us that the money would be used to organize send of party for us. When we heard “Party” we calmed down. We looked forward to a very elaborate party. Yours truly was boasting that our party would be second to none in the history of the school. About a month to the party day, the teacher announced to us that one of us had stolen the money. We started to pester him to name the thief. He promised that when the time comes he will name the burglar. We could not do any reasonable classwork as every one of us was disconcerted. Eventually he named a particular boy, whose father was a policeman in the then nearby Nigeria Police Headquarters,( Lion Building, then was the Headquarters of the Nigeria’s Police). The boy glided out to his father’s office. The father came with two other police officers. As soon as he saw the police men, the teacher jumped through the window, later jumped from upstairs and disappeared to thin air. Needless to say that, on the day of the other classes had their parties, my classmates and I became ascetic.
Great Teachers
Teachers typically define career satisfaction in terms of their ability to be of service to others and make a difference in the lives of their students (McLaughlin & Lee, 1988). Great teachers have desire to improve the quality of teaching and learning for all students. Great teachers are selfless. Teaching profession is not for every Tom, Dick and Harry, It for people who are called to it.
Teachers must come to terms with issues of leadership in order to impact educational change, act as, advisor-mentors to new teachers, counsel erring teachers, coach indigent and diligent teachers and facilitating professional development activities as experience teachers.
Up till now, many teachers are not aware that there is the need to learn and exhibit leadership roles. They must understand the complexities involved in implementing leadership roles.
According to, Lieberman, Saxl, and Miles (1988) In order to be effective with their colleagues, lead teachers found it necessary to learn a variety of leadership skills while on the job. Those skills included:
· Building trust and developing rapport
· Diagnosing organizational conditions
· Dealing with processes
· Managing the work
· Building skills and confidence in others
Though it has been variously said that teachers reward is in heaven. But there are series of benefits to those derived by good teacher. Satisfaction that they have helped many people to reach their goals, Intellectual and professional growth and decreased isolation are personal gains teachers reported in their new leadership roles. I went to present a paper in a Naval Secondary School few years ago. In the School, some old students grouped themselves and bought a brand new car for one of the teachers who according to them served them while they were in school forgetting himself.
According to survey conducted by (Porter, 1987; Lieberman et al., 1988; Troen & Boles, 1992).Teachers reported that their knowledge and skills in teaching increased dramatically as a result of their involvement in leadership positions New skills and knowledge also lead to increased confidence among lead teachers and a stronger commitment to teaching.It was also reported that Teacher leaders report a significant decrease in isolation as a result of opportunities to work with others outside of the classroom. Studies have found, however, that in most instances isolation only decreased for those involved in leadership positions and had little bearing on the isolation felt by the larger teaching force (Porter, 1987; Wasley, 1989).
Other studies have shown that under certain conditions lead teachers are successful in facilitating cooperation and collegiality more broadly among faculty members, thereby decreasing the isolation many teachers experience (Lieberman, et. al., 1988; Hart, 1990)..
Teachers need skills and abilities to function productively in their leadership role as follows:
· Promoting a clear vision
· Taking initiative
· Persevering in the face of obstacles
· Analyzing and making program adjustments/improvements
· Building support with parents and community
· Building a team spirit among the faculty
· Providing support and encouragement for other teachers
· Facilitating communication and reflection among the faculty
· Celebrating and recognizing program successes
· Using alternative strategies such as a summer program to build skills
· Exercising patience and honesty
Encouragement must be given to teachers to assume leadership roles and take on the feeling that it is part of their role. Part of the role is to stand against injustice, dishonesty and what is currently plaguing institutions all over the country such as sexual molestation and harassment. Good teachers stand stoutly against theses vices.
Prospective teachers must be made to understand that leadership is one of the roles they will be expected to fill as soon as they begin their teaching careers.
Teacher leadership usually begins in small ways, such as providing resources and help for a struggling colleague or sharing thoughts during staff meetings.
Conclusion
Teachers must be equipped to exhibit leadership in multiple, sometimes overlapping, ways. Some leadership roles are formal with designated responsibilities. Other more informal roles emerge as teachers interact with their peers and network among others. The variety of roles ensures that teachers can find ways to lead that fit their talents and interests. Regardless of the roles they assume, teacher leaders shape the culture of their schools, improve student, encourage moral rectitude, learning, and influence practice among their peers.
• Olufemi Mosaku-johnson, Registrar/Ceo, Association Of Corporate Governance Professionals Of Nigeria.