Teacher Leaders: Experiences of Pakistani Teachers in Leading School Improvement Activities
"The fact that schools rely on a clear demarcation of roles and responsibilities presents a major barrier to the idea of teachers as leaders" (Harris, 2003:313).
The role of teachers, in most school improvement initiatives, is that of the 'implementers.' However, literature suggests that teachers' involvement in the planning process of 'school development plans' is important. Not only it ensures better implementation of plans but also builds teachers confidence and enhances their level of commitment and motivation because planning and development are considered to be leaders' roles. Thus, by implication, it is a pre-requisite for "teachers-led school improvement" (Frost et al., 2000).
In Pakistan, many schools, especially a large network of private schools in one of which this research was conducted, have adopted the idea of involving teachers in different decisions about school curriculum and related activities. However, no research has been done on the outcomes of these practices. Therefore, the aim of this research was to explore the experiences of these teacher leaders who were a mix of: (a) 'formal leaders' in the traditional sense of the word, that is, having a specifically defined position with a set of responsibilities (Ash & Ersall, 2000; Gehrke, 1991), like learning area coordinators (subject specialists), head-teacher and education officers, and (b) 'informal leaders' with mainly classroom teaching and related tasks (Harris, 2003).
Some of the guiding questions were:
- How did they view themselves in these 'new' positions, working with their colleagues and administration?
- What were their perceptions about the influence of their involvement in planning for school improvement as leaders on their own practices as teachers?
- How did school/system facilitate/hinder the enactment of their new roles?
The findings indicate that stakeholders' beliefs, school structures, school policies and practices are among the factors that would promote teacher leaders by facilitating their involvement in planning.
At the forefront, however, are the stakeholders' beliefs. If the stakeholders view the leadership roles of teachers positively, they would lay down the structures and policies to support teacher leaders. Similarly, if they believe in the leadership of teachers, then their use of the policies and structures will facilitate the teacher-led school improvement activities.
The data also shows that no factor was facilitative or hindering per se but it was the stakeholders' way of using different policies and structures that turned a particular factor in that direction. The research also indicates that teacher leaders were involved in, what Williams quoted in Abdalla (2004) has identified, the 'operational level' of leadership. The decisions made at this level are not strategic but deal with daily routine activities (Abdalla, 2004).
Despite the limited extent of their leadership, the findings indicate that the experiences of carrying out leadership tasks through their involvement in the process of planning and designing/ developing different activities for school improvement had positive impact on teachers. Stakeholders reported that the teachers' classroom practices had improved. Not only the teachers displayed higher motivation towards work but their relationship with other school stakeholders also got better.