Page 25 - Mini-Module 7

Discussion of Issues

In this section, the key issues influencing whether teacher
leadership can contribute to secondary school revitalisation in
Hong Kong will be discussed and presented as statements.

Statement 1
Teacher leadership is a blend of personality and
chemistry arising from teachers’ responses to
developments not only within, but also outside the edu-
cational context. Whether teacher leadership contributes
to secondary school revitalisation in Hong Kong depends
on a reciprocal process that builds capacities at the
personal, interpersonal, and organisational levels.

This study showed that teachers’ personal capacity increases
when they identify their roles as active learners in schools. Here
personal capacity is not confined to knowledge and skills, but
also educational core values and beliefs, positive attitude,
self-confidence, courage, resilience, and an ability to construct
knowledge actively through reflection. Lambert (2003) states
that teacher leaders are those who keep alive the dream of
making a difference, or have been motivated by other engaging
colleagues; they are “reflective, inquisitive, focused on improving
their craft, action oriented; they accept responsibility for student
learning and have a strong sense of self” (p. 422). Such personal
capacity greatly influences the leadership exercised by teachers
beyond their classrooms.
In addition, the sources of authority teachers draw upon also
determine the extent of leadership they exercised (Frost &
Durrant, 2003; Frost & Harris, 2003). In Hong Kong, secondary
school teachers tend to lead in line with their formal positions in
the school organisation. Their perceptions of leadership roles are
basically shaped by the school’s hierarchical structures and are
confined to school context. Therefore, they find it difficult to be
leaders beyond their formal positions and responsibilities. Given
this, authority is a critical factor shaping teachers’ perceptions
and preferences of professional roles.

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