Page 26 - Mini-Module 7

Besides, teachers’ personal capacity is interconnected with their
leadership efficacy (Frost & Harris, 2003; Mitchell & Sackney,
2000). Teachers have higher professional efficacy to lead with in-
creased knowledge and skills. In this study, one participant demon-
strated an intention to have more opportunities to exercise
teacher leadership, but his sense of self-efficacy, particularly in
terms of his interpersonal capacity, had inhibited him from fully
exercising roles such as developing and leading professional
communities in the school. This was identified as a dissonant
theme by other participants who exercised teacher leadership
from a broader base (Gonzales, 2004).
The study also echoed the educational literature (for example,
Frost & Durrant, 2004; Hopkins & Jackson, 2003; Mitchell &
Sackney, 2000) in that personal capacity was interconnected with
interpersonal capacity through organisational learning – this is
conducive to build professional learning communities. Only by
attaining capacities that embody cultural changes can schools
secure continuous improvement. Variations related to the extent
of leadership exercised by the participants in this study illustrates
this. Even though teachers’ construction of their roles in schools is
mainly confined to the classroom and their formal positions in the
school, those who try to take on roles beyond such boundaries,
and acquire job-embedded professional learning together with
their colleagues, are able to nurture their leadership capacity
together (Harris et al., 2003; Hopkins & Jackson, 2003; Mitchell &
Sackney, 2000). Given this, teacher leadership helps to nurture a
collegial school culture that enhances organisational capacity for
school revitalisation (Lambert, 2003).
Finally, emotional and psychological support is another crucial
favorable factor of teacher leadership. In the school context,
support from colleagues can strengthen teachers’ roles of
teaching, learning, and leading together. Outside the educational
context, religion and family support are also important supporting
factors.

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