Page 27 - Mini-Module 7

Statement 2

Teacher leadership contributes to secondary school
revitalisation when both teacher leaders and their
principal engage together through parallel leadership for
improved student learning.

The engagement of the principal proved to be significant in
determining whether teachers are willing to exercise their
leadership roles. With the principal’s recognition, teachers are
able to exercise leadership in a broader sense. They may even go
beyond their formal leadership roles and exercise informal
leadership in the school context through developing professional
learning communities. In addition, teachers are more willing to
exercise leadership when their principal cherishes mutual trust
and respect, develops a sense of shared purpose, and encourages
a high degree of individual expression and action (Crowther et
al., 2002). In the case school, teacher leadership could be
developed because teachers enjoyed a high degree of autonomy
under the remote leadership of the principal. Nonetheless, with a
lack of mutual trust and a sense of shared purpose, it was
difficult for the participants to extend their perceptions, beliefs,
and practices to other teachers. In the light of this study,
therefore, parallel leadership (Crowther et al., 2002) that
engages teacher leaders and principals together for improved
student outcomes should be encouraged.

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