Impact of Teachers Leadership Competency on Students Learning Achievement

 

Dr. Chandrashekhar U. P, Mini Varghese

C.M.R University, Bangalore

 

ABSTRACT:

As students’ academic achievement reflects the overall development of pedagogy, a lot of research in the last decade has focused on it. Several factors, including socioeconomic conditions, school, the individual family, social incentives, etc., which have an effect on students’ learning achievement have been examined. With their knowledge and skills, teachers can significantly influence their students’ academic achievements. However, leadership skills possessed by various teachers differ from each other, as they come from different backgrounds. Teachers’ leadership is about a group of several individuals’ interests and strengths that guide students in attaining academic achievements, improving their leadership skills, and staying engrossed in the learning process. However, the role of teachers’ leadership and competency in students’ learning achievement have not been studied. A systematic review of available literature sources was carried out to obtain an overall idea of what work had already been conducted in comprehending the impact of teachers’ leadership and competency on the students’ learning achievement. The literature from various sources such as Google Scholar, EBSCOHost, ProQuest, Scopus, JSTOR, and so on, were collected, analyzed and compared for a better understanding of the relationship. This paper allows for a preview into how the teachers’ leadership competencies, impact the students’ learning achievement. This review found that teacher leadership competency as a plausible approach for improving student learning, educational practices of schools and teacher career path. Further, the results of our review suggest a need for creating a comprehensive plan and supporting conditions to implement or refine teacher leadership to increase the potential of students.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Education is considered as a constant process of developing knowledge andsocial competencies. Students must be provided with an opportunity to think andutilize their knowledge and skills to solve and analyze problems at each level of their education (Sootipon, 2010).the level of proficiency of students in learning can be determined from the results of learning or academic achievement.

 

Teachers have to accomplish effective learning and teaching process, in order to help students identify how to learn and utilize their knowledge aptly in their day-to-day life. Developing the competencies, therefore, becomes necessary for theteachers to bring about a change in the educational system andfor their own professional accomplishments (Surasak, 2013).

 

Several national and local policies have been designed to augment teacher quality. Several factors, including family and individual characteristics, socioeconomic conditions, and social incentives, contribute to student's learning achievement. However, the literature reveals that teachers’ leadership competency have the greatest influence on student motivation and achievement, when compared to other school factors like services, facilities etc., (Sergiovanni, 2001; Leithwood et al., 2004).

Teacher leadership is mainly concerned with developing high quality teaching and learning in schools. It has its complete focus on improving learning and also on the mode of leadership predicated on the principles of professional collaboration, development and growth. Teacher leadership is not a formal role, but it is a responsibility or set of tasks, in other words, it is a form of activity where teachers are empowered to lead development work that impacts directly upon the quality of teaching and learning.

 

Many countriespromote teacher leadership skillsto facilitate professional learning, to generate prospects for teacher career advancement, and also to enable student learning achievement (Killion et al., 2016). It has been considered as a reasonable policy to address the schools with the complex environment by engaging teachers completely in applying their knowledge to strengthen the profession and to increase student accomplishment (Crowther, 2009; Darling-Hammond, 2016).

 

In the past two decades, the perception and practice of teacher leadership have gained huge importance. At instructional and organizational levels, teachers are performing more leadership activities. Empirical literature reveals several qualitative studies, which describe teacher leader characteristics, dimensions of teacher leadership practice, and the environment that challenge and promote teacher leadership (York-Barr& Duke2004).

 

In India, literacy rate (7 and above age) was 73%, according to the 2011 census report. According to the latest 2009 educational reform driven by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, the government initiated a policy to support the educational reforms introduced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to help the teachers and heads of schools in their development and empowerment. To support, CBSE has started several training activities and different capacity building programs for CBSE schools across India to improve outcomes for students in terms of achievement and well being.To train school leaders in a three-day, non-residential strategic leadership program, CBSE selected the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), through ACER India. The programme draws universal evidence on effective practices in school leadership (Cherian, 2015).

 

In the last few years, the literacy rate has improved and most of the schools and colleges have refined the teaching methods to develop competitive, skilled and well-educated individuals to meet the emerging market requirements. However, there has been an increasing focus on students in public schools who are not achieving academically. This focus has led many to search for reasons for the lack of learning achievement. Thus, aim of the present paper is to examine the impact of teacher leadership competencies on student learning achievement by conducting a literature review.

 

METHODOLOGY:

A systematic review of the literature was carried out to collect dataand to obtain an overall idea of what work had already been conducted in comprehending the impact of teachers’ leadership competencies on the students’ learning achievement. The literature was obtained from databases like Google Scholar, ERIC, JSTOR, were collected, analysed and compared for a better understanding of the relationship.

 

The search strategy involved examining electronic databases using a combination of keywords around leadership (leaders, teacher leadership, teacher leadership skills) and student performance (achievement, student outcomes).

 

The Systematic review revealed the available literature on teacher leadership competencies and student performance.For teacher leadership competencies, 7,740studies were found in Google Scholar and 1,745 studies in JSTOR, 106 studies in ERIC, while search for student learning achievement yielded 2,920 studies in Google Scholar and 969 studies in JSTOR, 450 studies in ERIC.The search yielded 53 studies in google scholar and 101studies in JSTOR and47 studies in ERIC for theeffect of teacher leadership on student performance, published between the year 2008 and 2017.

 

After a systematic literature search, five main variables were identified for teacher leadership competences, namely, establishing goals and expectations; strategic resourcing, curriculum management; promoting and participating in teacher learning and development;and ensuring an order and support environment. Of the inclusion criteria selected, the studies that met atleast one criteria were selected and reviewed in this article.

 

RESULTS:

The systematic search procedures by applying the predetermined inclusion criteria resulted in the inclusion of 10 studies for this review. Table 1 shows the details of the studies that are included.

 

Sebastian et al. (2017) performed the study by using teacher and student survey data from the Chicago Consortium, and CPS administrative records of student achievement. The total sample included 121 high schools. They examined how leadership pathways are related in the context of high schools and compared their findings to research in elementary schools. The research revealed that principal leadership had a direct relationship with school learning climate and student achievement, over and above the pathway through teacher leadership.

TABLE 1: DETAILS OF INCLUDED STUDIES

S.NO	AUTHOR	KEY FINDINGS
1	Sebastian, Huang and Allensworth, (2017)	The learning climate is the only organizational factor that links principal and teacher leadership with student achievement.
2	Wanutha, Tesaputa, and Sri-Ampai, (2017)	Teacher leadership competencies are needed for student achievement and Teacher’s needs to enhance them by training, educational trips, group meetings, and attending seminars.
3	Gakenia, Katuse and Kiriri, (2017)	The strategy execution had found to have a significant influence on the academic performance.
4	Kho, Yusof and Mohamad, (2015)	The teacher leaders’ positively and continuously influences teachers’ leadership competencies which will enhance teachers’ commitment to change their roles. The teacher leaders’ role is a critical component in shifting the paradigm of teachers’ isolation to collaboration in Malaysian classroom setting.
5	Dahie, Mahamud and Hoshow,(2015)	The student achievement is significantly influencedby transformation leadership, teacher commitment to school mission and collective teacher efficacy. It has also found that all the three variables have straight effects on the student achievement.
6	Newcomb,(2014)	Teacher leadership may have a stronger correlation to increased student achievement than principal leadership.
7	Bouchamma, (2012)	Leadership practices in effective schools can be grouped together around five dimensions: establishing goals and expectations; strategic resourcing; curriculum planning, coordination, and evaluation; promoting and participating in teacher supervision and development; ensuring order and support.
8	Thoonen, Sleegers, Oort, Peetsma and Geijsel, (2011)	Teachers’ engage in professional learning activities, in particular experimenting and reflection, is a powerful predictor for teaching practices.
9	Valentine, and Prater (2011).	Principal leadership behaviors promoting instructional and curriculum improvement were linked to achievement. Within transformational leadership, the principal’s ability to identify a vision and provide an appropriate model had the greatest relationship to achievement
10	Chew and Andrews (2010)	Principals need to support the teachers’leadership practice by giving them the space, time and responsibility to make decisions about curriculum work and ensuring that these are aligned with new organizational structures and processes.

 

Gakenia et al. (2017) did the study to determine the impact of a strategic leader‟s strategy execution primarily implementation and alignment on the academic performance of the National schools in Kenya. The study involved 93 principals of national secondary schools. They found that academic performance was significantly influenced by strategy execution.

 

Wanutha et al. (2017) conducted the study to investigate components and indicators of the leadership competencies, to explore the existing situations and desirable situations of secondary school teachers’ leadership competencies. The study involved 1,008 secondary school teachers. The study revealed that teacher’s needs to enhance leadership competencies by training, educational trips, group meetings, and attending seminars.

 

Kho et al. (2015) executed the study to develop an empirically substantiated Teachers’ Leadership Competency Model (TLCM) as well as to identify Teachers’ Leadership Competencies that contribute tothe development of teacher leaders in Malaysian schools. The data utilized in this research was collected based on two phases, particularly from 51 high performing secondary schools (HPSS) in Malaysia which comprises of 23 Daily Secondary Schools (DSS), 19 Fully Residential Secondary Schools (FRSS), and 9 from Religious Secondary Schools (RSS). The results indicated that teacher leaders’ absolutelyinfluences teachers’ leadership competencies. This implies that the teacher leaders’ role is a key component in sustaining school-based teachers’ leadership competencies.

 

Dahie et al. (2015) conducted a study to identify the influence of school leadership on student achievement from secondary schools in Mogadishu, Somalia. The main objectives of the study is to determine the relationship between transformation leadership and student achievement, to examine the relationship between teacher commitment to school mission and student achievement and also to explore the relationship between collective teacher efficacy and student achievement.

 

Newcomb (2014) scrutinized the relationship between teacher perceptions of leadership constructs and student achievement on the Next-Generation Learner components of Kentucky’s accountability system.The study include population of 1033Kentucky teachers and students.The study recommended that there was a significant relationship between leadership variables and student achievement variables.The major findings in this study suggested that there is a connection between increased perceptions of leadership and increased student learning.

 

Bouchamma (2012) examined leadership practices in effective schools located in economically disadvantaged areas of three Canadian provinces: New Brunswick Ontario and Quebec. The study was performed in five successful schools. The sample size includes46 teachers;5 school principals; 7 school counselors;11 parent committee members and 265 students. The results found that teacher leadership affects the student academic and learning objectives.

 

Thoonen et al. (2011) investigated to find the relative impact of transformational leadership practices, school organizational conditions, teacher motivational factors, and teacher learning practices. The data were collected from a survey of 502 teachers from 32 elementary schools in the Netherlands. The results propose that teachers’ engagement in professional learning activities is a powerful predictor for teaching practices.

 

Valentine and Prater (2011) conducted a study to identify the relationships between principal managerial, instructional, and transformational leadership and student achievement in public high schools. Principal leadership behaviors promoting instructional and curriculum improvement were linked to achievement. Within transformational leadership, the principal’s ability to identify a vision and provide an appropriate model had the greatest relationship to achievement.

 

Chew and Andrews (2010), investigated to identify the role of the principal in enabling teacher leadership for pedagogical innovations and school improvement. The study highlights the importance of teacher leadership in bringing about change in school-wide pedagogy and a process of school re-culturing.

 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION:

Teacher leadership has a significant effect on student learning. The studies included in this review provide a portrait of teacher leadershipand its importance on student learning achievement. The studies conclude that the impact of teacher leadership on student learning achievementis small but educationally significant. In most of the studies, teacher leadership, influence appears to be mostly indirect.

 

In our research some studies provided evidence of the importance of goals and expectations (Bouchamma, 2012, Valentine, and Prater, 2011). Like all other leadership dimensions goal setting, has indirect effects on students learning achievement. Goals’ function as powerful coordinating mechanisms, they must be implemented in school and classroom practices (Robinson, 2001). It was incorporated as one of the 21 dimensions of operative school leadership activities that developed from the Marzano et al. (2005) meta-analysis.

 

Strategic resourcing refers to recruiting and teaching resources (teachers). Most of the studies provided evidence as, how teacher leaders’ can influence student accomplishment through their decisions about recruitment and teaching resources (Chew and Andrews 2010; Wanuthaet al.,2017; Valentine, and Prater 2011; Thoonen et al., 2011).In the literature, it was found that schools with more coherent teaching programmes had greater accomplishment than those with fewer coherent programmes(Newmann, Smith, Allensworth, and Bryk, 2001).A coherent programme is guided by a common set of principles and key ideas, including specific strategies for teaching and assessment(Newmann, Smith, Allensworth, and Bryk, 2001).

 

Kho et al., (2015) has stated that teacher leadership teachers’ influences leadership competencies. The findings show that teacher leaders’ plays a positiverole and influences teachers’ leadership competencies which will enhance teachers’ commitment to change their daily roles as classroom instructional leaders to school-based teacher leaders. This implies that the teacher leaders’ role is a critical component in sustaining school-based teachers’ leadership competencies.

 

Curriculum planning is the third dimension that was found in some of the studies, which impact the student achievement. In most of the high performing schools, the leadership was more directly involved in coordinating the curriculum (Heck et al., 1991). The studies included in thisreview suggests that strong oversight of teaching and the curriculum by school leaders has more impact on student learning achievement. This is an area in which further research, is needed.

 

Promoting and participating in teacher learning and development is the fourth dimension found in a few studies (Wanuthaet al.,2017; Newcomb, 2014; Sebastian et al., 2017; Thoonen et al., 2011). To enhance their skills and to achieve high degrees of leadership competencies, teacher needs to develop themselves by incessant reading andby attending trainings. Moreover, administrative bodies should also realize the prominence of teacher leadership and should create projects that strengthen teacher-leadership competencies (Wanutha et al., 2017). In the literature, it is stated that in high schools, teachers report that their school leaders to be more active participants in teacher learning and development (Bamburg and Andrews, 1991). Sebastian et al., (2017) in his study reveals the importance of teacher leadership in student learning. However, the study did not focus on teacher leadership roles in direction setting, guiding professional development, establishing community ties, and motivating peer teachers.

 

Ensuring an order and support environment is the fifth dimension which gained importance in the teacher leadership competencies (Sebastiant et al.,2017). The research revealed that principal leadership had a direct relationship with school learning climate and student achievement (Sebastiant et al.,2017). Thoonen et al. (2011) stated that teachers’ sense of self-efficacy appeared to be the most important motivational factor for explaining teaching practices and learning.It is reported teacher opinions about the amount of leadership they exhibit and their influence on school decision making may have a larger impact on student achievement (Newcomb, 2014).

 

Although in most of the studies teacher leadership is considered as one of the mechanism to enhance instructional capacity, we believe that more research is required to find out which specific skills of teachers will help them to lead as well as play a role in increasing student achievement. By analyzing the skills required by the teacher, we can help to formulate policies that would be beneficial for principals, school boards and administrators to strategies professional development of teachers and allocating necessary resources.

 

Therefore, the systemic approach described in this paper provides guidance to teacher leadership competencies that have its greatest impact on student academic achievement. However, further research is needed in this area. Thus, to improve the student learning achievement, educational leadership competencies should be inherited by following the well accepted and documented knowledge about leadership that already exists.

 

REFERENCES:

1       Bamburg, J. D., and Andrews, R. L. (1991). School goals, principals, and achievement. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 2(3), 175-191.

2       Cherian, A. (2015). Strategic leadership and school improvement.

3       Crowther, F., Ferguson, M., and Hann, L. (2009). Developing teacher leaders: How teacher leadership enhances school success. Corwin Press.

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5       Gakenia, C., Katuse, P.,and Kiriri, P., (2017). Influence of Strategy Execution on Academic Performance of National Schools in Kenya.IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 19 (7) 25-40.

6       Heck, R. H. (1992). Principals’ instructional leadership and school performance: Implications for policy development. Educational evaluation and policy analysis, 14(1), 21-34.

7       Killion, J., Harrison, C., Colton, A., Bryan, C., Delehant, A., and Cooke, D. (2016). A Systemic Approach to Elevating Teacher Leadership. Learning Forward.

8       Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., and McNulty, B. A. (2005). School leadership that works: From research to results. ASCD.

9       Newmann, F. M., Smith, B., Allensworth, E., and Bryk, A. S. (2001). Instructional program coherence: What it is and why it should guide school improvement policy. Educational evaluation and policy analysis, 23(4), 297-321.

10    Robinson, V. M., Hohepa, M., and Lloyd, C. (2007). School leadership and student outcomes: Identifying what works and why (Vol. 41). Winmalee: Australian Council for Educational Leaders.

11    Sergiovanni, T. J. (2001). Leadership: What's in it for Schools?. Psychology Press.

12    Sootipon, J. (2010). The changes of learning world in the 21st Century and development for professional teachers [Online]. [Accessed 8^thSeptember 2014]. Available from World Wide Web: http://hu.swu.ac.th/hu/km/Files/2_Changes_in_the-world.21pdf..

13    Surasak, P. (2013). Teacher competency development in the 21st Century. Paper presented in Seminar and Educational Staff, under the Office ofPrae Primary Educational Service Area 1-2. Teacher development program by developing the mentor system. Prae: Nakon Prae Tower Hotel.

14    York-Barr, J., and Duke, K. (2004). What do we know about teacher leadership? Findings from two decades of scholarship. Review of educational research, 74(3), 255-316.

 

 

 

 

Received on 25.05.2018          Modified on 18.06.2018

Accepted on 29.07.2018      ©A&V Publications All right reserved