Abstract
This paper aims to explore effective management strategies for nurturing teacher leadership in schools organization, and to identify the aspects of teacher leadership that would provide school administrator practical steps to empower teachers effectively under the school based management policy in Hong Kong. The theory of a loose-tight coupling of school model was applied to construct the theoretical framework (Weick, 1976). It was operationalised to professional autonomy and bureaucratic control. Ingersoll's (1996) three tiers model was adopted for conceptualizing the roles of teacher leaders, which examines teacher leadership in the domains of curriculum and instruction, teacher mentoring and school administration. A quantitative questionnaire was developed to collect data from secondary teachers in Hong Kong; 20 aided secondary schools in Hong Kong were selected by cluster sampling. 360 teachers took part in the questionnaire survey. A structural equation model was applied to identify the predictive relationship between bureaucratic- professional practices and teacher leaderships. Results showed that there are predictive effects of bureaucratic control and professional autonomy on teacher leaderships in the aspects of curriculum and instruction, teacher mentoring and school administration. This study does not support the claim that bureaucratic practices exert negative force on the health of share leadership that work against the development of teacher leadership. On the contrary, school administrators should support the teacher leaders to mentor and coach the others teachers by tight control and monitor the staff professional development policies. Schools should value teacher professionalism and allow teachers discretion in work.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 2010 |
Event | The 2nd East Asian International Conference on Teacher Education Research: "Teacher Education for the Future: International Perspectives" - The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong, China Duration: 15 Dec 2010 → 17 Dec 2010 |
Conference
Conference | The 2nd East Asian International Conference on Teacher Education Research: "Teacher Education for the Future: International Perspectives" |
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Abbreviated title | EAI 2010 |
Country/Territory | China |
City | Hong Kong |
Period | 15/12/10 → 17/12/10 |