Leaders in the Classroom – Using Teaching as a Context for Measuring Leader Identity

Leaders in the Classroom – Using Teaching as a Context for Measuring Leader Identity

This journal article originates from an exploratory study that sought to establish whether leaders perceive themselves as leaders in the classroom setting. The study focused on K-12 teachers. The respondents totaled 91 K-12 instructors from the southern regions of the United States of America. The initial communication occurred through the school district administrators, who passed on the emails to the teachers. The researchers used a cross-sectional design and convenience sampling (Nadelson, Booher, and Turley). The main limitations that researchers encountered include a bias in sampling, interpretation of items, and completion of participants. The data was analyzed using SPSS and coding.

The results indicated that the teachers’ perception of their role as critical role models was high. However, most expressed a moderate perception of their roles as actual leaders. While the teachers viewed the teaching occupation as a leadership role, they did not communicate that being a role model is critical for the teaching occupation. This perception may be influenced by the extracurricular activities more than the classroom roles that they play. The lack of understanding among teachers regarding their role as leaders may interfere with their ability to develop relevant leadership skills that are suitable for the classroom (Nadelson, Booher, and Turley).

The study also established that the development of leadership identities and qualities is dependent on the type of school. In the rural setting, K-12 schools tend to be smaller. This leads to the general perception of teachers as leaders within the school environment and beyond. This perception is easily transferred to the classroom, which leads to intensified identification as a leader. In a higher-level institution, teachers may be more concerned about transferring knowledge to learners, leaving little to no room for being perceived as leaders (Nadelson, Booher, and Turley).

Reflection

Classroom teachers at varying levels play multiple roles. One of the most significant roles is transferring knowledge to learners. However, as the study reveals, teachers are also role models, especially to their learners. This does not apply to all teachers. Their role as leaders is more suppressed, especially in higher institutions of learning. For instance, at the kindergarten level, children look up to their teachers for guidance and direction. At this level, teachers carry out more leadership roles than they perceive. During play, they are involved as the leaders. During classwork, the learners expect the teacher to assume the role of offering direction and giving instructions. This influences the decisions of learners, who can be clueless about what they should do. However, I perceive teachers as unaware of their leadership roles. Most people probably tend to look at their superiors as leaders and forget that they also occupy positions of leadership in the classroom setting. The only difference is the followers that the seniors and teachers have.

Even though teachers assume leadership roles in various institutions, they barely know that they are actual leaders. To change this narrative, it is important for institutions to sensitize their teachers about their role as classroom leaders. Such sensitization should lead to the conscious development of leadership skills and attributes through training. Such development provides the teachers with the confidence to undertake leadership roles beyond the classroom. Therefore, this article plays a critical role in highlighting the disconnect between the teacher’s perception of their role as leaders and their actual responsibilities as classroom leaders.

Work Cited

Nadelson, Louis S., Loi Booher and Michael Turley. “Leaders in the Classroom: Using Teaching as a Context for Measuring Leader Identity.” Front. Educ. 5.525630 (2020).

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