Recent efforts to restructure schools through increased teacher involvement are likely to fail without a corresponding redesign of the underlying organizational and political structure of schools. Because the current structure of most schools actually prohibits the collaboration necessary to effect change and promotes professional isolation instead, staff members faced with the tasks of restructuring experience frustration more often than success. The changes that do occur are often superficial and cosmetic while the basic hierarchy and mechanisms of control remain intact. Allowing teachers to redesign their schools, specifically to develop new models that promote interdependence and the sharing of professional expertise, provides an opportunity to explore the reasons teachers might choose to forego the relatively safe world of the self-contained classroom to participate in the often stressful and time consuming development and implementation of new approaches to teaching and learning. Exploring those factors which motivate teachers to attempt innovation and determining the attributes and beliefs of those teachers about school change is the focus of this study. The study investigates the concept of teacher efficacy, the teacher's belief that his/her actions affect student achievement or that he/she has the "ability to have a positive effect on student learning" (Ashton, 1984; Ashton & Webb, 1986). The perceptions of efficacy among selected teachers in an urban elementary school in the Northwest involved in implementing an Accelerated School model are examined in an effort to determine which factors influence those feelings. Identifying the issues which confront teachers engaged in innovation and the conditions they feel contribute to their success or failure is also an outcome. Increased efficacy, the perceived ability to "make a difference," is critical to classroom effectiveness and efforts to restructure schools. Data were obtained during the 1993-1994 school year by means of an efficacy scale based on the model developed by Gibson and Dembo (1984), structured interviews with selected teachers, an open-ended questionnaire, and observations during a sharing session with teachers in a nearby district considering a similar innovation.

Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The primary goal of this study is to provide a functional description of the function and the role of management teams, in the promotion of a culture of learning, at High School level. Teachers, management teams, but also parents have an important role to play in creating a culture of learning. Thus, the parents can make a valuable contribution to the development of a learning culture and ultimately enhance lifelong learning and education. Presently, schools are in the process of developing a culture of learning, unfortunately the majority of schools are still attempting to recover from the negative effects of apartheid. In order to develop such a culture of learning, aspects such as discipline, commitment and self-discipline must be addressed. We have to strive towards educating learners to accept authority and discipline, as well as learners that will be committed and motivated. One has to remember that a culture of learning starts at home. Since culture is a dynamic entity, it has an influence on the culture of organisation and management. Through effective management, we have to create opportunities for every individual to develop his/her full potential. The management team thus plays a significant role in establishing and maintaining a learning culture. A school culture is determined by the value, attitude and behaviour of certain situations that lead to insufficient, unacceptable learning activities. Through projects, initiated by government, we will be able to create more awareness and participation in the development of a culture of learning. The role of parents is placed under the spotlight, because of different needs within a culture of learning. By placing parents under this spotlight, we can focus on the management team and also the governing body. This implies that there has to be a management and strategic plan in place. By having these factors in place, one can create and build a better and healthy relationship between the parents and the school. The approach followed in the study was firstly to contextualise the need for a learning culture against the background of changes in the South African education system in the last few decades. Thereafter, relevant concepts were identified and defined: the general concept of culture was was more closely explained and differentiated by investigating the relationship between concepts such as organisational culture, school culture, learning culture and teaching culture, as well as the connection between school based management and a learning culture. Two important steps follow: firstly, the study investigated the preconditions for the establishment of a learning culture, including the potential participation of stakeholders - especially with the aid of information obtained through personal inputs from role players in a specific school project of which the writer was part - and secondly, the study looks at conditions necessary, once it is established, to maintain and sustain a healthy learning culture, with special reference to the cardinal role of the management team. The study concludes with recommendations and suggestions for further research. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die primêre doel van die studie was om 'n beskrywing te gee van die funksie en die rol wat bestuurspanne, in die bevordering van 'n leerkultuur op hoërskoolvlak, moontlik kan speel. Soos die onderwyser en die bestuurspan 'n belangrike rol het om te vervul in die vestiging van 'n leerkultuur, het die ouers ook 'n belangrike rol om te vertolk. Die ouer behoort dus 'n bydrae te kan lewer tot die ontwikkeling van 'n leerkultuur en uiteindelik ook tot lewenslange leer en opvoeding. Skole is tans besig om 'n leerkultuur daar te stel, maar die meerderheid van skole is nog besig om te herstel van die negatiewe gevolge van apartheid. As ons 'n leerkultuur wil vestig, moet daar dissipline, toewyding en self-dissipline wees. Ons moet streef na leerders wat gesag en dissipline sal aanvaar, asook leerders wat toegewyd sal wees met 'n positiewe ingesteldheid teenoor die opvoedingsstruktuur. Wat ons wel moet onthou, is dat leerkultuur by die huis begin. Met dié dat kultuur dinamies is, het dit ook 'n invloed op organisasie- en bestuurskulture. Met effektiewe bestuur moet ons elke individu die geleentheid gee om te ontwikkel tot sy volle potensiaal. Die bestuurspan speel dus 'n beduidende rol in die vestiging of handhawing van 'n leerkultuur. Skoolkultuur word bepaal deur die waarde, houding en gedrag van sekere situasies wat bydra tot 'n ontoereikende onderrigaktiwiteit. Deur die vestiging van projekte wat geïnisieër is deur die regering, salons baie meer betrokkenheid kry by die vestiging van 'n leerkultuur. Die rol van die ouers word onder die soeklig geplaas as gevolg van die verskillende behoeftes in 'n leerkultuur. Deur die ouers onder die soeklig te plaas, kom die bestuurspan en die beheerraad na vore. Dit impliseer dat daar 'n bestuursplan en 'n strategiese beplanning in plek moet wees. Deur dit alles daar te stel, kan ons 'n beter verhouding bou, tussen die ouer en sy skool, en daardeur die leerkultuur van die skool versterk en uitbou. Die benadering in die studie was om eers die behoefte vir 'n leerkultuur te kontekstualiseer teen die agtergrond van veranderinge in die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwysstelsel in die laaste paar dekades. Daarna is relevante begrippe geïdentifiseer en omskryf: die algemene begrip kultuur is nouer verduidelik en gedifferensieer deur die verwantskap te ondersoek met begrippe soos organisasiekultuur, skoolkultuur, leerkultuur en onderrrigkultuur, sowel as die verwantskap tussen skoolgebaseerde bestuur en leerkultuur. Twee belangrike stappe volg: eerstens is die voorvereistes vir die vestiging van 'n leerkultuur ondersoek, insluitend die potensiale deelneme van belanghebbendes - veral met behulp van inligting bekom deur persoonlike insette van rolspelers in 'n spesifieke skoolprojek waarby die skrywer betrokke was - en tweedens, word die voorwaardes vir volhoubaarheid, nadat dit wel gevestig is, van 'n gesonde leerkultuur bespreek, met spesiale verwysing na die kardinale rol van die bestuurspan. Die studie word saamgevat met aanbevelings en voorstelle vir verdere navorsing.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

In the first part of the thesis, the researcher intended to describe the complexity of the educational environments in which how teachers practice organizational learning in schools of Shenzhen, mainland China and to examine the effectiveness of organizational learning in those environments. In the second part, the researcher conducted a quantitative survey of high schools as learning organizations in Shenzhen and attempted to distinguish their capabilities of organizational learning. Two kinds of high schools were included in the survey, state-run schools and privately-run schools. / The key characteristic of learning organizations is organizational learning. Organizational learning is also a process to raise the adaptability and the creativity of an organization through a complex system to cope with the challenges arisen from the unpredictable circumstances. Organizational learning is a result of deep collective conversations and dialogues among staff members and a result of self-reflection in a certain cultural context. It not only brings new arrangements in organizational structures, but also changes the school culture and transformation of behavior patterns. Organizational learning is the pre-requisites of surviving and continuous development of the organization. / There were three phases in this study, namely, a pilot study in which a small scale survey were conducted, a main study which included a large scale survey and a case study of four selected schools from the sample in the large scale survey. In the first stage, a pilot study was conducted in order to trial run an instrument which attempted to assess the characteristics of organizational learning of high schools in Shenzhen. After establishing a preliminary framework of organizational learning in schools and an instrument for the study, an attempt was made to assess the capabilities of organizational learning in a greater sample of high schools in Shenzhen. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / This study has based upon the existing problems that teachers faced in the process of curriculum reform in basic education within mainland China. Under the complexity of the environments in educational reform and school organizational development, this study aims to examine the characteristics of schools as learning organizations in mainland China, especially in Shenzhen, and their relations to educational reforms and sustainable school development. / 張兆芹. / Advisers: Sun-Keung Pang; Nai-Kwai Lo. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: A, page: 0470. / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 331-353). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Zhang Zhaoqin.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Leadership and Foundations. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Education. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2004. / "A dissertation in education." Advisor: Richard L. Palm. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed feb. 23, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 221-226). Online version of the print edition.

The purpose of the research was to investigate stakeholders’ perceptions and experiences of teachers’ participation in school management and decision-making. Teachers’ involvement is a contested issue in schools. The goal was to find out to what extent and in what way teachers participate in school issues, as well as gain insight and understanding on the effects of participation of teachers in schools and how principals enhance democratic practice for quality education. The research was a case study conducted within the interpretive qualitative paradigm. I used document analysis, semi-structured interviews and observation to collect data for validity purposes and to counter subjectivity. The findings revealed at least a significant progress in terms of the Education Act, no 16 of 2001 requirement, of teachers’ participation in management and decision-making in schools, which has been an issue in the past. The study revealed that decisions are taken after consultation through consensus. The study revealed that the participation approach promotes ownership and commitment of staff to higher performance and common goals. The findings emerged that participative management has advantages for achieving higher performance through collaboration, consultation, and broader participation. The foremost findings include school principals’ roles in enhancing a collegial management approach by delegating, sharing leadership and responsibilities, and establishing organisation structures and committees involving teachers. Meetings serve as a platform for communication and sharing of information with stakeholders. However, there were also signs of tensions amid school management teams (SMTs) and teachers on participation in school matters in all aspects. Furthermore, its time-consuming nature, authoritarianism and accountability emerged as major challenges affecting the implementation of the participative approach. In addition to that, the study revealed that lack of knowledge and skills, unwillingness to involve others and to participate affects the implementation of the theory. As a result, the study recommends to the policies makers and the Ministry of Education to organize training for all stakeholders on participative management to empower them. Moreover, the study recommends to regional managers, inspectors, and advisory teachers (AT) to provide information to institutions responsible for teacher training to accommodate the theory into their curriculum. School principals should undergo training programmes or in-service training for participative leadership purposes to enhance their leadership capacity and to carry out their responsibilities effectively.

After independence in 1990, Namibian schools were required by the new government to shift from a hierarchical organisational structure with authoritarian leadership to a more democratic type of leadership that offers teachers the opportunity to participate in school leadership and in decision-making processes. This shift is suggested in a number of national policies in Namibia that highlight the sharing of leadership within the organization and, in particular, the sharing of leadership with teachers. As such, teacher leadership is a manifestation of distributed leadership which emphasizes that leadership can be located in the position of the principal but can spread over many people who work in a school at various levels. While teacher leadership is well researched in developed countries, it is under researched in Namibia. Against this backdrop, the purpose of my study was to explore the concept and practice of teacher leadership as an organizational phenomenon in a case study school in the Ncuncuni circuit of the Kavango region in Namibia. It also examined the factors that enabled and inhibited the practice of teacher leadership. My study was conducted within a qualitative interpretive paradigm and it adopted a case study approach in one school. The study used the following instruments to collect data: a closed questionnaire, document analysis, observations and individual interviews. The primary participants were the principal and three teachers, while the entire school teaching staff constituted my secondary participants. Quantitative data was analysed manually using descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analysed thematically using a model of teacher leadership (Grant, 2008). The findings of my study indicated that while the concept of teacher leadership was new to all participants, they had a common sense understanding of it. Although teachers in the study understood teacher leadership in a range of different ways, the overarching idea of the whole school was that teachers lead both in and outside the classroom. My study also found that teachers in the school practiced teacher leadership across the entire four zones. These included how teacher leadership was practiced inside the classroom and how teachers worked as leaders with colleagues and learners beyond their classroom in curricular and extra-curricular activities. It also included how teachers led outside their classroom in whole school development as well as how teachers led beyond their schools in the community. Teacher leadership was strong in the first three zones and weaker in the fourth zone, which constituted an example of 'successful teacher leadership' (Harris and Muijs, 2005). There were factors that promoted teacher leadership in the case study school such as a supportive culture and ongoing professional development. Factors that constrained the practice of teacher leadership were also evident like the SMT who used its power at times to control teachers' decisions and a lack of time also emerged as a barrier that impeded teachers from taking leadership roles because they already had full teaching programmes. Even though there were some barriers to teacher leadership, a dispersed distributed leadership context prevailed at the case study school.

South Africa’s future success depends on a number of national priorities, amongst them the transformation of its education system. Education is the best route to follow to alleviate poverty and many other social ills. One way to overcome some of the complex challenges and crises that we face in South African schools is to pay attention to issues of leading and leadership, including the leadership of teachers. This study is done with the hope that research into teacher leadership will be one of the answers to the crisis in education. It should become a beacon of hope for all educationists who passionately want progress in the youth of South Africa. What better way than to ‘Awaken the Sleeping Giant’ of teacher leadership, borrowing the term from Katzenmeyer and Moller (2009). This study was designed as a case study, the purpose of which was to find out about the enactment of teacher leadership in an Eastern Cape township high school as well as the enhancing and hindering factors to this enactment. This study was done as a replication study of a similar study done by a group of 11Master’s students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2010. Similar to the original study, this case study was located within the interpretive paradigm and drew on school profiling, survey questionnaires, a focus group interview, selfreflective journals and individual interviews for its methods of data collection. The study was framed by distributed leadership while Grant’s (2008; 2012) Model of teacher leadership was adopted as the analytical tool. It emerged from the data that the three teacher leaders, my primary participants, exhibited teacher leadership across all four zones of Grant’s (2008) Model. The first zone was leadership in the classroom where all three teacher leaders showed leadership to varying degrees. Zones Two to Four are about leadership beyond the classroom into the school and beyond. In Zone Two, the zone where teachers work with each other and the learners outside the classroom, substantial levels of leadership were enacted by the three teacher leaders. Zone Three, where leadership is exhibited in whole-school development, the three primary participants showed distinct leadership qualities as well. The fourth zone, which is about interaction with neighbouring schools, also revealed that all three teacher leaders demonstrated active leadership on a regular basis. Findings further revealed that there were only a few inhibiting factors to the leadership of teachers at the case study school, including limited resources and infrastructure as well as insufficient support and acknowledgement from the relevant stakeholders when leadership initiatives were made, either successfully or otherwise. However, the enhancing factors superseded the inhibiting factors. A functional committee culture guided by a shared vision existed in the case study school together with an ethos of trust which enabled the staff to work collaboratively. Though there was certainly room for improvement in leadership practices at this case study school, the enactment of teacher leadership in this school illustrated a strong case of ‘developed’ teacher leadership (Muijs& Harris, 2007) within a dispersed leadership framing (Gunter, 2005)