The people in the organisation are the key to quality and effective change and improvement in
schools. A new paradigm in school leadership, namely teacher leadership, grounded in distributed
leadership theory and supported by enabling policies, provides a platform for school wide capacity
building where more and more people recognise the potential of other team members, promote it
and thus give stimulus for significant change. The purpose of the research was to determine the
perspectives, perceptions and readiness of educators in the Eden and Central Karoo Education
District for teacher leadership, as well as educators’ perceptions regarding the school culture
required for teacher leadership to be nurtured and sustained. A total number of 283 educators
participated in this study, including principals, members of school management teams, veteran,
middle, novice educators and district officials. A series of instruments were used to determine
educators’ perspectives, perceptions and readiness for teacher leadership, including the Teacher
Leadership Readiness Instrument (TLRI) and the Teacher Leadership School Survey (TLSS).
Data revealed that educators held positive assumptions about teacher leadership; that educators
were collectively ready for teacher leadership; and that they perceived their school cultures as
healthy for teacher leadership practices. Educators used language of leadership which can be
associated with the organisational and transformational leadership theory; indicated that they
experienced barriers to teacher leadership; and that there is a need for professional development
in relation to teacher leadership. A significant difference was found between the preliminary
leadership and barriers to teacher leadership perceptions held by district officials and other
educators (principal, member of school management team, veteran, middle and novice). A
significant difference was also found between members of school management teams and other
educators (middle and novice) in relation to their readiness for teacher leadership. Significant
relationships were found between educators’ preliminary leadership and readiness for teacher
leadership perceptions, as well as between their readiness for teacher leadership and their
perceptions about a healthy school culture for teacher leadership. These findings have significant
implications for leadership practices, collaboration, capacity-building and improvement in schools,
educators’ self-esteem, motivation and productivity, as well as student outcomes. / Educational Studies / Thesis (D. Ed. Education Management))
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/4715 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | De Villiers, Elsabe |
| Contributors | Pretorius, S.G. (Prof.) |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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