Teacher Leadership and Students’ Performance. Education Essay

TEACHER LEADERSHIP AND STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE
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Teacher Leadership and Students’ Performance
Introduction
The concept of teacher leadership is crucial in ensuring that teachers are engaged in schools as change-makers within the education system while at the same time acknowledging their different leadership roles. At the teaching level, there is a range of platforms that teachers can utilize for the purposes of influencing students through beneficial policies. Some of the opportunities may include but not limited to direct engagement with policymakers, direct involvement in media as well as public forums that help students develop their capacity in voicing their opinions (Anderson, 2018). Such leadership activities are key to improving student outcomes across schools since it supports improved student learning. The stance of teacher unions is to support teacher leadership by making teachers leaders of their profession. The success of teacher leadership lies in the fact that teachers should be viewed from the student perspective as more effective and having appropriate knowledge and skills for the purposes of helping students improve. For such leadership style to work, the teachers require careful selection, training and at the same time structured time for collaboration. The teachers should have the capacity to be purpose-driven instructors, skillful facilitators of student learning, evidence-based decision-makers and being change agents for them to influence student determination towards their goals (Berry, 2016).
The traditional concept of leadership roles amongst teachers has been devoid of flexibility and calls for an elaborate sense of commitment of time and more energy. The aspect of taking leadership roles have always demanded that they move out of teaching and embrace administrative roles. However, the current situation within teacher education requires dramatically different roles for teachers as well as changes in their professional development. There is a need for teachers to extend their areas of influence and embrace school-wide leadership roles beyond the classroom. Such expansion on the teachers’ leadership roles is based on the understanding that teachers due to their daily contact with learners are best placed to ensure students develop critical learning abilities (Chase, 1998). The aspect of empowering teachers as national and professional leaders enables then to prepare students for different competitions, thereby, increasing their knowledge towards globally driven economies. In such an era where accountability matters, teachers have acted as advocates responsible for examining more explicit avenues for student development. At the same time, teacher leadership has the capacity of attracting high performance from various students (Heimans & Timms, 2014).
Importance of Teacher leadership
Teacher leadership considering their involvement with children focuses on their role of making a difference in the lives of various students (Cheung et al., 2018). The leadership considerations of teachers are based on their desire that concerns improvement on the quality of teaching as well as learning for all students. Traditionally, teacher leadership has no similarities with the hierarchy as reflected within organizations. Instead, teacher leadership is more of a collaborative effort that involves other teachers and promotes the improvement of educational services alongside professional development. The current leadership roles enable teachers to impact educational changes without necessarily leaving classrooms. The teachers serve as research colleagues to students which enables them to easily guide their mental focus. At the same time, they work as advisor-mentors to new students as they strive to promote the student’s professional activities. Acting as members of school-based leadership groups or teams, they are capable of giving instructional support as well as giving input on change efforts (Ingersoll et al., 2017).
Teacher leaders assume the role of mentorship towards students. This dimension ensures that teachers help students in familiarizing themselves with different practices within society. Such provisions are considered invaluable since they ensure the setting of personal standards communicated appropriately to the students that would ensure they have a sense of belonging. Further, they have the responsibility of ensuring that parents understand the language of encouraging their children outside the school compound. Teacher leaders also provide leadership to students in professional speaking and blogging. Such coaching ensures that the students develop the right professional skills for communication in their latter lives. They also act as data coaches whereby, they guide students on the different ways of analysis and application of data for the purposes of improved results. The teacher leaders also help students with the use of technology that gives them the advantage of accessing resources on knowledge at the right stages of life (MetLife Corporation. (2013).
The role of the teacher leaders is elaborate and largely specific to the individual context of the student and the school environment. This demands knowledge and learning of a variety of skills while on duty. Some of the skills may include the aspect of building trust and good rapport, dealing with processes, management of work, and the ability to diagnose conditions surrounding the students. Moreover, the aspect of restructuring school communities for the purposes of incorporating leadership positions for the students enables them to sharpen their leadership skills. This calls for the teachers to provide non-judgmental values concerning assisting mechanisms and modeling the element of collegiality as one of the modes of work. They are also crucial in enhancing the student’s self-esteem by use of different approaches. This includes the aspect of ensuring continuous provisions on learning as well as supporting students at the school site and encouraging them to provide leadership to fellow peers (CTQ & Digital Promise, 2017).
The teachers help students in their intellectual as well as professional growth by involving their leadership positions. The development of new skills, as well as knowledge, encourages confidence and a higher commitment to learning amongst the students. Importantly, the concept of professional growth results from collaboration with peers as compared to various activities separated from the normal routines at school. Teachers encourage students’ growth as they expose them to assisting other students at various capacities including working as administrators that expose them to new concepts and ideas (Douglas, 2015).
Key questions on Teacher Leadership Roles on Students
Some of the key questions on teacher roles include;
1 How does teacher leadership assist disabled students to attain their goals?
2 What are some of the techniques appropriate for teacher leaders that ensure the success of the students?
Core discussion on Role of Teacher Leaders on Student Performance
There are elements of instructional leadership as well as teacher leadership that strongly influence the level of student performance and their determination towards life and academic goals. The concept of holding teachers accountable to high standards of instruction strongly relates to high achievement levels. One of the elements of instructional leadership applicable involves the provision of effective teacher-administrator that promotes the sharing of vision within the school environment. However, most of the schools are unable to implement a high teacher leadership standard that influences effective improvement within teams or group vision. At the same time, some aspects of teacher leadership that strongly relate to student achievement are not likely to be considered in most schools. For instance, the teachers’ roles in the establishment of student discipline procedures alongside planning of school activities greatly shape student determination and achievement. However, such a perspective requires a balanced approach capable of promoting teacher accountability and leadership for better performance. The blueprint of good school-leadership demands that teachers be involved in active decision-making processes capable of promoting higher levels of determination and achievement amongst students (York-Barr & Duke, 2004).
The authority of the teacher over student behaviors as well as discipline decisions is crucial for their academic success as compared to the level of teacher authority that is directly linked to teacher authority. This clearly shows that teacher leadership responsibilities concerning student discipline policies strongly influence student level of academic success. Historically, teachers have assumed the primary responsibility of establishing a conducive climate within the classroom that helps in the management of student behaviors. This makes teachers have fewer contributions towards the decisions that appertain to school behaviors, norms, standards as well as disciplinary policies. Such limitations on the teacher authority undermine their possible abilities that could otherwise enable them to take charge of classrooms, therefore, meeting their responsibilities. The nature of input that teachers have on students' discipline policies is much more than just pragmatic issues that entail classroom management that fosters academic instructions (York-Barr & Duke, 2004). It involves more than just instructing students on reading, writing, and arithmetic but also provides socialization environment that helps students to grow in their social lives apart from gaining academic skills. This makes the teachers solely responsible for furthering the social and emotional learning of students. One of the key responsibilities of teacher leadership is to ensure proper shaping of student conducts, development of student character as well as impartation of relevant skills. The various successful relationships between teachers and students are crucial in ensuring that students connect fully to the school and education system. This helps in the creation of a sense of community a...