Teacher Leadership in Public High Schools of Tanauan City North District and Its Relation to School Heads' Effectiveness: Basis for an Enhancement Program

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The emergence of teachers who taught well and demonstrated leadership capabilities at the same time has led to the concept of teacher leadership as a critical factor in sustaining changes in schools. Meanwhile, as the government is taking serious steps in practicing what is provided for in R.A. 9155 on shared governance, school governance is no longer left to the hands of the school head alone, but rather, shared to teachers and other stakeholders. It is then significant that teachers are equipped with leadership capabilities. However, not all teachers are given the opportunity to actualize leadership potentials. This consideration prompted the researcher to identify what teachers already have in terms of leadership and how such can be maximized and improved through the guidance of their school heads.

METHODS

The descriptive method of research was employed in this study with a total of 72 teacher-respondents. The main data-gathering instruments of the study were semi self-constructed Teacher Leadership Inventory and School Heads' Effectiveness Survey Questionnaire.

RESULTS

The study revealed that majority of teachers are female, promising young adults, who are still pursuing post-graduate studies. Moreover, the seven dimensions of teacher leadership are oftentimes present within the organization. Furthermore, teacher leadership does not vary among gender, position and educational attainment of teachers while in terms of age, it does vary. Meanwhile, school heads generate ways to improve the teaching-learning process inside the classroom as they have high level of effectiveness. Finally, higher degree of teacher leadership entails higher level of school heads' effectiveness.

DISCUSSIONS

The school head, Master teachers and coordinators should develop a mechanism through which teachers are given equal opportunity to unleash their potentials for teacher leadership and perform teacher leadership roles. Moreover, an effective mechanism to evaluate and reward teacher-leaders even those who are practicing informal teacher leadership should be established to encourage them to share their expertise, mentor new teachers, volunteer for new projects and bring new ideas to schools. Finally, Department of Education Tanauan City officials should conduct trainings on effective school leadership particularly on distributed leadership so as to promote school heads' support for teacher leadership.