Abstract
Teachers are rarely identified as leaders even though they engage in significant
leadership activities related to pedagogy, curriculum, and to some extent school-wide
organisational leadership. There seems to be no consensus on how teacher
leadership is defined for some teaching and leading are mutually exclusive while
others propose that they are both teachers and leaders. While their leadership within
a classroom is not contested, it was mainly during the pandemic that their leadership
capabilities of envisaging an alternative future for schools surfaced. The recognition
that the demands of a fourth industrial revolution (4IR) relevant education places
teachers at the heart of transformation through innovative praxis. Transformational
learning and leadership offer theoretical lenses through which the leadership of
innovative teachers are reflected through their narratives as leaders of learning for a
4IR context.
The findings from this research revealed that the key leadership traits that teachers
display are strategist, activator, and supporter. These traits were the conduit through
which teachers were encouraged to engage with ways in which to change teaching
and learning to suit a 4IR context. Despite some positive experiences, there were
some challenges that participants face as teacher leaders. This included resistance to
change, systemic limitations, isolation, and a lack of capacity which served as the main
stumbling blocks to embracing change practices amongst teachers. Therefore, they
had to learn how to rethink how to approach change processes in relation to supporting
teachers to develop 4IR learning in their classrooms. This includes how a leader
should plan and manage change, and how vulnerability and being adaptable support
sustainable change.
KEYWORDS:
Fourth Industrial Revolution, Teacher Leadership, Innovative Praxis, Narrative Inquiry,
Transformational Learning, Transformational Leadership