Abstract
To address teacher empowerment and teacher quality in the South African education system, the concept of teacher leadership development needs to be considered. Although this concept is emerging in South African schools, it is considered significant in that it promotes collaboration, and empowerment, and improves teachers’ leadership practices in all aspects. However, there remains a need for more research as to how school management teams (SMTs) influence teachers to be leaders. Thus, this research contributes to the debate as to how SMTs can influence teacher leadership development in schools.
This study explored how departmental heads, as members of the school management team, influence the development of teacher leadership in public primary schools. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through focus group discussions (FGDs). Six participants consisting of three teachers and three departmental heads (DHs) were interviewed. Participants were from the same public primary school. The FGDs focused on the following aspects: the participants’ views on teacher leadership development, initiatives that are implemented by DHs to promote teacher leadership development, and challenges that may be encountered by DHs in trying to influence teacher leadership development. The findings revealed that both teachers and DHs consider teacher leadership development to be a significant aspect that can promote empowerment and positive change in public primary schools. Recommendations for further studies include using a larger sample to explore teachers’ and DHs’ perceptions of how SMTs can influence the development of teacher leadership in public primary and secondary schools. Another recommendation is that a comparison between the inputs and views of SMTs, teachers, and officials of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) can be explored regarding teacher leadership development in schools.
Keywords: influence, departmental heads, public primary schools, senior management teams, teacher leadership, teacher leadership development.