Abstract
Most South African public schools operate using a hierarchal structure, adopting an autocratic leadership style that often hinders the development of teacher leadership within schools. Teachers, therefore, are often unaware of their leadership capabilities, which can influence the atmosphere of the school and, in turn, affect the learner achievement rate. When there is collaboration amongst staff and opportunities are made available to level one teachers, the culture of the school is influenced, and teachers find more satisfaction with their jobs, rather than becoming ‘burnt out’. The rationale for this study was to investigate the existence of leadership development opportunities for post level one teachers in primary schools. The development of teacher leadership in schools has the potential to improve learner achievement rates in the country. However, this can only be done if school management teams are willing to distribute/delegate responsibilities to post level one teachers in order for them to gain experience, as this is an essential requirement of teacher leadership. The researcher argues that more opportunities need to be given to teachers to lead in their classrooms, amongst their colleagues and in with regard to whole school development. Teacher leadership can occur formally and informally and must be supported so that teachers are developed holistically. A qualitative case study approach was used in this study. The researcher conducted the interviews telephonically with the six participants, consisting of two Heads of Department (HOD) and four post level one teachers, using semi-structured individual interviews, which were pilot tested with two participants who were not part of the main sample. Telephonic interviews were the preferred choice due to the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions imposed by the Government of South Africa. It was found that teachers in primary schools were, to some extent, practicing teacher leadership in their classrooms. This study resulted in three themes, which were named as follows: leadership styles and an understanding of teacher leadership that promote opportunities for leadership advancement; leadership development opportunities that exist for post level one teachers; and, lastly, challenges experienced by level one teachers when advancing to leadership positions. This study, therefore, recommends that teachers work towards capacitation in teacher leadership. This can be in the form iv of workshops, managed by school management teams. In addition, development programmes can be created and implemented to equip teachers with the skills to take on leadership roles within phases and schools. This initiative would improve the culture of the school and encourage collaboration amongst staff members. Another recommendation is for the DBE begin conducting large-scale workshops to create an awareness of the significance of teacher leadership. Teacher leadership can only be sustained if it is the result of a teacher-led, voluntary initiative. The workshops must be designed in a manner that will allow for level one teachers to gain exposure and information relating to teacher leadership and foster an understanding of the different roles of teacher leaders.
M.Ed. (Educational Leadership and Management)