Jonah Kipkemboi Lagat

[Student`s Name] [Institutional Affiliation] [Instructor] [Date] [Course and Number] Discuss the role of teacher leaders in a school context in Singapore Introduction Teachers play a pivotal role in the success of a student’s achievement or performance at any level of school in any country, state of the city. Every school has a set of policies based on which teachers perform their duties and impart knowledge to their students. Different kinds of school systems, such as the one present or found in Singapore, also affect the way teaching is done. In this essay, the role played by teacher leaders in the context of Singapore schools will be discussed. The essay will shed light on who are the teacher leaders? What they do, how they influence and what conditions affect their work and so on. All these aspects will be adequately discussed in the essay and linked it to professionalism. Who are the teacher leaders? In schools, the term Teacher-leader is commonly applied to teachers who have taken on leadership roles and additional professional responsibilities and are considered as well as respected for holding those positions. These teachers are learning oriented and portray a high level of leadership capacity. Teacher leaders are also considered to be those teachers who take an active role in various administrative activities to support students, lead colleagues towards a positive change and school on an equal basis. It does not matter whether the role of teacher leader has been assigned to an individual formally or informally, they struggle to enhance the capacity of the school. As it is clear that teachers can be of assistance in different areas, they can also serve as leaders among their peers. What do teacher leaders do? Teacher leader act as normal teachers, but among their peers, they also perform the role of leaders as they might be departmental chairs, committee members, head coaches, team leaders and lead their colleagues towards a positive change that is required for improved learning experiences of students and higher achievement. Therefore, teacher leaders are taken as multiple role players, for example, they can serve as a resource provider, where teacher leaders share their knowledge based on instructions from other peers. They could also share different kinds of teaching materials that facilitate the teaching process such as articles, unit plans, lessons, books and so on [ CITATION Kil07 \l 1033 ]. Teacher leaders share their own successes to be replicated, collaborate with a team-oriented mindset, and take responsibilities beyond just their contract obligations. Teacher leaders can also be classroom supporters where they will be instructed to work from inside the classroom so that new and innovative/ creative ideas can be implemented by observing and giving feedback [ CITATION Kil07 \l 1033 ]. Teacher leaders can also be instructional specialists as they can be of assistance to their peer teachers due to the experience they might be having in the same field. Teacher leaders as instructional specialists can help other teachers implement effective teaching strategies in the classrooms for students. Moreover, teacher leaders with this role can also help in finding the best-suited methodology that can be used to impart instructions to students. Apart from this, teacher leaders can be mentored, learning facilitator, school leader, a catalyst for change, data coach, and a learner too [ CITATION Kil07 \l 1033 ]. In simple terms, teacher leaders influence their colleagues, other members, and principals for improving learning as well as teaching practices carried out in the school. This major aim is due to the fact that it will eventually enhance student achievement by improved learning [ CITATION Yor04 \l 1033 ]. Which aspects of school life do teacher leaders involve themselves in? A school life is based on a number of aspects which require an equal amount of attention on a regular basis. Some of the most important aspects in which it is a dire need for a teacher leader to get involved include maintaining a focus on teaching and learning, interacting through formal and informal points of influence as well as establishing a trust and constructive relationship among teachers, students or other co-workers. The main aspects of school can be categorized into three main areas, such as team or inside the department (which refers to teaching and learning), across the school (which refers to schoolwide policies and programs) and lastly outside the school (which refers to communication and community relations) as well [CITATION Cha07 \l 1033 ]. Bringing about a change in any department is among the toughest jobs that a manager or leader has to perform any sort of organization. This requires interpersonal skills such as communication and listening skills due to different levels of understanding by students and other support staff and sharpening and toning interpersonal skills improves the managerial skills and methods, since it can be used in different environments within the school set up and tact from the teacher leader who has already developed credibility as well as trust among colleagues. In this setting, a teacher leader may play the role of coordinator, for example, a program could be designed where a student from 7th grade may read to kindergarten students. Similarly, the teacher leaders also do peer observation which has been demonstrated to be an effective tool for the enhancement of teaching, leading to improvements in students outcomes and experiences (Carbone, Nash & Bernard). This basically means that teacher leaders may assist their colleagues in finding out the drawbacks and ways to improve in the learning environment. Taking an example of a teacher who comes up with a question for his colleagues that he doesn’t find girls as participative as boys in the classroom, another colleague can help him in this situation. The colleague might visit his classroom and observe what the problem is that he has been facing. Upon analysis of the teaching environment, it was found that the teacher, himself, was not supportive of the girls or did not motivate them enough to participate as compared to boys. This eventually disclosed that how things could be changed and what teachers need to do for an equal amount of participation. Across the school, teacher leaders get involved in different opportunities, such as student programs, creating schedules and grading policies as well. As most students consider that their memorable life events, were participating in the school play, being a part of debate team or doing something else. All this requires leadership skills that allow engagement between academic content and students. Making sure that all students have equal and immediate access to various opportunities is basically dependent upon collective efforts as well as a choice of alternatives present with them. Teachers, as are close to the action, may be considered as the primary role player of leadership. For example, to improve student reactions toward grading and comments about teachers, a team of teachers can collaborate and put together their thoughtful feedback to improve grading policies. This may also help in developing the interest of the students in reading and understanding the responses, provided to their given tests and papers, by teachers. Teacher leaders also get involved outside of the school. This is done by participating in district-wide teacher evaluation programs or curriculum teams. Teacher leaders can also deliver presentations at a national or state level conferences and may also represent teachers at a school board meeting in any community. The list of tasks that the teacher leaders can get involved beyond the school is unending. By doing and involving in all these activities, teacher leaders are not just teaching, rather they are a leader and influencing a larger part of the educational environment in different communities around them. One of the best example to demonstrate how teachers involved in such settings is to set up an organization that increases opportunities. For example, a high school teacher might find it awful if there wouldn’t be many opportunities for students to learn different languages. For this, the teacher may set up a chapter of institute nearby that offers to teach different languages. In this way, teacher leaders can get involved beyond the school. What is the source of teacher leader’s influence? Influencing a person, whether in shape of a student or a fellow worker co-worker, is quite difficult until and unless the right strategies are used. There can be numerous sources of influence from teacher leaders depending upon the context of influence in their schools and the profession. As per a study conducted in 2015, the researchers were intrigued to find out that teacher leaders utilize a variety of sources to influence colleagues as well as students by creating a positive school culture that makes students enjoy school and being the custodian (Fairman & Mackenzie). According to their findings of this research, it was found that various strategies utilized by the teacher leaders included direct and indirect ways of influencing colleagues, formal and informal leadership, trust and collegiality, the importance of building healthy relationships, forming an informal collaboration to support teacher leaders and help them develop and improve the school. In addition to this, teacher leaders also engage in leadership activities so that they can build supportive conditions for accelerating development and improvement of schools [ CITATION Jan151 \l 1033 ]. What effects do teacher leaders produce? Effects are produced due to the effectiveness, therefore, for every teacher leader to have a profound effect, it is firstly important to be effective. The effects that teacher leaders can produce can be listed out easily with measurable results. An effective teacher leader can be useful in producing an effect of high achievement among students due to the curriculum he or she has developed. For example, including the right element and topics in the curriculum basically, help the teachers achieve higher performing students. Similarly, with an effective set of skills, teacher leaders can be of great help when it comes to improving and enhancing learning practices. With experience and knowledge, teacher leaders can lead other colleagues by telling and teaching them how to improve their teaching practices for better outcomes. While the positive attitude of the school Headteacher contributes to the teachers’ with little experience professional development (Delvaux et al.,). Summing up the main effects, teacher leaders can affect the process of learning and teaching as well as the ones who are being taught [ CITATION Pam00 \l 1033 ]. What conditions affect the work of teacher leaders? While working in an educational environment, teacher leaders may find some unsuitable conditions due to which their work could get affected. It has been argued that the design of the built environment of an organization influences the physical and mental health of its members (Dannenberg et al.,). The location of the school unit, as a living organism, is a matter which is related to factors such as the social, economic and spatial structure of a region; the transportation network, which serves teachers and students, the place of school building installation (Pucher & Dijkstra). Some of the conditions that can be highlighted here include supportive environment, resources, time, support from principals and other co-workers, and lastly, developmental opportunities. All these conditions can affect a teacher leader in one or the other way; they may positively affect teacher leaders or negatively affect them. For example, with appropriate time and resources, teacher leaders can actually be able to perform better and achieve set targets/ goals properly. This is because lack of resources such as in the form of teaching materials or time can lead them to deviate from the path of making teaching experience effective. Conversely, support from colleagues and principals is a crucial aspect. A supportive environment is mandatory for the flourishing of any concept and so a supportive environment is required for the teacher leaders to work effectively. Support from colleagues and principals will automatically keep the teacher leader motivated and help them to come up with new, innovative ideas for enhancing teaching and learning environment/ practices. What is the definition of teacher leadership? The basic definition of leadership point towards an attribute of an individual through which he or she leads a group of people or an organization. Therefore, teacher leadership is also related to simple leadership definition. According to [ CITATION Yor04 \l 1033 ], the method through which teachers are able to influence other co-workers, members of school communities and principals, either on an individual basis or on a collective basis, for improving teaching and learning practices in hope of achieving better outcomes in terms of student learning and performance [ CITATION Yor04 \l 1033 ]. Another definition of teacher leadership also tells that a method of influencing opted by teachers for stakeholders of the school, including parents, students, teachers, senior leaders, middle leaders and others, is known as teacher leadership. Hairon, Goh, and Chua also commented that through teacher leadership, shared goals, promoting teacher development and learning via collegial and collaborative relations can be achieved. This further assists teacher leaders in bringing about change in teaching practices [ CITATION Hai15 \l 1033 ]. Why do you think teacher leaders are important in Singapore schools? Considering the benefits that entail for having teacher leaders in schools, it is a very good opportunity for Singapore schools to adopt the same. Apart from the benefits that teacher leaders have, it is important to note that the world is in a constant progression and evolution through disruptive ways, but education is one thing that promises to stabilize the situation and solve the problems. In order to provide effective education to students, it is significant for teachers to teach students and prepare them in a way by which they can be ready for the future uncertain world. As the process of evolution is highly unpredictable [ CITATION Sal17 \l 1033 ], it is important for the Singapore schools to incorporate teacher leaders that can provide their effective services at the educational institutes of Singapore. In this way, teacher leaders can play their role in a traditional way in nurturing every child in a holistic manner. What are the obstacles to the successful enactment of teacher leadership in Singapore schools? For every good enactment, there are numerous issues that first need to be removed. The same goes in case of enactment of teacher leadership in Singapore schools. The first and foremost obstacle that can be seen in Singapore schools is its structure. Most of the schools that can be found in Singapore have a hierarchical structure. According to this hierarchical structure in Singapore schools, the authority resides with the top level of management. The leadership structure that is most evident in schools of Singapore instructional leadership structure. Based on this leadership structure, it is considered that the principals of Singapore school hold a high level of oversight on school’s vision and direction [ CITATION Don172 \l 1033 ]. Based on these findings of a research, the major obstacle to an enactment is to get through to the principals and make a way for leadership in Singapore schools. This is a major obstacle since, without the approval of the principals in Singapore schools, teacher leadership cannot be enacted effectively. Other than this, some contextual barriers such as high teacher workload is another obstacle that may hinder enactment of teacher leadership in Singapore schools. As teacher leaders already have a high load of tasks to perform on a daily basis, there needs to be reduced workload on them so that they can perform effectively in the educational setting [ CITATION Dap13 \l 1033 ]. How should teacher leaders be developed in the Singapore education context? Teacher leaders cannot just make up their place in any kind of school they like as not every school that is hospitable to their emergence. To make sure teacher leaders are developed successfully in the context of Singapore education, school administrators play a crucial role. They foster the conditions through which teacher leadership could be facilitated. A few pointers to ensure in the process by school administrators include: 1. A risk-taking yet safe environment for teachers: An open environment is always a nourishing one for every individual, whether he or she is a teacher or a student. In this scenario as well, to develop teacher leaders in the Singapore education context, it is important to provide them a very ‘open to suggestions’ and ‘open to ideas’ kind of environment. With this environment, it will be assured to the new teachers that no one from the administration and colleagues will criticize their ideas, which might sound a bit unusual in the first place. This can be further facilitated with the help of meetings where staff members might be requested to provide their feedback or come with questions as well as Waco ideas [ CITATION Cha07 \l 1033 ]. 2. Presence of administrators for supporting teacher leaders: Promoting teacher leaders in an educational context are the prime job of administrators to which they should commit to the development of teacher leaders. For this, administrators have to be proactive in assisting teachers and making sure that they receive an adequate amount of skills required for the becoming a leader [ CITATION Cha07 \l 1033 ]. 3. Resistance to leadership roles At times, there is resistance shown by the teachers themselves to take on leadership roles. On the other hand, if it’s not the teacher, then it might be an administrator who could resist in letting a teacher take on leadership roles. In either of the cases, this resistance for taking on a leadership role might be detrimental to the development of teacher leaders in Singapore education context. To provide a productive environment for teacher leaders, administrators need to nurture a culture that respects teachers who go outside the traditional role of teaching and take on a leadership role [ CITATION Cha07 \l 1033 ]. 4. Facilitating leadership skills by providing opportunities: As it is a fact that the skills and expertise required to become a teacher leader is not provided to the student when they are in the preparatory program for teachers, therefore, those skills have to be developed now. This will allow teacher leaders to contribute fully in the curriculum planning, assessment, design, instructional improvement as well as planning, collaboration, and lastly facilitation. For this reason, the administrators might have to provide a professional development course at school- level or they may also provide district-wide or university-based seminars and courses for teachers as well [ CITATION Cha07 \l 1033 ]. Role of teacher leaders in the school context in Singapore. Singapore has the most complex and articulated teacher career ladder system in the world, with three tracks available to teachers based on their skills and desired career progression. The “Teaching Track” aims to keep teachers in the classroom for the duration of their careers, but at the same time to give them increasingly more responsibility and leverage their skills across the whole school as they gain greater experience. To that end, the School Staff Developer position is available to teachers when they reach the Senior (second) level of the Teaching Track. Their teaching load is reduced by 30 percent in order to accommodate their additional responsibilities. The school principal is responsible for setting the overall vision and objectives for the school, School Staff Developers are responsible for developing the strategic plan that will achieve these objectives. As part of this planning process, their direct department heads to come up with specific and individualized development goals for every teacher based on those teachers’ performance reviews. They then determine the kind of professional development that will be required to meet the objectives. The professional development that the School Staff Developers plan and deliver may take many forms: induction programs for new teachers, whole-school professional development and/or learning opportunities for groups of teachers. In some cases, they may outsource professional learning to groups with particular expertise. School staff developers are not considered to be experts in the role of professional learning leader purely by virtue of being selected for it. They receive five months of induction and training in their role of 13 sessions run at the Academy of Singapore Teachers, the nation’s teacher professional development hub. Finally, they are part of a collaborative professional learning community that connects digital and face-to-face to share tools, resources, and advice. Discuss the reasons for the existence of PLCs in Singapore schools. A significant amount of attention has already been gained by the professional learning communities (PLCs) in different educational settings all over the world. The concept that underlies beneath PLCs is basically about teachers’ learning and gaining knowledge collectively and this has gained enough value in the eyes of school leaders, policymakers, teachers and others. The Singapore model of education is based on PLCs for a set of reasons; namely three big ideas and four critical questions (Lee et al,). The existence of PLCs in Singapore schools is highly dependent upon these as they help the educational institutes to formulate an environment for teacher leaders. The three big ideas are about enabling students to learn, build a collaborative culture and focus on outcomes produced by students. The other reason on which Singapore schools exist are the four critical questions which ask about what we expect students to learn, how to know whether they have learned or not, and finally how to respond if the students do not know or do know what they are being taught. Discuss the challenges of PLCs faced by teachers in school Not every good thing comes easy and so does the PLCs in Singapore educational context. There are various challenges faced by teachers due to PLCs. For example, time constraints, ambiguity in practice as well as the theory of PLC, expansion of workload, lack of teacher’s belief in the effectiveness of PLCs [CITATION Hai14 \l 1033 ]. Link with theories linked to professional development Professional development basically tells that there are certain theories through which learning can be facilitated. Taking an example of sociocultural theory, it tells that learning is a procedure that is based on social and shared tasks. As per this theory, learning is a process that is intertwined with sharing of history, sharing of practice, sharing of goals, sharing of experiences, sharing of meanings, and sharing of identities. This type of sharing can predominantly impact the process of learning of teachers and enabling them to engage in a social practice that is crucial for learning [ CITATION Alf02 \l 1033 ]. Conclusion Summing up the main key points discussed in this essay, it is important to note that teacher leaders are those individuals who are usually teachers, but they also perform the role of a leader among his or her peer or colleagues. 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