Teachers Grappling with a Teacher-Leader Identity: Complexities and Tensions in Early Childhood Education

Autor/in	Cooper, Maria
Titel	Teachers Grappling with a Teacher-Leader Identity: Complexities and Tensions in Early Childhood Education
Quelle	In: International Journal of Leadership in Education, 26 (2023) 1, S.54-74 (21 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Cooper, Maria)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1360-3124
DOI	10.1080/13603124.2020.1744733
Schlagwörter	Early Childhood Teachers; Early Childhood Education; Teacher Leadership; Self Concept; Teacher Attitudes; Parents; Role Conflict; Difficulty Level; Professional Identity; Individual Development; Foreign Countries; Context Effect; New Zealand + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Early childhood; Early childhood education; Teacher; Teachers; Frühe Kindheit; Frühkindliche Bildung; Frühpädagogik; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Education; Lehrerfunktionsstelle; Selbstkonzept; Lehrerverhalten; Eltern; Rollenkonflikt; Schwierigkeitsgrad; Individuelle Entwicklung; Ausland; Neuseeland
Abstract	The notion of a dual teacher-leader identity in education is elusive. This article builds on existing research by reporting a qualitative, interpretive case study. The study explored the perspectives of 16 early childhood teachers with and without leadership positions regarding their own leadership practice and leader identity, and 10 parents about the leadership activity of their children's teachers. Data were generated through interviews, focus groups, and observations of teaching practice, and analyzed using a leadership-as-practice perspective. Two findings underpin this paper. Several of the teachers and parents understood leadership in relation to the teacher self as an accessible, everyday identity and practice. Yet, some of the teachers struggled to articulate a teacher-leader identity. This paper illuminates complexities and tensions associated with teachers navigating a teacher-leader identity in the context of team-based settings. It argues that for teachers to realize their potential as formal or informal teacher-leaders, they need support to grapple with a dual teacher-leader identity. This support includes opportunities to engage in critical dialogs that: challenge traditional ideas of leadership as positional power over others; encourage a reflective and affective reframing of their teacher-leader identity; and introduce alternative possibilities of leadership that resonate with teachers' collaborative work with others. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01