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Building the Leadership Capacity of Beginning Teachers

Ai-Hsin Ho, the University of Waikato

Catherine Lang, the University of Waikato

ABSTRACT

The literature suggests that teachers who perceive themselves as leaders can adapt their teaching performance,

improve student learning, and transform their schools. Beginning teachers as well as experienced teachers have

been expected to play leadership roles, such as change agent, to respond to a range of educational issues in

countries that have undergone significant educational reforms. Faced with these challenges, countries such as

New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States have emphasised leadership preparation. There has

been a growing number of leadership preparation programmes for senior management and teachers in mid-career.

However, the development and acknowledgement of beginning teachers leadership capacity is still

marginalised.

This paper aims to highlight the importance of the capacity building of beginning teachers, and the essential

roles of some key stakeholders in the development of their leadership capacity, including beginning teachers

themselves. This paper is based on a small-scale qualitative comparative study of New Zealand and Taiwanese

beginning secondary teachers perceptions of their own leadership capacity, involving interviews with six

beginning teachers. Based on the research findings, this paper discusses five interrelated categories of factors

that shaped the teachers perceptions of leadership: organisational cultures, leadership experiences, working

conditions, time commitment to teaching, and professional development. Suggestions emerge for teachereducators and stakeholders in schools, to develop the leadership capacity of beginning teachers.

INTRODUCTION

Over the past few decades, educational reforms have been a feature of public schools around the world. Schools

continue to confront multiple demands for both external and internal accountability by governments and

communities (Sachs & Blackmore, 1998). Schools cannot progress with the principals effort solely. As

Fullan (2002) argues, an organisation cannot thrive on the actions of the top leaders alone. Rather, the whole

school system, including teachers, has to move into the role of change agent (Fullan, 1996; Shapiro, 2000).

Harris (2003) further claims that teacher leadership is a form of agency that can be widely shared or distributed

within and across an organisation, thus directly challenging more conventional forms of leadership practice (p.

315). She suggests that teacher leadership refers to the exercise of leadership by teachers, regardless of position

or designation and is centrally concerned with forms of empowerment and agency which are also at the core of

distributed leadership theory (Harris, 2003, p. 316). This viewpoint implies that an educational leader is notsolely identifiable by his or her positions or titles (King, 2002), and that leadership is undertaken, or should be

undertaken, by people in many different roles in the school.

From this perspective, all teachers could become leaders (Robertson & Strachan, 2001). According to

Harris (2003), this viewpoint does not imply that everyone is a leader, or should be, but it opens up the

possibility for a more democratic and collective form of leadership (p. 317). In such contexts, teachers are

recognised as educational leaders, whose role is essential in collectively producing quality educational outcomes.

Quality teachers are a critical element to the success of education reforms and teacher leadership has become a

major feature of recent efforts to transform teacher professionalism and reform schools (Ishler, 1995; Smylie,

1995). Furthermore, Youngs and Grootenboer (2003) points out that if teachers are allowed to take leadership

then they can make huge impact on the strategic direction and the quality of learning (p.88). As the concept of

teacher leadership becomes recognised by many scholars, empirical studies are providing knowledge about

leadership practices performed by experienced teachers (Patterson, 2001; Silva, Gimbert, & Nolan, 2000).

However, there have been a few studies specifically exploring beginning teachers leadership behaviours and

practices. It remains doubtful whether beginning teachers are recognised as leaders by the whole schoolcommunity, or provided with school structures and support systems that allow them to undertake leadership roles.

In many countries, the special structure that provides beginning teachers with mentoring and professional

support are referred as teacher induction programmes. In New Zealand, advice and guidance programmes are

referred to as induction programmes for beginning teachers, who are provisionally registered in their first two

years of teaching, prior to full registration (Lang, 1996; Mansell, 1996). During the whole two-year period, all

beginning teachers are required to participate in an advice and guidance programme under the supervision of a

fully registered teacher who is generally referred to as the mentor or the tutor teacher.

The underpinning assumptions of beginning teacher induction are the notions of teachers as learners and the

community of practice, which are described by Lave and Wenger (1991). Haughey, Snart, and da Costa (2002)

further point out that the notion of teacher learning now embraces more collaborative forms of learning and

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suggests a common commitment to a shared purpose, and involves socially constructed and collaborative

problem-solving approaches. Relationships or social interaction as a critical element of teacher learning help

teachers to develop personally, socially, and professionally constructed views of teaching and teaching

practice (Bell & Gilbert, 1996). In New Zealand, the Ministry of Education expects principals, deputy principals,

heads of departments, and co-ordinators of advice and guidance programmes in larger schools, as well as tutor

teachers, to collaboratively lead beginning teachers through the ups and downs in their beginning teaching. The

research findings of the small-scale qualitative study on New Zealand and Taiwanese beginning teachers

indicated that the participating New Zealand teachers believed that they played a considerable part in their owndevelopment, and that principals or deputy principals, tutor teachers, heads of departments, and other colleagues

in the same department all had significant impact on their growth; whereas the Taiwanese beginning teachers

neither recognised themselves as educational leaders, nor were satisfied with the support from the school. The

findings suggest that the more positive the beginning teachers perceptions of teacher leadership, the more they

believed that they were educational leaders, and that they should be collaboratively supported in the wider school

community to take active roles in generating positive perceptions of leadership, to develop their own leadership

and, eventually, to become educational leaders. However, Brock and Grady (1997) point out that, in their study,

principals had overlooked the importance of their roles in the induction process, and the beginning teachers

needs for on-going assistance throughout their first year of teaching.

This paper begins with the simple assumption that, within a school-based induction system, beginning

teachers have the potential to learn, exercise leadership, and become educational leaders through collaboration

and relationships with key stakeholders of teacher education and teacher induction. This paper is divided into

two sections. The first section is based the study of New Zealand and Taiwanese beginning teachers and focuses

on the leadership role of beginning teachers in their own development, and discusses some factors that have a

bearing on the development of their leadership capacity. The second section of this paper provides strategies that

emerged from the study for some key stakeholders in beginning teacher development to stress. For the purpose

of this study, the term beginning teachers refers to first-year teachers who have graduated from teacher

education institutions, who are provisionally registered teachers in New Zealand and probationary teachers in

Taiwan, and who have been provided with induction programmes in schools over a twelve-month period.

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO BEGINNING TEACHERS PERCEPTIONS OF LEADERSHIP

One important area of teacher leadership research emphasises the internal cognitive and emotional characteristics

that contribute to leadership practices. The literature suggests that teachers perceptions of leadership have the

potential to impact on their actions. Teachers who perceive themselves as leaders can adapt their teaching

performance, improve student learning, and help transform their schools (Jantzi & Leithwood, 1996). Robertson

and Strachan (2001) point out the relationship between teachers perceptions of leadership and self-efficacy.

They state that teachers who do not perceive themselves as leaders may have a limited view of their own roles,

and may not believe that they can make a difference to students lives; that is, they demonstrate low self-efficacy.

Specifically, Gibbs (2000) highlights the essential role of beginning teachers efficacy beliefs, which may assist

them to survive the challenges in teaching, and are deeply dependent upon their strategies and willingness to act.

This may help to explain how well beginning teachers survive in the first year of teaching and how they make

decisions to remain in or leave the profession. Other writers also find that teacher efficacy is consistently related

to teachers persistence whether or not to leave the teaching profession - and student outcomes, including

students achievement, autonomy and self-management strategies (Milner, 2002; Rich, Lev, & Fischer, 1996;

Woolfolk & Hoy, 1990). From this perspective, efficacy beliefs can be seen as similar to teacher leadership

perceptions, as teachers efficacy beliefs refer to teachers beliefs in their abilities to make a difference.

The study of three New Zealand and three Taiwanese beginning secondary teachers perceptions of

leadership identified whether New Zealand and Taiwanese teachers believe they have leadership qualities, and

how their perceptions may have influenced their attitudes and behaviours when they started teaching in schools.

The New Zealand teachers are graduates of the University of Waikato, and the Taiwanese teachers are alumni of

the National Cheng-Chi University. The themes that emerged from six individual in-depth interviews are

strongly interrelated and reflect patterns that recurred in the data across the New Zealand and Taiwanese teachers.To varying degrees, individual beginning teachers unique experiences and background influenced their

perceptions of leadership. The data indicated that the New Zealand secondary teachers had more positive

feelings about their advice and guidance programmes and stronger beliefs in themselves as leaders than the

Taiwanese teachers. However, there were factors that commonly shaped both New Zealand and Taiwanese

beginning teachers perceptions of leadership. These factors were interrelated in the development of the New

Zealand and Taiwanese teachers perceptions of leadership and beliefs about their own leadership. The findings

of the study suggested that national culture values intrinsically shaped the beginning teachers perceptions of

leadership. However, other personal and contextual factors, including family, school context, induction

programmes, and pre-service teacher education, had direct relationships with some or all aspects of the factors

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that impacted on the teachers perceptions of leadership in the school. For the purpose of this paper, this section

discusses some key factors that emerged from the study. They are organisational cultures, leadership experiences,

working conditions, time commitment to teaching, and professional development. The teachers are referred to by

pseudonyms. Jeff, Kate and Mary are the New Zealand teachers; Shu-Chi, Yi-Ping and Yuang-Ching are the

Taiwanese teachers.

The organisational culture of the school

Culture has become a central concept in the study of international business management and comparativepsychology (Hofstede, 1991). Literature on organisational behaviours suggests that cultural values inherently

shape peoples actions and beliefs. The study of New Zealand and Taiwanese beginning teachers showed that the

national culture of the country as well as organisational cultures underpin beginning teachers perceptions of

leadership and of their own leadership. National culture is a strong factor that can help explain behavioural

differences among people from different countries (Hofstede, 1991; Newman & Nollen, 1996). However,

organisations are complex and vary from one to another although people in a country may share a very similar

national culture (Dalin, 1998). National culture is insufficient to universally explain all organisational behaviours

in schools. Under the umbrella of the national culture, the context of the school and the teacher education

institution also play a role in the development of beginning teachers leadership qualities. The study found some

dimensions that shaped the organisational culture of the New Zealand and Taiwanese schools. They were the

schools external environments such as government policies, and the social and economic status of the

community.

Under the school-based management system in NZ, the New Zealand schools had reflected government

policies in their own contexts to varying degrees. In the study, the New Zealand teachers schools implemented

the new qualification system, National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), and new curricula, but

to different levels and based on the individual schools decision. The Taiwanese schools also implemented a new

curriculum, the nine-year integrated curriculum, and the Ministry of Education in Taiwan had required every

teacher to attend training programmes on the new curriculum. However, compared with the New Zealand

schools, the Taiwanese schools had less autonomy and were entitled by the government to make school policy

decisions to a smaller extent.

The social and economic status of her school district is identified by one Taiwanese teacher, Shu-Chi, as a

factor, which impacted on the leadership roles of teachers, parents, and community members. Shu-Chi revealed

her views about school leadership in Taipei:

In Taipei city, principals and parents have higher authority than teachers in most schools because principals

were traditionally school leaders, and parents have high social and economic status to influence school

policies. Thus, teachers have to meet the expectations of principals and parentsIn other districts, schools

were mainly led by administration or the management team.

In this study, the nature of the school communities and parents differed among the beginning teachers schools.

These differences had led the individual schools to develop their own unique school cultures and this impacted

on the beginning teachers perceptions of leadership. For example, Kates school had a very strong leadership

style and supportive staff members. This made Kate feel she had been assisted greatly and she suggested that

every school should provide the same support with their beginning teachers as her school gave her. Yi-Pings

school had a high senior high school entrance rate and was considered the best school in the surrounding area.

The teachers in her Chinese department were supportive and she could ask them for help, but the teachers in

other departments seldom gave her assistance. This made Yi-Ping sense a lack of relationship and connection

among the staff members, made her feel afraid to ask for opportunities to go to professional development courses

and request assistance from other teachers, and led to her weak belief of her own leadership roles.

Leadership experiences in pre-service teacher education and beginning teaching periods

The experiences of being involved in leadership roles, or valued as leaders during the pre-service teacher

education period and the first year of teaching are another determinant of the beginning teachers perceptions oftheir own leadership capacity. The findings are parallel to the literature on teachers efficacy beliefs, which is that

teachers personal backgrounds and histories may affect their understandings about their roles as teachers and

their actions related to their teaching behaviours. This study concludes that teacher education helps to shape

beginning teachers initial perceptions of leadership, whereas the first year of teaching helps to reinforce their

perceptions of school leadership. The findings are consistent with Lin, Gorrell & Taylors (2002) that the context

of teacher education institutions as well as their culture had affected the development of United States and

Taiwanese student teachers beliefs about their efficacy. In this study, recruitment of student teachers, the

organisation of their conjoint degrees, and the practicum periods in the programmes of the University of Waikato

in New Zealand and the National Cheng-Chi University in Taiwan were shaped differently. Many dimensions of

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the teacher education programmes had implicit impact on the beginning teachers leadership qualities:

recruitment procedure, organisation of conjoint programmes, and extra-curricular activities.

The School of Education at the University of Waikato has strict candidate application and selection

procedures. Therefore, they may have been able to recruit student teachers who were enthusiastic about teaching

and confident in their leadership potential. This could explain why, after their first year of teaching, all the New

Zealand teachers remained in the teaching profession and firmly believed in their own leadership. In contrast,

Taiwanese beginning teachers admission to the Department of Education at the National Cheng-Chi University

was mainly by assignment and according to the results of their entrance examinations. Their results might nothave allowed them entry into their first choice of study programme and university or college, other than the

teacher education programme. This may mean that those who went in the teacher education programme might

not have as much commitment to teaching, and confidence in their teacher leadership potential as the New

Zealand teachers. Two out of three Taiwanese teachers in this study had been granted admission to the teacher

education programmes by assignment, and both had left the teaching profession after the first year of teaching.

Yi-Ping was the only Taiwanese teacher who had been admitted to the university as a consequence of her

outstanding academic performance at senior high school. She was remaining in the profession, and at the time of

the research believed in her leadership. Yi-Pings perceptions of her own leadership were not as strong as all the

New Zealand teachers. However, a link may be made between application and selection of student teachers, and

the greater likelihood of student teachers becoming teachers and perceiving themselves as leaders. Arguably this

is true of all the New Zealand teachers and of Yi-Ping. Although all the New Zealand and Taiwanese teachers

had enrolled in conjoint degrees in their teacher education institutions, the organisation of their conjoint degrees

varied significantly.

The focus of the conjoint teacher education programme in the University of Waikato was on the

development of subject and teaching knowledge (SOE, 2005). In addition, professional leadership is one of the

satisfactory teaching dimensions required by the New Zealand Teachers Council, so the beginning teachers

have to meet this dimension in order to become fully registered teachers (NZTC, 2005, para 1). It is possible that

the School of Education at the University of Waikato had integrated these satisfactory teaching dimensions into

its curriculum. The conjoint secondary teaching programme of the University of Waikato also emphasises

practical teaching experiences by requiring the student teachers to complete three sections of practicum over the

first three years of the teacher education programme (SOE, 2005). One New Zealand teacher, Kate, identified

practicum periods as being important and helpful in shaping leadership perceptions. Kate revealed that, during

the practicum sections, she had opportunities to teach in three different schools, and had learned from three

supportive and experienced associate teachers1. In contrast, the conjoint secondary programme in the National

Cheng-Chi University in 1997 had multiple objectives of developing quality teachers, educational administrators,

and educational researchers to implement national education policies and facilitate life-long education. As

professional leadership had not become a satisfactory teaching dimension regulated by the Ministry of Education

in Taiwan, the teacher education curriculum in the National Cheng-Chi University may not have focused on

leadership development.

The practical teaching courses in the National Cheng-Chi University were also developed differently from

those at the University of Waikato. In the National Cheng-Chi University, the practicum sections were placed in

the last year of the teacher education programme, and the organisation of the practicum courses varied between

the lecturers. One lecturer focused on administrative learning; another lecturer emphasised teaching.

Yuang-Ching was in the former lecturers class and was assigned to different administrative departments at a

junior high school. She had observed the school leadership and come up with the conclusion that principals

should be school leaders and that secondary schools in Taiwan, similar to other public sectors, were

hierarchical and led by administration not by teachers. Yuang-Chings leadership experiences during practicum

periods possibly had been another factor contributing to her weak belief in teacher leadership and her own

leadership. The latter lecturer, who attached the student teachers in his class to a junior high school, only

arranged one associate teacher to supervise them. The literature on learning to teach identifies that support from

associate or supervising teachers is important for student teachers, but in this research project, none of the

Taiwanese teachers recognised associate teachers as a source of leadership development. In the study, two

Taiwanese teachers were especially aware of the relationships between their leadership experiences in camps oruniversity clubs and their leadership development. However, none of the New Zealand teachers mentioned such

experiences. This was probably because club or camp leadership experiences were less significant to the New

Zealand teachers than the formal curriculum of the teacher education programme at the University of Waikato,

and the formal curriculum had provided the New Zealand teachers with sufficient leadership knowledge and role

models, such as university lecturers and associate teachers.

1 The term associate teachers refers to teachers who assist student teachers during their practicum periods on

their school sites.

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Leadership role models were found as a critical element in the teachers leadership development. Kate

attributed her leadership development to her experiences with people with leadership qualities and that had

taught her important educational perspectives (such as being innovative and supportive and to have a sense of

humour), and made her believe she was a leader. In the study, leadership role models, such as principals, tutor

teachers (usually heads of departments), associate teachers (during practicum periods), university lecturers, high

school teachers and family members, were found to be influential in the teachers leadership development. The

New Zealand teachers leadership role models were from a variety of sources, including principals, tutor teachers,

lecturers, high school teachers, and family members. The Taiwanese teachers regarded principals and familymembers as leadership exemplars in a more negative than positive way. For example, none of the Taiwanese

teachers stated that the principals in their schools served as a source of leadership role models. This was

probably due to a lack of contact with the principals in their schools, which had inhibited their opportunities to

learn leadership from them. Yuang-Ching had learned about the hierarchical and bureaucratic leadership style

from her family members, who worked as middle managers in the public sector, and made her believe that

school leadership styles were similar to the public servant styles to a great extent.

The first year of teaching in schools was found to be another contributing factor of beginning teachers

perceptions of school leadership. Two New Zealand teachers, Jeff and Kate, expressed positive views about the

strong leadership at their schools. Jeff revealed that, although the school leadership was hierarchical with the

management team at the top, every school member had the opportunity to take part in the decision-making about

the school policies and plans. The positive feelings about the school leadership he had experienced appeared to

make Jeff feel confident in his educational leadership capacity. Kate also had very positive feelings about the

leadership style in her school, and believed that other schools should follow what her school did, to assist and

respect beginning teachers. It could be that Kates beliefs in beginning teachers leadership and her own

leadership were reinforced by her positive first-year teaching experiences. The other teacher, Mary, mentioned

that the school leadership at my school was not good, at the time she was interviewed, which resulted in the

principal and a deputy principal leaving. However, she was confident that the leadership in the school would

improve because she believed in educational leadership and in her own leadership potential. The Taiwanese

teachers had also observed their school leadership during their first year of teaching, but considered the

hierarchical structure of their schools and the school leadership as negative, and believed that it limited teachers

leadership roles. For example, Yi-Ping and Yuang-Ching both spoke about the hierarchical structure of their

schools, with the principals on the top and beginning teachers having little contact with the principal. Their

views about the school leaders would be typical because most Taiwanese schools are hierarchically structured

and led by the head. The Taiwanese teachers perceptions of their own status help to explain why they were

uncertain about their leadership potential.

The degree of involvement in decision-making processes was an aspect identified by Yi-Ping as an

important element that had influenced her perceptions of leadership. She commented when I received tasks

from the school which I was forced to finish, I had a strong negative feeling about leadership and myself as a

leader because I only played a very small part in the school. This response explains why Yi-Ping regarded

herself as a leader at classroom level only, and an implementer of school policies. This implies that the lower the

degree of participation in decision making, the less beginning teachers feel they are educational leaders. None of

the Taiwanese teachers mentioned a high level of involvement in the decision-making processes (above their

classroom level) in their schools; whereas all the New Zealand teachers had been involved, to a significant

degree, in decision-making about the school policy. It was clear that in-depth involvement in school-wide

decision-making processes had contributed greatly to the New Zealand beginning teachers positive views of

leadership and their own leadership. Jeff pointed out a relationship between in-depth involvement and a sense of

satisfaction. He stated that, when he had shown the management team and the staff members his teacher

competences by being involved in many school activities, he received recognition from them and felt happy and

passionate about being recognised. He also noted that seeing students doing well at school also gave him internal

rewards. The positive feedback from the students, the staff, and the management team made Jeff believe that he

could make a difference to a certain degree. Jeffs comment sums up the responses of all the New Zealand

teachers.

Working conditions

Working conditions are one important element of teacher status, they influence teachers decisions about

remaining in the profession, and can affect their professional development, capability and

performance (Cameron, 2003). Cameron (2003) points out that induction and on-going professional

development, as well as effective school leadership contribute to the professional working environment (p. 25).

The working conditions of the New Zealand beginning teachers in Camerons study were found to be a strong

factor in relation to how they constructed their overall feelings about their support and guidance programmes and

their responsibilities in the schools. Similarly, this study found that the working conditions of the New Zealand

and Taiwanese beginning teachers were a critical factor in developing a sense of community in the school, a

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sense of self worth, and the belief in self-leadership capacity. The study found that the working conditions of the

beginning teachers impacted on whether they regarded themselves as important members of the school, and that

a sense of being valued had an effect on the beginning teachers self efficacy.

In the study, all the New Zealand teachers (who were all science teachers) mentioned that they had their own

bases to work in (e.g. offices and classrooms), stayed in their science departments for the whole school year, and

had been provided with a variety of sources of support. They were regarded as real teachers from the first day

of teaching. They all revealed in-depth involvement in the school, where they had learned new ways of doing

things, and had participated in the decision-making related to curriculum issues. In contrast, there weresignificant differences in their roles in school among the Taiwanese teachers. In Taiwan, an administrative

probationary period is a requirement of teacher induction programmes. All the Taiwanese teachers were required

to learn by doing administrative work during their first year of teaching, and this had strongly affected their

beliefs of self worth. Yuang-Ching revealed that she had to move from department to department to learn diverse

administrative skills. This minimised her opportunities to be involved in in-depth school decision-making. Her

decision to leave the teaching profession and her feelings of a lack of teaching experience were mainly affected

by her negative probationary administration experience. Yi-Ping also had an administrative probationary period

during which she was attached to a director in the Academic Department for the whole year. She was able to be

involved in tasks such as organising teaching timetables and arranging teachers to monitor student exams. In

comparison with Yuang-Ching, Yi-Ping valued this administrative experience greatly. However, Yi-Ping still felt

the administrative work had prevented her from interacting with other staff outside the Academic Department.

Unlike the other two Taiwanese teachers who did not sit a substitute teacher examination, Shu-Chi sat and passed

the exam at the beginning of the induction year, and therefore had the additional responsibility as a substitute

counselling teacher. For this reason, she worked as a fulltime substitute teacher and had the same responsibility

as experienced guidance teachers during the induction year. She had her own desk to work at in the Counselling

Department, and had opportunities to discuss her problems and share teaching materials with her mentor and

other colleagues during non-contact periods. In addition, she performed many student-counselling duties using

her own time. Shu-Chi thought these extra duties were part of the responsibility of a fulltime guidance teacher.

Shu-Chis responses related to the stability of her roles and situation in the school, which were similar to the

New Zealand teachers who had meaningful tasks and a base from which to work.

Through their interview responses, all the New Zealand teachers revealed a sense of being valued by their

tutor teachers (usually head of department), colleagues, and their principals. The following statement represents

Kates feelings about the positive relationships between her self and other staff members, who were very

supportive and had taught her strategies for beginning teaching:

They treat me as a baby teacher, the young one, the new one of the staff.I think its a good thing. They

teach me different ways of doing things, and important things such as having a sense of humour. Sometimes,

I get very busy, stressed, and a little bit picky, and they remind me not to be just curriculum-driven. When

things dont go quite well and the kids arent doing their work, rather than making them do it, you have to

learn to stop and think about another approach.

Kates experience was representative of all the New Zealand teachers. In addition, all the New Zealand teachers

mentioned many optional professional development programmes, outside their schools, that were available to

them. Having opportunities to participate in decision-making at the school level in curriculum issues was an area

mentioned by all of the Zealand teachers.

In contrast, the Taiwanese teachers sense of being valued varied significantly and was dependent upon the

individual school context. Yuang-Ching indicated that, although the colleagues in her school were polite, they

solely assigned tasks to her. She also mentioned that many other schools commanded their probationary

teachers by giving them orders through the school broadcasting systems and required them to assemble in a

department. Yuang-Ching decided to leave the teaching profession after three months because of the trivial

administrative work she was doing. Her experience signifies the relationship between a lack of a sense of being

valued and a lack of a sense of self worth. Unlike Yuang-Ching, Yi-Ping said she had the opportunity to have two

half days off for professional development because the National Cheng-Chi University had required itscollaborating secondary schools to give such release to their probationary teachers. However, she and the other

beginning teachers in the school were too afraid to ask for this opportunity, as they did not know what would

happen to them if they did ask. Her comments implied a degree of distrust between the school and its beginning

teachers. Yi-Ping was assigned a subject, local art, to teach in the second semester. However, the reason for the

school letting her teach was because the school regarded this subject as less important than other mainstream

subjects, so it was harmless for beginning teachers to trial through this subject. Therefore, in Yi-Pings case,

being provided with a subject to teach did not appear to be a symbol of trust, but rather a lack of belief in her

competence. Shu-Chis situation was different from the other two Taiwanese teachers. According to Shu-Chi, the

Head of the Guidance Department, her tutor teacher and other counselling teachers were very helpful and she

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had positive feelings about the school. Taking the role of substitute counselling teacher indicates that Shu-Chi

was given the same responsibility as other full-time counselling teachers. However, being assigned to teach a

class of home economics, which was not an area of Shu-Chis expertise, made Shu-Chi feel stressed and she

spent most of her time preparing home economics lessons. This implied that the school did not attend to

Shu-Chis capability and specialisation.

Time involved in teaching

Time involved in teaching and relating to students directly shape beginning teachers beliefs in themselves asleaders. In this study, all the New Zealand teachers, no matter whether they were employed as full-time or

part-time teachers during the first year of teaching, had a fixed number of hours and their own classes to teach.

Teaching was their primary responsibility. Therefore, they were able to relate to and get feedback from the

students. In the discussion of factors that influenced her perceptions of leadership, Mary responded that a great

deal of positive feedback from the students had influenced her perceptions of leadership during her first year of

teaching. She also believed that relating to students had been a critical factor in making New Zealand teachers

leaders. Furthermore, she illustrated that she had become a role model for the students because she had been

open to talk about anything they wanted to, and been a friend to them. Although Mary had administrative work

to do, she held positive views about it. When asked about perceptions of her own leadership, Kate indicated she

was a leader to a certain extent because of her relationships with the students. Jeff also indicated that being a

young teacher and relating to the students made him an educational leader.

The relationship between teaching (relating to students) and their perceptions of their own leadership was

strong for all three New Zealand teachers. Positive feedback from students, served as a reward that motivated

them. All the New Zealand teachers asserted that being able to relate to students was an important leadership

quality. In contrast, one Taiwanese teacher, Yuang-Ching, was at the other end of the spectrum in terms of her

perception of her own leadership. When asked about beliefs in her own leadership, Yuang-Ching immediately

said that she was only a beginning teacher and was therefore not an educational leader. Her tutor teacher only

allowed her to teach three hours a week, which were fewer than any other beginning teacher in the study. At

other times, she was assigned administrative tasks other than teaching ones. Yuang-Chings teaching experiences

appeared to be insufficient to keep her in the teaching profession and to counter her negative feelings about her

own leadership capacity. The other two Taiwanese teachers, Yi-Ping and Shu-Chi, while having more contact

hours with students than Yuang-Ching, did not absolutely feel that they were educational leaders. Yi-Ping was

ambiguous in her perceptions of her own leadership and saying I was not a leader and I was just a teacher who

carries out educational policies. I can only be a leader in my classroom. Shu-Chi, to a larger extent, revealed

that although she was not certain about whether or not she was an educational leader, she had tried very hard to

become one because she believed teachers should be leaders.

Another area is related to beginning teachers preparedness in subject areas that directly influence their

teacher efficacy beliefs and their stress level. Having their own classes to teach, related to their areas of expertise,

was common to all the New Zealand teachers. They were confident about their first year of teaching and had

time to prepare their lessons and to reflect. They all suggested that having strong professional knowledge, and

confidence in their expertise and professionalism, had helped them to become successful beginning teachers as

well as educational leaders. Moreover, Mary reflected the connection between her successful beginning teaching

and the full use of her competences. She said, I think I have had a good year because of me as well. I think

about things in a positive way and use the best of my ability. I think its how you use whats given to you. That is

important. To sum up, this study found that the preparedness of the participating New Zealand teachers in their

subject areas was significant in the development of their efficacy beliefs (such as being able to teach, relate to

the students, and facilitate student learning), and allowed them having time for reflection.

Unlike the New Zealand teachers, only Yi-Ping and Shu-Chi had their own classes to teach. In the first

semester, Yi-Ping was teaching Chinese in her tutor teachers classes and quite often she was allowed to teach

Chinese when other full-time Chinese teachers were on release. However, the irregularity of the substitute

teaching sessions had prevented Yi-Ping from having sufficient time to prepare these lessons. Yi-Ping did not

have her own class to teach until the second semester. Further, Yi-Ping said that, because the teacher who taught

local art was busy with other tasks and the teachers teaching hours were reduced, the school assigned her toteach one of the local art teachers classes over the second semester. Yi-Ping was trained in Chinese and she had

no knowledge about the curriculum of local art before she came to teach. Therefore, Yi-Ping had to spend time

learning the subject of local art and preparing for her teaching, which was very stressful. She also felt a lack of

time to reflect on her teaching during the induction period. In contrast, Shu-Chi was employed as a full-time

substitute guidance teacher. Therefore, she taught guidance activities, which was a subject of her expertise, and

had as heavy a teaching responsibility as other guidance teachers. However, she felt stressed because she did not

anticipate getting the position of substitute teacher when she graduated. She identified a lack of time to prepare

subject units before she entered this position and a lack of time to reflect. In addition, Shu-Chi was assigned to

teach the subject of home economics. Although she only had to teach home economics two hours weekly, she

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said that she did not have much time to reflect, and spent more time in preparing home economics lessons than

guidance lessons because home economics was not her specialist area. The preparedness of Yi-Ping and Shu-Chi

would seem to have had an impact on their stress levels and to have inhibited their time to reflect. It would

appear that the greater the beginning teachers preparedness in their subject areas, the more they felt they were

capable of teaching their classes; and the more time they had to reflect, the less stress they experienced.

Professional development

The relevance of the professional development programmes and support available for the beginning teachers hadinfluenced their perceptions of leadership in general, and of their own leadership. The beginning teachers in the

study regarded programmes or workshops run by institutions outside their schools, and formal training courses in

their schools, as professional development programmes. The beginning teachers valued professional

development programmes when the programmes were relevant to their subject areas, their expertise, and their

survival needs. The New Zealand teachers had been provided with a variety of professional development

programmes outside their schools. It was up to the New Zealand beginning teachers whether or not to attend

programmes; their fellow staff members were very supportive, and able to cover them when they had a day away

from school. Mary asserted that it was essential for first year teachers to go to professional development

programmes run by the university where they were trained, because she believed beginning teachers needed to

be reminded of important professional knowledge and to meet up with other beginning teachers and university

lecturers. The PRT2

one day or year one day, a one-day workshop held by the University of Waikato for

first-year beginning teachers in the second week of school in February 2002, had met the needs of the beginning

teachers. Mary and Kate had attended the PRT one day and valued the opportunity to meet with lecturers and

other beginning teachers from different schools to share their experiences and advice. Because the day had been

valuable, Mary was willing to have another PRT one day at the end of her first year of teaching to reflect on her

experiences during the year.

Similarly, under the Regulations of Induction and Registration for Probationary Teachers in Secondary,

Elementary Schools and Kindergartens 1995, the Taiwanese teachers had been required to attend one-day intern

workshops, run monthly by the National Cheng-Chi University throughout their first year of teaching. All the

Taiwanese teachers in this study had been to each of the workshops and revealed that the value of these

workshops was dependent upon the relevance of these courses to their developmental needs. This may be

because, as Jeff one of the New Zealand teachers argued, some parts of a programme were more beneficial than

others depending on the applicability of the course content. Other training courses other than the PRT one day

had also been relevant to Mary and Jeffs needs in the survival stage. However, in Taiwan, other than the intern

workshops run by the Chengchi University, Yuang-Ching and Yi-Pings schools did not arrange any professional

development programmes that were particularly designed for the beginning teachers.

IMPLICATIONS

The following suggestions emerge for schools, teacher education institutions, and beginning teachers themselves

to assist beginning teachers to develop leadership capacity. They are described under five dimensions: actively

constructing teacher induction programmes, validating beginning teachers knowledge, seeking generative

approaches to professional development, providing informal leadership, and developing a sense of community.

Actively constructing teacher induction programmes

The research findings suggest that thinking I am only a beginning teacher can inhibit a beginning teachers

growth as an educational leader. In contrast, believing in ones own leadership can contribute to a beginning

teachers better adjustment and stronger commitment to the teaching profession, and to in-depth involvement in

the school. Having beginning teachers share responsibility for their own learning and leadership development is

important in developing positive situations in the induction year. Schools and agencies involved in induction

need to structure induction programmes in ways that allow beginning teachers to take active roles in their own

learning. Schools have the responsibility to embrace the diverse expectations of beginning teachers, continually

monitor the support systems for beginning teachers, and to minimise their roles as policy implementers andinformation providers. New Zealand pre-service teacher education institutions, although not mandated to

construct advice and guidance programmes, could if funded to do so assist schools in facilitating quality

induction programmes and confirming that induction approaches in schools are suitable.

Validating beginning teachers knowledge

It is recognised that teacher education institutions can never fully prepare student teachers to be teachers.

However, beginning teachers enter the teaching profession with high levels of knowledge about schools and the

2 Provisionally Registered Teacher.

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curriculum, with teaching experiences in practicum periods, and with personal beliefs and perspectives.

Beginning teachers must be encouraged to value this knowledge, and then to critically analyse their strengths and

weaknesses to determine areas for future professional development. This study found that teaching subjects that

were not the beginning teachers specialist areas, increased their work load and reduced their time to reflect.

Schools could assist beginning teachers to have time to examine and reflect on their own actions and knowledge,

by monitoring the types of work they assign to beginning teachers. Schools could also encourage beginning

teachers to share their innovations and provide opportunities for them to be involved in curriculum development

and school improvement. In this way, schools could assist beginning teachers to validate their knowledge and tovalue themselves as leaders.

Seeking generative approaches to professional development

The New Zealand and Taiwanese teachers in this study considered PRT one day or induction workshops, and

workshops on the beginning teachers subject areas most beneficial for them. It is suggested that professional

development programmes should be developed through generative approaches that consider beginning teachers

developmental and subject knowledge needs. It may be preferable to reduce the number of mandated

professional development programmes, and instead actively support and encourage beginning teachers to attend

professional development programmes that meet their survival and development needs. Other personnel in

schools who are involved in the induction of beginning teachers need to be provided with professional

development opportunities to develop their mentoring skills. In addition, it is desirable for beginning teachers to

play active roles in choosing, participating in, and evaluating professional development courses in their interest

areas. They also need time to reflect on what they have learnt in professional development courses and their own

practice, and to generate new approaches for future practice.

Providing informal leadership learning

The practical leadership experiences of the beginning teachers in the study had contributed to their leadership

development. Participating in decision-making processes, taking leadership roles in university clubs or camps,

and learning from leadership role models are ways in which beginning teachers informally develop leadership

qualities. Beginning teachers can also be encouraged to identify their own leadership qualities, and then to

actively seek opportunities to be involved in school decision-making processes in which they can employ their

leadership expertise, and learn leadership actions and behaviours from their role models. In response, principals,

tutor teachers, associate teachers, and other staff in schools, as well as lecturers in teacher education institutions,

can empower beginning teachers, and clarify their leadership qualities and practices.

Developing a sense of community

The beginning teachers in the study spoke about the need to be recognised, to be valued, and to establish

relationships with other school staff members. The findings indicate that, in order to develop beginning teachers

sense of being part of a teacher community, beginning teachers need opportunities to establish connections

among sources of support within and outside their own schools. The survival needs, working conditions and

multiple roles of beginning teachers, need to be attended to by those involved in their induction. Tutor teachers,

principals, other school staff, and professional development providers need to actively build up connections

among beginning teachers. Having a sense of community can reduce beginning teachers feelings of isolation,

expand their sense of professional community, and help decrease teacher attrition rates.

CONCLUSION

The study signifies the leadership roles of key stakeholders in schools and teacher education institutions in the

development of beginning teachers leadership capacity. It is suggested that schools and teacher education

institutions could develop an organisational culture that cultivates an atmosphere of sharing and empowering,

demonstrates leadership qualities through role models, relates to the environments where teachers study and

work, stresses the teaching nature of the profession, and highlights the developmental needs of teachers. In

addition, beginning teachers, with no exception, have active roles to play in the development of their own

leadership. To believe in and value ones own leadership qualities is definitely the first step for beginningteachers to advance to the roles of educational leaders. Through collaboration among beginning teachers, schools,

and teacher education institutions, beginning teachers would be perceived as real teachers and leaders, and would

be assisted to generate positive perceptions of leadership, to present leadership actions and, eventually, to

become educational leaders. Now it is time to rethink the concept of educational leadership that beginning

teachers can perform, and to reconsider the role of pre-service teacher education institutions and schools in the

growth of beginning teachers leadership capacity. Perhaps the pedagogy of teacher education, and the support

and guidance that the schools provide to beginning teachers need to be linked to the professional leadership

dimension, which is a must for on-going educational change.

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