| Teacher leadership has been a tropical area as it is considered a promising paradigm of the current century.This is due to its acknowledged potential to enhance student learning and school effectiveness,the two bedrocks of any educational system.Although the significance of teacher leadership is well-documented however,several factors have been regarded as accountable for its ill-enactment in most educational contexts.In this regard,the present study aimed to investigate enhancing teacher leadership under the shade of school structure.School structure,deemed as a fundamental factor for teacher leadership,was studied in terms of several dimensions(complexity,centralization,formalization and stratification)derived from axiomatic theory and two researcher designed and literature supported dimensions(communication and professional autonomy).The dearth of empirical study linking school structure and teacher leadership in Eritrea and generally in sub-Saharan African countries has been attributed to limited understanding and contribution of extending leadership opportunities to teachers to play their fair share for the attainment of current century educational goals.Moreover,most of the studies carried out previously were also qualitative and small-scale.Hence to fill this void,the present study used mixed method and explanatory sequential design in precise.For the quantitative data,questionnaire was administered for(n=101)formal teacher leaders known by the title ‘head department’ in the Eritrean context in19 middle and secondary schools of Asmara.Quantitative data were analyzed using different statistical techniques(descriptive,correlation,regression and non-parametric)using Software Package for the Social Science(SPSS).Findings from this phase aligned with interview responses of teacher leaders(n=17)helped to triangulate the data and aided selection of multiple case study schools.Accordingly,six schools were found to have higher school structure ratings and better teacher leadership enhancement than their counterparts.School leaders(n= 5 principals and n=1 pedagogy head)participated in in-depth interviews for further exploration.The interview sort of data was analyzed thematically.The findings of the study showed that teacher leaders perceived the structure of their respective schools differently.As a significant positive correlation between the school structure and teacher leadership variables was found.Although,teacher leadership enactment varied among schools but leadership roles played by teacher leaders are highly confined in routine tasks and basic instruction related activities.The interviews disclosed that creating enabling school structure promotes practical participatory leadership,meaningful professional autonomy to teacher,and flexibility as facilitators of teacher leadership.Besides,acute lack of professional development,lack of time,unavailability of prescribed selection criteria and ambiguous task description,and low motivation strategies were the revealed challenges that need careful consideration.Furthermore,the researcher recommends replicating other studies by investigating ordinary teachers’ perspectives in other regions of Eritrea.Further study on the impact of teacher leadership on students’ achievement is a worthy recommendation. |
