English- Vietnamese Translation

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Tables.................................................................................................................................iii

Abstract...............................................................................................................................iv

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Number of higher education and research institutions..........................................2

Table 2: Number of faculty staff..........................................................................................3

Table 3: Staff qualification in higher education institutions................................................3

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ABSTRACT

Educational standard improvement has become a strong focus of many universities, thus requiring agreater understanding and use of teacher leadership capacity if educational sites are to meet high

standards. In order to explore how the rector and other leaders develop teacher leadership capacity

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and how higher teachers show their leadership capacity, the researcher went into studying Ha Tinh

University as a case of all universities in Vietnam. A qualitative study was conducted, utilizing

surveys and interviews from the rector, department deans, classroom teachers and resource teachers

to collect data concerning teacher leadership. To accomplish the goals of this study, the researcher

explored features of teacher leadership that were evident in Ha Tinh University. Firstly, if the

teacher leadership opportunities were created by the leaders (rector and deans) and if teaching staff

could perceive their leadership capacity. Next, based on the results of this qualitative study, the

researcher worked out some ways which can help the leaders build leadership capacity within Ha

Tinh University. Analysis of all data collected throughout the study actually suggests that even

though leadership is given by the leaders and valued by most resource teachers, there exists a

disconnect between classroom teachers, resource teachers and leaders of what classroom teachers

perceived reality of teacher leadership. Hence, areas such as collaboration, recognition, andunderstanding of the capacity of teacher leadership, as well as policies that affects these areas were

all found to hold discrepancies in the studied University. The researcher also recommends that

future research in teacher leadership should examine whether the leaders has an effect on teacher

leadership capacity.

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that I composed this dissertation as a fulfillment of the requirements for the

diploma from National University of Educational Planning and Administration. It is done entirely

by only the sources listed in the references and that it describes my own research.

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LEADERSHIP CAPACITY BUILDING OF HIGHER EDUCATION TEACHERS IN

VIETNAM: A CASE STUDY OF HATINH UNIVERSITY

DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT

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FOR THE AWARD OF DIPLOMA IN EDUCATIONAL PLANNING AND

ADMINISTRATION

BY

PHAN THI QUYEN

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF

PROF. AVINASH K. SINGH

DEPARTMENT OF COMPARATIVE EDUCATION AND

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATIONAL PLANNING AND

ADMINISTRATION

17= B, SRI AUROBINDO MARC, NEW DELHI- 110016

JULY, 2011

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I acknowledge the effort of my supervisor Dr. Avinash K.Singh, Professor, Department of

Foundations of Education, National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New

Delhi who provided me with the necessary feedback from the inception phase of this researchproject through the research execution up to the completion of this dissertation.

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Great appreciation to the grant received from the the ITECT programme India that has catered for

my Diploma studies in NIEPA. This research process would not have been possible without a grant

such as this.

I am especially thankful to professors and other assistant staff members for their timely support and

education as well as encouragement.

I acknowledge the efforts of the colleagues who provided a wealth of information during the data

collection. Thanks to my dear colleagues, Dr. Nguyen Van Tinh, MA. Ho Thi Nga, MA. And MA.

Nguyen Dinh Hung who took sometime to provide feedback to an earlier versions of the

questionnaire surveys and interviews.

I appreciate the moral support of my family and friends. Lastly, and most importantly, I give the

glory to my husband and daughter for everything.

Chapter- I:

INTRODUCTION

Vietnam

Vietnam gained its independency from France on September 2nd,

1945. The country is located on Penesuala island with an area of

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around 332,000 square kilometres. It is bordered to the north by China and to the west by Lao. To

the east, the country is bordered by Chinese sea.

Administratively, Vietnam is divided into 6 regions (Red River Delta, Northern Midlands&

Mountainous Areas, Northern Central Areas and Central Coastal Areas, Central Highlands, South

East, Mekong River Delta). The capital city, Hanoi, has a dominant position in terms of economic

and educational conditions. Vietnam has a population of about 89 million (2009), some 74% of

which live in rural areas. Viet Nam remains among the poorer countries, with a per capita income

estimate of approximately US$890 in 2008, on a straight conversion to US$, $2700 per head at

purchasing power parity.. The population growth rate is about 1.1% per annum. The 30-year war,

which concluded in 1975, resulted in a great many difficulties for Vietnam. After reunification in

1975, Viet Nam first pursued development as a centralized planned economy. Progress was fraught,

with problems of integrating the disparate economic systems and conditions in the North and South.

The economy was in crisis: production stood still, inflation skyrocketed, there was an economic

blockade, and there was widespread hardship and an erosion of confidence. During the past decade,

relatively high annual rates of growth in GDP have been maintained, as may be seen from this

table:

Table 1: Annual % rates of economic growth in Vietnam

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

5.76 4.77 6.79 6.89 7.08 7.26 7.69 8.4 8.2 8.5 6.2

Vietnam as stated is a country that has been invaded more than once, occupied more than once and

ravaged by war more than once; a country that struggled to retain its dignity in an ever globalized

world, intent on protecting its values and to finding a balance as it moves forward in its efforts to

provide a better life for its people.

Background of Higher Education in Vietnam

Higher education in Vietnam faces multi- challenges such as retaining top quality staff and students,

leading institutional reform, meeting increasing demands from the public, etc. The new

organizational environment, therefore, requires teachers who should take on and share more of the

leadership of their institutions (Holloway, 2000:81-82). Examples of these responsibilities included

teachers acting as mentors, curriculum developers, research coordinators, lead teachers, and school

improvement teams (Berry, Johnson, & Montgomery, 2005:56-62; Ackerman & Mackenzie,

2006:66-70). Similar to that, university rectors must learn how to build leadership capacity for their

staff involved in education in order to effectively restructure present institutions (Ackerman &

Mackenzie, 2006:66-70). In fact, lead teachers and their roles within schools have become the

focus of much research on how to improve schools ( Gabriel, 2005; Jerald, 2003; Nielsen, 2001). In

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order to meet the current challenges of higher education in Vietnam, leadership capacity building of

higher teachers is needed for all the universities among staff, deans, vice- deans, rectors, vice-

rectors and students. By paying greater attention to persons and process as well as practicing the

principles of effective leadership, Universities could build leadership capacity within the

organization.

Higher education in Vietnam or so- called tertiary education which includes all forms of education

beyond upper- secondary school education or high school education reflects its history. The history

of higher education goes back to the 11 th century when Quoc Tu Giam was established as Vietnam's

first university. The current system dates from 1904, when a part of the University of IndoChina

was established in Hanoi. Since the August Revolution of 1945, and especially after the victory in

the war of resistance against the French in 1954, the number of universities and colleges increased

substantially. In the last 25 years or so growth has been particularly rapid- from 101 universities and

colleges in 1987 to the present total (2009) of 376 and 159 institutions in which 81 non-public

universities and colleges, accounting for 21.5% (44 universities and 37 colleges). Non-public higher

education institutions comprise private colleges and universities, people founded schools and semi-

public institutions.

Table 2: Number of higher education and research institutions

Source: Census 2009.

Besides, to provide an understanding for readers who are unfamiliar with the present system ofeducation in Vietnam, the structure of the national system of education can be seen as follows.

Higher education in Viet Nam has four main training programs that lead to higher education

qualifications. One is a three- year program, usually known as the short-term training program,

delivered by junior colleges (teachers colleges and others) and by some universities as additional

programs. Another is bachelor degree which is a 4-6 year- program referred to as a long-term

training programme, this degree includes 6 years for students of medical and dental sciences, 5

years for students of industrial engineering, and 4 years for the majority of other awards. Graduates

are awarded a degree with the title related to their specialty, such as bachelor, engineer, medical

doctor or lawyer, etc. Graduates who have completed a bachelor degree continue to learn master's

Total 376

Universities 150Colleges 226

Including:- Non-public universities- Non-public colleges

4437

Institutions offering Postgraduate Studies

- Universities- Research Institutes

159

8871

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degree lasting two years (full-time) or three years (part-time). Finally, the doctoral degree which is

accessible by graduates with a Master's degree or, if excellent grades have been attained, a degree

obtained from a Bachelor program. The candidates who are successful in defending their doctoral

dissertations are awarded a degree Ph.D. in a given specialty or profession. It can take between 7-9

years to attain a PhD through the Vietnam Higher Education system. There is also an informal

mode of education, providing continuing and life-long learning opportunities for working people.

Some of these programs enable students to obtain a degree by means of part-time and distance

education. Colleges offer only associate degrees, whereas universities offer associate, bachelors,

masters and doctoral degrees.

In order to understand more about higher teaching staff in Vietnam, it is important to know that the

current total staffing in the system in 2009 is 61,190, including Professors, Assoc. Professors, Ph.

D. and Doctor of Science, Master and advanced professional, Bachelor and lower diplomas. In

numerical terms, there was a very large increase in the number of academic staff holding Ph.Ds, but

this was matched by the growth in the size of the academic staff so that the proportion of academic

staff holding Ph.Ds was 10% in 2009, approximately the same as it was in 1987, and less than the

14% it had reached in 2000. The very steep increase in the student to staff ratio with no increase in

the proportion of staff qualified to doctor level raises strong concerns about the maintenance of

quality. The proportion of Ph.D. qualified staff is significantly lower than regional or international

standards, and this low level impedes both the quality of teaching and the level of research thatVietnamese universities can undertake. The reasons are due to the quality of higher education in

general, including especially the master and doctoral training still limited and will also cause bad

effects for the economy for a long time.

Table 3: Number of faculty staff

Total: 61,190

Professors and Assoc. Professors 2,286

Ph. D. and Doctor of Science 6,217

Master and advanced professional 24,831Bachelor and lower diplomas 30,142

Source: Census 2009Table 4: Staff qualification in higher education institutions (%)

1999-

2000

2001-

2002

2003-

2004

2005-

2006

2007-

2008

Ph.D. 14.8 13.8 13.4 12.4 10.5

Masters 22.4 26.6 29.3 32.3 36.1

Other university & college qualifications 59.1 56.6 54.6 53.4 51.7

Professional qualifications 1.9 1.7 1.4 0.9 0.8

Others 1.8 1.3 1.3 1.1 0.9

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: MOET

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That's reason why the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) is under pressure to provide

high quality education that is able to meet the requirements of the developing society, at the same

time it is required to increase its efficiency. This task is not easy and requires competent and

motivated administrators within the MOET and Universities' administrators (Edquist, 2005).

It is also crucial to know that research of higher teachers is weak in universities having little time

available due to high student teaching load and access to very limited funding. Notwithstanding the

changes noted above, most research is still conducted in specialized research Institutes, which are

not yet linked closely with teaching, even where they are part of a university. In part the weakness

is a legacy of the concept that universities were seen more as teaching institutions that are

narrowly focused on professional training and certification to the neglect of other roles, and to an

emerging concept of research universities that is not well developed or understood. The weakness is

also derived from an extremely low level of staff in universities with PhD qualifications that fit

them to undertake research effectively. The publication of research results in international refereed

journals is used as an indicator of research strength and quality in institutions and countries.

Publication of research conducted in Vietnam is very low, relative to other regional neighbours.

What's more important, a culture of centralized planning and bureaucratic decision-making is

deeply rooted across most areas of public service provision in Vietnam (Hayden& Lam, 2007). The

whole educational system, including higher education, has been controlled at the micro level by the

central government particularly MOET and other related Ministries. Not all Universities and

Colleges in Vietnam report to MOET, many, mostly single disciplined institutions, report to other

Ministries in the country (i.e., the University of Medicine and the University of Dentistry report to

the Ministry of Health, while the University of Police reports to the Ministry of Security and the

University of Transportation reports to the Ministry of Transportation). It is, therefore, Institutions

of higher education, through mechanisms for decentralization, must be given the authority to take

care of their own business (Edquist, 2005).

There is no doubt that one of the keys to unlocking the aspirations and abilities of this remarkable

nation can be found in the area of educational leadership capacity of higher teachers. We must also

acknowledge that we believe Vietnam presents a unique and special set of problems for those who

pursue research related to leadership and change.

Background on Leadership of Higher Education in Vietnam

Although there have been many positive changes in the educational systems in Vietnam over the

past couple of decades, numorous constraints still exist in numorous Universities in Vietnam. The

one can be identified as the system of centralized control resulting in the lack of institutional

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autonomy, the resistance to change at all levels of organization, and a shortage of highly qualified

human resources who would be able to function successfully in the age of globalization. .

MOET is the source of all formal leadership in the field of education within Vietnam. There is a

desire by the central government to decentralize decision-making accountability to higher education

institutions for the purposes of achieving greater efficiency and effectiveness in the use of

resources; and on the other hand, there is also a desire by the central government to retain control of

the socialist orientation of higher education and of the deployment of the sector within a framework

of centralized national economic management (Hayden& Lam, 2007).

Changes in leadership perception, leadership styles and actions have taken too much time by

educational leaders of all levels. In other words, resistance to change is still strong at all levels of

education .Above all else, there is a resistance to change in Vietnam that is different from what one

will find in other nations. While we know a great deal about the direction that is needed to obtain

improved leadership capability, it is important that we identify and understand the elements of

resistance to educational changes and innovation in Vietnam. This resistance results in:

The lack of opportunity on the part of Vietnamese educators to learn new things from the

outside world. Even given such opportunities both the language barrier and a pervasive

conservative mind-set have prevented the Vietnamese from understanding and adopting best

practices;

Change, as it does in any situation, often carries with it risks; risks of failure or rejection or

lose of title and power. In the Vietnamese society, where everything of worth comes as the

result of a struggle, few educational leaders or managers want to take risks necessary to

champion the necessary changes;

Change always takes a great deal of effort, determination and commitment on the part of the

changers. These characteristics are not rewarded in Vietnamese society; as a matter of fact

they might result in punishment and being ostracized. Consequently, researchers are likely

find low levels of these characteristics among educational administrators at all levels in the

educational.

Background on Teacher Leadership

The concept of teacher leadership is not new. Teachers have been characterized as department

chairs, team leaders, association leaders and curriculum developers, but they have no or little impact

on the school as a whole. In particular, teachers have ever served as "presentatives" rather than

"leaders" who enact change (Livingston, 1992). Moreover, the roles of leadership teachers have

traditionally lacked flexibility and which need an ongoing commitment of time and energy to make

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improvements. The notion on leadership tasks has been occupied by a decision to get out of

teaching but into administration.

Recently, teachers have begun taking on development of operational policies and procedures,

selection of materials and instructional practices, allocation of school resources and determination

of student standards and assessments as their new leadership roles (Livingston, 1992). Besides,

teachers have involved planning and conducting staff development, organizing schedules,

mentoring other professionals, establishing student discipline and grading practices, and selecting

and evaluating staff (Gabriel, 2005, Smylie, 1997). Basing on a variety of studies, Harrison &

Killion, 2007 listed seven domains describing dimensions of teacher leadership as model standards

for teacher leaders:

Fostering a collaborative culture to support educator development and student learning;

Accessing and using research to improve practice and student learning;

Promoting professional learning for continuous improvement;

Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning;

Promoting the use of assessments and data for school;

Improving outreach and collaboration with community and organizations;

Advocating for student learning and the profession.

These stadard models can be used to guide the preparation of experienced teachers to

assume leadership roles like resource providers, instructional specialists, curriculum specialists,

classroom supporters, learning facilitators, mentors, school team leaders, and data coaches. In

addition, the standard models might offer teachers opportunities to develop their leadership skills

(Zmuda, et al., 2004). However, to be effective with their colleagues, lead teachers need to learn

these leadership skills while on job (Lieberman, Saxl, and Miles:1988)

Building trust and developing rapport;

Diagnosing organizational conditions;

Dealing with processes;

Managing the work;

Building skills and confidence in others.

The reform of higher education in Vietnam will stand a better chance of improving

education if teachers are built in terms of leadership standard models and leadership skills.

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Rationale of the research

There are many reasons why teachers have not assumed appropriate leadership roles in education.

For one thing, Vietnam is a country that has been invaded more than once, occupied more than once

and ravaged by war more than once; a country that struggled to retain its dignity in an ever

globalized world. That's also reason why many Vietnamese used to blame for wars as the root cause

of the challenges facing education in Vietnam. We, in contrast, suggest that the educational field

used to lack the area of resources or need to do with how the resources are used. There is no doubt

that one of the keys to the problems lies in the area of educational leadership. For another, there has

also been a confusion of the meaning of leadership with that of management, supervision and

administration. Thats because teachers inherited an unquestioned acquiescence to a system that

legitimized managerial authority. Like administrators, teachers also became accustomed to

hierarchical organizations and conceded decision-making and leadership functions to their

supervisors.

Historically, professional teachers were expected to obey their superiors, not to question

authority, and to view their calling as a vocation not primarily a career. Poverty, chastity and

obedience were the standards much as in a convent. A good teacher was expected to stay in the

classroom and teach the students no less than a good woman was expected to stay at home and

take care of the children. Hence, any teacher aspiring to leadership, school-wide or beyond, became

vulnerable to the accusation that she was abandoning her kids. Moreover, full-time engagement in

the classroom left little time or energy- never mind legitimacy- for communication, influence or

leadership. Lack of a culture and traditions that would serve to empower teachers has created an

expectation that the only job of teachers is to teach students and to consider the classroom as the

legitimate extent of their influence. All along, teachers deplored the ramifications of such lack of

access, lack of voice and lack of collaboration. Many lamented that they love to teach, but hate the

job: Research in the field of teacher leadership has, therefore, primarily focused on two premises

that help bring an understanding of the roles and importance of teacher leaders within the

University: (i) teachers need to provide leadership in various roles in order to restructure schools

(Ackerman & Mackenzie, 2006); (ii) the rector is critical in implementing a shared decision-making

process and empowering teachers with an increasing role in leadership (Marzano, Walters, &

McNulty, 2005). And, in order to help bring an understanding of the roles and importance of

teacher leaders across the nation of higher education, research in the field of teacher leadership in

Hatinh University as a case study has been proceeded.

Objectives of the Research

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The study about Leadership capacity building of higher education teachers in Vietnam: a case

study of Hatinh University was designed to achieve the following purposes:

To examine the behaviours of leaders (rector and deans) in building teacher leadership

capacity in Ha Tinh University;

To develop an understanding of the views of leadership capacity of teachers in Ha Tinh

University;

To work out startegies for improving leadership capacity of Hatinh higher teachers.

Questions of the research

What are the behaviours of the leaders (rector and deans) in building leadership capacity of

teachers in Ha Tinh University?

What are the perceptions of Hatinh higher teachers related to their leadership capacity?

What are strategies could be adopted so as to improve leadership capacity of Hatinh higher

teachers?

Hypotheses of the Research

Teachers themselves grow through accepting leadership opportunities;

The Univerity benefits when teachers are fully engaged and growing in their leadership

capacity.

Limitations of the Study

The case study studied a certain population of Hatinh University which located in the central of

Vietnam inspite of hundred of universities and institutes in Vietnam are available for the study. The

study results are inferred but the following limitations still exists. Firstly, almost participants do not

want to share more information because it is assumed that some are unfamiliar with the topic and

some are lazy. In this way, the attemped to explain and persuade the participating teachers to

provide their ideas. Secondly, the qualitative study may lead the researcher to biases in the process

of the study and may have bad affects on the outcomes so the researcher tried to used a multiple

sources of data to perform the study. Last but not the least, the researcher, herself, can be seen as a

teacher and sometimes a researcher so in order to understand the university policies, expectations as

well as requirements for teachers and administrators is not easy.

Conventions

The study will use the following words or expressions denoting the meaning provided herein:

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Teacher leadership: leadership that enables practicing teachers to reform their work and

provide a means for altering the hierarchical nature of schools (Katzenmeyer & Moller,

2001; Lambert, 1998).

The word "teacher" refers to faculty who teach.

The word "capacity" has to do with ability that enables a system (individuals, groups,

organizations) to perform, deliver value, establish relationships and to renew itself.

Chapter- II

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

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This chapter examined the research in terms of teachers as leaders. The first section mentioned to

the concepts of teacher leadership and followed by the other on teacher perceptions of teacher

leadership. The following section reviewed current teacher leadership roles, professional

development for teacher leaders and for them as researchers and leaders. The chapter concludes

with a description of how we can benefit from teacher leadership and responsibility of leaders.

Concepts of Teacher Leadership

Research on teacher leadership suggests many possible definitions as follows:

Wasley (1991) defines teacher leadership as the ability to encourage colleagues to change, to do

things they wouldnt ordinarily consider without the influence of the leader.

Katzenmeyer & Moller (2001) define teachers as 'teachers who are leaders lead within and beyond

the classroom, identify with and contribute to a community of teacher learners and leaders, andinfluence others towards improved educational practice'.

Katherine (1994) states that teacher leadership is now seen by a form of collective leadership which

means teachers work collaboratively to develop their expertise. Teacher leaders should be able to

work collaboratively with peers, observing one anothers lessons and discussing pedagogy

(Seashore-Louis, Kruse et al. 1996).

(Barth 1999) views teacher leadership beyond just collaborating or participating in decision making,

that is fulfilling some of the functions possibly undertaken by senior management such as choosing

textbooks and instructional materials; shaping the curriculum; setting standards for pupil behaviour;

deciding on tracking; designing staff development programmes; setting promotion and retention

policies; deciding school budgets; evaluating teacher performance; selecting new teachers, and

selecting new administrators.

Gehrke (1991) identifies a number of such quite similar functions of teacher leaders: (i)

continuously improving their own classroom teaching; (ii) organising and leading reviews of school

practice; (iii) providing curriculum development knowledge; (iv) participating in in-school decision

making; (v) giving in-service training to colleagues, and (vi) participating in the performance

evaluation of teachers,

Teacher Perceptions of Teacher Leadership

The concept of teacher leadership is different for different researchers. Whitsett and Riley (2003)

studied the perceptions of teachers participating in a teacher leader preparation course. The study

showed that teachers perceived that the core of teacher leadership is concerned with buildingrelationships with peers and influencing colleagues' work towards school improvement. Teacher

leadership could also inherent to the role of teacher leaders and their areas of teacher leadership

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contributions for professional development, collaboration, and sharing of expertise and knowledge,

Hickey and Harris' (2005). Dils' (2001) in the study of self-professed teacher leaders revealed that

teachers felt their main contributions as teacher leaders in the area of design, mentoring, and

implementation of curricular work based on standards and benchmarks, working with teachers in

professional development opportunities, organizational management as department level chairs, and

influencing others through collaboration.

Roles of Teacher Leadership

Teacher leadership roles have been identified as teacher mentoring, career ladders and lead and

master teachers (Smylie, 1997).

Teacher mentoring: Lieberman (1988) emphasises that teacher leadership is not just concerned with

teachers developing individually but a central role of teacher leaders is to help colleagues to try out

new ideas and to encourage them to adopt leadership roles. Little (1990) suggests that collegial

interaction at least lays the groundwork for developing shared ideas and for generating forms of

leadership. Rosenholtz (1989) argues even more forcibly for teacher collegiality and collaboration

as means of generating positive change in schools. Collaboration is the heart of program or project

development because it leads to the identification of problems and successful resolution and

promotes the social interaction that enables school leaders to deal with the anxiety that is prevalent

during any change process (Koehler & Baxler, 1997). As a rezult, programs such as mentoring are

being widely advocated. Mentoring has typically been defined as a relationship between an

experienced and a less experienced person in which the mentor provides guidance, advice, support

and feedback (Haney, 1997). Mentoring programs and relationships in schools have usually existed

between experienced teachers and beginning teachers, as well as between principals and beginning

teachers (Holloway, 2001). There was a research of mentoring which conducted by Ellyn (2002)

suggests that teachers who had been mentored continued teaching the following year more than

teachers without mentors. Another way that mentoring programs have been successful is in regard

to teacher collaboration. Teachers indicated that collaboration through mentoring improved their

communication skills, gave them a sharper focus, and enhanced their self-esteem and confidence in

their teaching ability (Mullen, 2000).

Career ladders: providing career growth ladders for teachers has multiple meanings in policy and

practice ranging from a series of advancement opportunities for teachers both in and outside the

classroom True career ladders recognize the progression from novice teacher status to proficient,

professional, and eventually master or expert teacher status. Each phase of growth comes with

changes in teachers responsibilities, expectations, supports, and rewards. An example of such a

career growth ladder is the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP). The TAP model differentiates

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between career, mentor, and master teachers, who, based on their individual interests and abilities,

are held to differentiated standards, compensated differentially, and take on decision-making

responsibilities as part of a schools Leadership Team (Teacher Advancement Program Foundation,

n.d.). Teacher career growth ladders may include such teacher leadership positions as mentor,

coach, or specialist.

Lead and master teachers: The lead and master teachers have assumed leadership roles because

they have a desire to be change agents for other teachers learning, school improvement, and for

their own personal and professional growth (Smylie, 1997). Research has shown that teachers in

these positions develop instructional or curricular programs, lead staff development, or assimilate to

quasi-administrative power positions (Katzenmeyer & Moller, 2001; Smylie, 1997; Wasley, 1991).

Those who support greater leadership roles for teachers cite many reasons for doing so. First,

principals and central-office administrators no longer have the time or all of the skills needed to be

the one and only expert of curriculum and instruction. In addition, instructional expertise has little

chance of spreading among teachers unless some are put into greater positions of authority. Finally,

Tell (1999) indicated that teachers are often more responsive to one another than to an

administrator, and without opportunities to exercise leadership, many of the most skillful and

ambitious teachers feel forced to go into administration (see also Archer, 2001; Solomon, 2000).

Leithwood and Jantzi (1990) provides some descriptions of how school leaders provide

opportunities for teachers to participate in decision and lead in school development as follows (i)distributing the responsibility and power for leadership widely throughout the school; (ii) sharing

decision making power with staff; (iii) allowing staff to manage their own decision making

committees; (iv) taking staff opinion into account; (v) ensuring effective group problem solving

during meetings of staff; (vi) providing autonomy for teachers; (vii) altering working conditions so

that staff have collaborative planning time; (viii) ensuring adequate involvement in decision making

related to new initiatives in the school; and (ix) creating opportunities for staff development.

(Leithwood et al, 1999p 811-812).

Professional Development for Teacher Leaders

Professional development is an avenue of leadership in line with collaboration. Through

professional development, ideas supporting school improvement and student achievement are

supported (Breault, 2007). According to Hickey and Harris (2005) teachers engaged in facilitating

professional development, a form of leadership, because they saw their efforts translated as

increasing colleagues effectiveness as well as promoting themselves as capable leaders. Effective

professional development empowers teachers to feel more in control and confident about their

skills. Keeping teachers connected to their satisfaction in work is important to their work. Aspiring

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teacher leaders need continuous professional development that focuses not just on the development

of teachers' skills and knowledge but also on the aspects specific to their leadership role. Whether it

is leading groups and workshops, collaborative work, mentoring, or action research, teacher leaders

must continuously be involved (Harris & Muijs, 2003).

Developing Higher Teachers as Researchers

Higher teachers are also being recognized as researchers because they are the people best able to

identify problems pertinent to teaching (Mullen, et al., 2001). However, most research of higher

education in Vietnam is still weak, which is not yet linked closely with teaching. While the

publication of research results in international refereed journals is used as an indicator of research

strength and quality in institutions and countries, publication of research conducted in Vietnam is

very low. The weakness is derived from an extremely low level of staff in universities with PhD.

qualifications that fit them to undertake research effectively.

Action research is a form of disciplined and collaborative inquiry and research that has re-emerged

as a popular way of involving practitioners. Teachers and supervisors systematically reflect on their

work and make changes in their practice (Garner, 1996; Glanz, 1999). Whats more, action research

entails looking at ones own practices, such as instruction on a specific academic subject and allows

teachers to create time and space to reflect on their work. It might involve examining a particular

situation involving the development of learners, such as behavior, social interactions, learning

difficulties, learning environments, actions, policies, or events.

With this kind of research, after collecting the data, teachers then reflect and seek support and

feedback from colleagues (Patterson & Marshall, 2001). With all of the daily demands placed on

teachers, they rarely have time to stop and reflect on the work they have accomplished. There is an

appeal for teacher leadership in the action research literature. Interest in action research is growing

partly because practitioners find they can be in leadership positions as they plan, conduct, and

evaluate research on their own, rather than relying on library research or double-blind experiments

(Glanz, 1999).

Many researchers now acknowledge teachers expertise and wisdom as they live out their

experiences to change what they perceive to be in need of change (Mullen & Lick, 1999). Central to

the notion of teacher research as teacher leadership is the issue of influence. Action research can

influence classroom teachers practices. Garner (1996) proposed a cyclical paradigm: To learn is

to change; to change is to create; and to create is to learn . He revealed some of the benefits of

action research: (i) Teachers are viewed as equal partners with their collaborators in deciding what

works best in their situation, thus reducing the possibility for unequal power relationships that

might otherwise develop among university researchers, curriculum developers, administrators, and

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teachers; (ii) Teachers develop a deeper understanding of students, the student-learning process, and

their role in the educational lives of children.; (iii) Teachers arrive at instructional solutions

cooperatively; (iv) Teachers are often more committed in implementing new concepts when they

have been involved in the design.

Developing Higher Teachers as Leaders

Current programs for teacher education reform clearly recognize new directions for teacher leaders,

researchers, learners, collaborators, and team members (Nielsen, 2001). While they have developed

slowly, many districts, school boards, colleges, and universities have created educational programs

based on the principles of teachers as leaders. Broward County, Florida, has designed a program to

provide leadership and managerial skills beneficial to teachers who do not aspire to enter into

administration but want to grow in their roles as leaders. The program consists of four staff

development sessions: time management, facilitative change, performance problems, and

techniques of an effective leader (Broward County Public Schools, 2003). The University of Hawaii

(2001) offers an interdisciplinary masters of education (IMED) with an emphasis on teacher

leaders. The objective of IMED is to contribute to the professional and personal growth of

educators who are working in the public school system to promote their potential as teacher leaders.

The four components to this program are: (i) Fostering an increased level of knowledge and

promoting specific types of teaching, consultation, and advocacy skills; (ii) Creating effective

organizational changes in ones classroom, school, or community; (iii) Stimulating effective change

among individuals and within various human systems; (iv) Helping teachers develop a vision of

specific changes that they would like to implement in their classroom, school, or community

Vanderbilt University (2001) designed a 3.5-week Teachers as Leaders Initiative summer program.

It is an intensive study and reflection on the challenges of teaching, teacher leadership, and school

reform. The program is based on the premise of these professional learning practices:(i) Afford

opportunities to develop habits of shared and individual inquiry and reflection; (ii) Place classroom

practice in the larger context of education and the educational careers of children; (iii) Provide

access to an array of human and material resources for learning; (iv) Provide participants with

leadership skills and structures to support the learning of others beyond the context of the program

(v) Be centered on meaningful problems or challenges. The University of NebraskaLincoln

Teachers College (2003) offers a masters degree in education focused on developing teachers as

leaders.

Benefits of Teacher Leadership

Ovando (1996) suggests that when teachers are placed in leadership positions, they are able to

contribute more directly to organisational effectiveness and improvement. In order to be effective

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with their colleagues, lead teachers found it necessary to learn a variety of leadership skills, such as

building trust and developing rapport, diagnosing organizational conditions, dealing with processes,

managing work, and building skills and confidence in others (Boyd-Dimock & McGree, 1996).

Moreover, teacher leaders reported a significant decrease in isolation as a result of opportunities to

work with others outside the classroom (Lord & Miller, 2000). For example, Rosenholz (1985)

found that teacher involvement in decision making led to a decrease in teacher absenteeism and an

increase in school effectiveness. Wong (1996) found that in schools with strong collaborative

teacher-principal leadership there was evidence of significant gains in pupil learning and

achievement. Lieberman et al. (2006) suggested that teacher leaders are able to support an overall

vision of change by mentoring new teachers, providing input for evaluating teacher performance,

participating in district policy committees, and spearheading in-house professional development.

The values at the teacher leadership are important influential factors in generating effective schools

(Teddlie and Reynolds, 2000). Those values are placed on providing assistance, model collegiality

as a mode of work, enhancing teachers self-esteem, using different approaches for assistance,

making provisions for continuous learning and support for teachers at the school site, and encourage

others to provide leadership to their peers.

Therefore, Troen and Boles (1993) explained that some necessary conditions to support and sustain

teachers in leadership positions. In the first place, it is important that teacher leadership roles be part

of an overall vision and set of values that accepts and expects teachers to participate in leadership.

Secondly, teacher leadership roles need to have structure to bring legitimacy to the new role and

facilitate the understanding that knowledgeable and well-respected teachers can provide. Thirdly ,

teacher leaders need to have time to experiment, reflect, develop, deal, create, and build collegial

relationships with other teachers, parents, and community. Lastly, teacher leaders need to develop

such necessary skills and abilities as taking initiative, persevering in the face of obstacles, analyzing

and making program adjustments/improvements, using alternative strategies, and exercising

patience.

Responsibility of Leaders

Leaders are responsible for building organizations where people continually expand their

capabilities to understand complexity, clarify vision, and improve shared mental models - that is,

they are responsible for learning" (Senge, 1990, p.340). Leaders, especially principles have a

disproportionate influence on teacher leadership, Barth, R.(2001). Some find it risky to share

leadership, many do find ways to inspire a culture of teacher leadership within their schools.

Lambert (2002) suggests that the principals leadership is the key to shaping the schools culture. It

is vital that principals assist teachers in remaking the education profession and establishing a culture

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in which they are seen as fully empowered partners in shaping policy, creating curriculum,

managing budgets, improving practice, and improving education for children (Fullan, 2006).

Empowering teachers as leaders has been seen as a way to retain good teachers in education, attract

new teachers, and reverse a trend toward treating them as employees who do specific tasks planned

in detail by other people.

Summary

This literature review suggests that teacher leadership should be built as shool administrators have

realized that they alone cannot solve all of the educational issues facing schools today. Teachers can

and should be activists for education. They need to work with those that are interested in education

as well as with those individuals in positions of power to inform them of the importance of a strong

teaching profession. Teachers need to be reminded to treat teaching as a profession. In this way,

school leaders and educators look to reform their schools, understanding how to interact and

empower teachers as leaders may help solve some of the problems facing education today.

Chapter - III

METHODOLOGY

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to examine the capacity and the principals role of teacher leadership

in Ha Tinh University and its effect on the performance of the school and to develop an

understanding of the views of leadership capacity of teachers in Ha Tinh University. This increased

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understanding could be very beneficial to teachers, leaders at universities and institutions of higher

education that are focused on teacher leadership, as well as to educational policy makers at all

levels. The primary inquiry question framed theoretically for this study is: What capacities of

teacher leadership are evident in Ha Tinh University? The subsidiary inquiry questions ask the

following questions: (i) What are the behaviours of the rector in building leadership capacity of

teachers in Hatinh University? (ii) What are the perceptions of higher teachers related to their

leader in building leadership capacity in Ha Tinh University? (iii) What are activities/ measures

could be adopted so as to improve leadership capacity of higher teachers in Ha Ttinh university?

Each of these questions was designed to offer data informing the overall idea of how the

perceptions of teachers fulfilling the formal teacher leader role compare to teacher perceptions of

what constitutes teacher leadership and the actual practice in Ha Tinh University and how

perceptions of rector fulfilling his responsibilities. Examining such phenomena is a way ofdeveloping a better understanding of the perceptions and perceived reality of formal teacher

leadership roles so that Ha Tinh University could apply some measures in improving leadership

capacity of higher teachers..

Methodology and Research Procedure

Research Design

A case study of Hatinh University was used to explore the teacher leadership capacity in Ha Tinh

University. Why the case study method was chosen? That's because the researcher wishes to study a

specific case in-depth (Merriam, 1998). According to Merriam, a case study is described as an

intensive, holistic description and analysis of a single instance, phenomenon, or social unit.

Moreover, Stake (1995) depicted a case study as entering a scene with actors with a sincere interest

in learning how they function in their ordinary pursuits and milieus and with a willingness to put

aside presumptions while we learn. The researcher used present demographic information of the

University provided by sources of higher education in Vietnam and by members of Hatinh

University to select the topic. The school demographic information includes student and teacher

enrollment, teacher input, teacher opportunities, etc. The researcher obtained the criteria from the

Department of Accreditation to apply for building leadership capacity for teaching staff in Hatinh

University. In addition, this study did not include all the teachers who have been teaching in the

University schools. This deliberate omission assured that an effort was made to minimize bias. The

researcher believed that sampling these information-rich settings gave further insight into the

various leadership roles that teachers are taking inside and outside of the classroom. With the

intention of identifying various themes and patterns of teacher leadership within the University,

several different methods were used to gather data, a process known as triangulation. Triangulation

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is defined as the use of multiple data-collection methods, data sources, analysis, or theories as

corroborative evidence for the validity of qualitative research findings (Gall, et al., 1996). This

process helped the researcher gain in-depth understanding of teacher leadership by providing

different perspectives on the same conditions. Using triangulation to explain the phenomenon of

teacher leadership strengthened the validity of this study and monitored biases potentially

influencing the case study findings. The researcher had the opportunity to examine, verify, and

reinforce the information collected from one data source to another. Moreover, two different

sources were used in this case study to gather data: surveys and interviews. The rationale for this

strategy was that the use of multiple data collection techniques would contribute to the

trustworthiness of the data (Merriam, 1998). Each data collection technique identified something

different to aid in a better understanding of teacher leadership in the University studied.

Data Collection: Sample, Techniques, Analysis

Sample

The researcher contacted the University Rector to receive approval to conduct the research. As the

data were collected, they were kept confidential throughout the study. All data protected anonymity

by using fictitious names of the University and individuals. I secured all data in my home office, a

locked, private facility. The tape recordings gathered from the interviews and focus groups were

transcribed, and then destroyed. Data from the surveys was displayed in the dissertation. Once this

process was completed, all surveys were destroyed. Although multiple collection techniques were

used in this study, not all of the data materialized in the analysis section of this research. Salient

responses were quoted in the study to explain or elaborate themes and patterns of teacher

leadership. Although several Universities in Vietnam might meet the criteria for study, the

researcher selected Ha Tinh University to survey. Patton (2002) refers to this process as convenient

sampling. The researcher examined Ha Tinh University as where the researcher has been working.

This convenience proved helpful in undertaking and completing this study. The Rector, the deans

and the selected members were supportive of the study and cooperated with scheduling meetings

and interviews. Participation was voluntary. The deans informed the teachers of this study during a

staff meeting at which the researcher was present to answer any questions and distribute the survey.

Then teachers and administrative team members were asked to complete a survey, and I asked for

six to two interviews. Interviews were conducted at working hours in the selected University based

on the surveys about teachers and deans that provided rich, full descriptions of the teacher

leadership phenomenon.

The case study participants consisted of Rector, assistant rectors, administrative deans and teachers.

This case study relied on a total of 2 surveys as well 2 interviews from administrative deans and

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teachers in Ha Tinh University. The time commitment for participants varied depending upon their

level of involvement. Surveys took no more than 15 minutes to complete for administrative team

members and teachers. Individual interviews took no more than 30 minutes. The potential benefits

to participants may not be immediate; however, it is a contribution that may benefit school deans

and teachers in identifying ways to enhance teacher leadership within their University.

Administrators would understand the importance of interacting with teachers to develop their

leadership skills or have the message reinforced. Teachers would learn the importance of all

stakeholders working together to resolve issues at their own schools or provide school leaders with

options on how to improve their school with regard to teacher leadership.

Techniques

This study presented three different data-collection techniques. The first phase of the study involved

a questionnaire survey (Appendices A and B), which ask deans and classroom teachers to provide

information about their leadership capacity and dean's evaluation about his/her staff. The survey

consisted of five multiple questions for deans and the same amount of questions for teachers.

Participants had the opportunity to answer the questions in their views and understandings, with an

item at the end of the questionaire for more ideas. The data collected through the copies with

information mainly describing teachers' perceptions of teacher leadership (Peterson, 2000). The

responses were collected and combined per department. Phase two was referred to and teachers

were informed that they are invited for interviews on the mentioned topic of the study. Candidates

for the interviews included resource teachers, rector, assistant rectors, deans, classroom teachers.

The distribution of surveys and conducting of interviews spanned a 2-month timeline from May

2011 through June 2011. Phase three of the study, interviews were proceeded, participants were

invited to participate in the interview process. The participating teachers were asked to choose a

time and place where they would be most comfortable conversing with the researcher. All

participants chose a department offices, were interviewed at their school sites using a qualitative

approach to partially structured interviews (Peterson, 2000) lasting 10- 15 minutes. Interviews were

kept private and confidential. The participants were asked to talk about issues described in

Appendices C and D. Understanding the personal nature of the interview process, all possible

actions were taken to establish a relationship where the interviewees would be comfortable

describing in detail their beliefs and personal understandings of teacher leadership and their

personal roles (Rubin & Rubin, 1995). All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed.

Eighteen interviews were completed for this study: 1 interview with the rector and 5 interviews with

resource teachers. The initial opening of the interviews allowed for the researcher to present thetopic and herself as having had experience of teacher leadership. This understanding was believed

to have added credibility to the idea that the conversations need not be staged in anyway; that a

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personal understanding of the role of formal teacher leader was known by the researcher. It also

served as a reminder to the researcher that personal biases existed, and required an extra level of

attention to conduct the interview conversation accordingly. The interview questions were open, yet

similar in direction for each participant; the researcher's role was to keep the conversation on topic,

allowing the participants to share their own experiences (Rubin & Rubin, 1995). Each interview

was audio recorded for transcription. The researcher kept a journal of the process, logging key

moments, and biases that occurred throughout the study as well as all procedures and changes

(Booth, Colomb, & Williams, 2003). The act of journaling is suggested to add to the overall sense

of trustworthiness, credibility, transferability, and dependability of the research process (Krathwohl,

2004). Trustworthiness is compared to scientific rigor by Guba (1981) and seen as a critical part of

quality research. Achieving and maintaining an audience's trust is essential because qualitative

research is comprised of leaps of faith and piecing ideas together (Krathwohl, 2004).

Analysis of Data

Due to the multiple data-collection techniques used in this study, it was necessary to have a clear

and structured plan for data management analysis. As Merriam (1998) contended, a qualitative

design is emergent. The researcher usually does not know ahead of time every person who might be

interviewed, all the questions that might be asked, or where to look next unless data are analyzed as

they are being collected. Although this study contained a clear and structured plan to analyze the

data collected, the researcher made some important adjustments throughout the study to increase the

dependability, trustworthiness, and authenticity of the data collected. The processes next described

were used to analyze the data. Data analysis is the process of bringing order, structure, and

interpretation to the mass of collected data (Marshall & Rossman, 1999). Marshall and Rossman

stated that, in qualitative studies, data collection and analysis usually go hand in hand to build a

coherent interpretation of the data (Patton, 2002). Surveys were collected and analyzed

simultaneously with the interviews. According to Marshall and Rossman (1999), most qualitative

researchers generate categories and establish themes and patterns to assist in interpreting the data.

In this study, the researcher immersed himself in the details and specifics of the data to discover

important patterns and themes, a process called inductive analysis, to describe the phenomenon

being studied (Patton, 2002). Furthermore, the researcher kept a journal to document the qualitative

process and assist interpreting the data. It included experiential notes (relating to a researchers own

life/experiences), contextual notes (initial notes on research site), and methodological notes (process

of qualitative study/problems encountered) (Merriam, 1998). Miles and Huberman (1994) found

that a journal contributed to the reliability, validity, and integrity of the researchers inquiry.

Limitations

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In order to do the survey, the researcher had to overcome several obstacles. After the dissertation

proposal submit and the actual start of the study, the University has summer vacation from mainly

June to July. It is, therefore, the researcher felt a shortage of time in the process of the surveys.

However, the rector of the University understood my concern and assured me that the topic would

be necessary and the colleagues would be willing to do. Based on this comment, it would have

added insight to this study.

Summary

This study examined how the rector created teacher leaders within his University and how teachers

perceive their leadership capacity. This qualitative study set out to provide the rector with a set of

conditions for effective interaction with teachers in order to create teacher leadership roles that are

meaningful and productive to the school as a whole.

Chapter-IV

RESULTS

Introduction

This chapter reports results from the surveys administered and interviews engaged in betweenresearcher, teachers, and teacher leaders in Ha Tinh University. In order to make it clear for the

chosen participants in the research, the researchers also points out some background of the

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University and the participants. Although user generalizability is limited in this study , multiple data

sources were collected at several sites, the analysis of which revealed crucial insights.

Background on Hatinh University

Hatinh University is established according to Decision No. 318/Q-TTg- 2007 by upgrading and

merging Ha Tinh College of Education, Vinh University- Ha Tinh and Ha Tinh Intermediate

Business School. Although being directly dependent on Ha Tinh Provinces Peoples Committee,

the University of Ha Tinh will operate according to the university regulations issued by the Prime

Minister. Its headquarters will be based in Ha Tinh Commune in the northern central province of Ha

Tinh. The University is comprised of seven departments and two professional groups located in Ha

Tinh City. Student enrollment at time of data collection was 7017 students and Ha Tinh University

employed 162 qualified teaching staff (school year, 2010). Teacher leadership is in part a

manifestation of a school's culture, which is developed over time. It was determined that schools

which exemplified the greatest stability in teacher retention, teacher experience, and teacher

professional development were among the strongest contributing factors of teacher leadership. Let's

take an example of class of training leadership and management organized in 2010 within the

University for focus teachers as a proof. According to Fiore (2004), it takes an average of three to

five years to establish a school's culture such as leadership culture. Ha Tinh University, which has

been established for five years till 2011, has empowered its teaching staff. The teaching staff was

chosen for initial consideration on leadership capacity as it was understood by the researcher that

Ha Tinh University is the educational sector training workforce for Ha Tinh Province who are

teachers, engineers, accountants, etc. If majority of trainees and researches cannot meet the demand

of the region and the nation to market- oriented economy and globalization, then it is possible that

building leadership teacher capacity will be done in order to achieve the goals of higher education

in Vietnam by 2015. Moreover, crucial measures should be made to ensure training quality and

develop researches which ranked with big universities in the country as well as those in other

countries. The selected teachers and leaders were identified by their background, their views on

leadership. Departments and groups where deans and teachers have been working known in this

discussion: Departments of Natural Science Education, Foreign Language, Human- Social

Education, Dean of Nursery- Primary Education, Politics, Economics and Business Management,

Information- Technician; groups of Psychology Education and Gymnastics Education. The leaders

are referred to as the Rector, Deans and the Head of Personnel Management who directly work out

policies, disciplines, procedures, etc,. for the teaching staff and the whole school as well.

Resulting Data

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This section uncovered common ideas, themes, and/or patterns that answer the studys research

questions and accomplish the goals of the research.

Phase 1: Questionnaire Surveys

Survey Questions for Deans

Question 1. Which of leadership forms that are evident at your department & give the number of

teachers that belong to each of them?

The participants identified many ways in which teachers can lead in their departments, and all of

them could be categorized as one of the following:

Professional development: Ha Tinh University is an organization which self- manages a source of

finance receiving from the nation and collecting from students, the University relied upon

departments under leading of deans for professional development. The departments all relied on the

expertise of teacher leaders for professional development. A scientific research council of the

University has been formed to guide and evaluate all activities, projects regarding to scientific

researching. One teacher, mainly deans in each department is selected for the council as a

representative for all the teachers in the department. The members in this council work closely

together to develop and implement science education standards. The University funds for scientific

works basing on results marked from the council. Besides, a group of teachers with a group leader

in each department has been established and chosen by the Dean to major in the certain fields of a

range of subjects. Workshops organized regularly by the University and departments to help

teachers learn new strategies and training to take back to their teaching and research. Teachers in

their departments take leadership roles in rewriting the curriculum and assessments to reflect the

academic standards.

Taking part in University decisions: deans have been working with the Rector and Vice- Rectors

through meetings to plan improvements within the University. They go by many names- inspection

meetings, regulation meetings, spending planning meetings, etc. But their goal is the same to

expand the decision-making opportunities from the administrators to teachers and students. "I am

very fortunate to have a forward-thinking rector who embraced the concept of site-based decision

making", almost deans commented. Fortunately, Hatinh University encourages this practice.

Being a mentor to new teachers: experienced teachers are in charge of providing needed support

and advice to colleagues who are either new altogether to teaching or new to their area of teaching.

For some inexperienced teachers, support from mentors has been key to their decision to remain

teachers and to their professional competence. The number of teachers mentioned depend on the

number of new teachers.

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Social activities: each department has established social organizations such as the Youth- Union,

Trade- union which are in charge of organizing different events for the faculty, staff and students.

The number of teachers listed as being part of these organizations ranged from 1 to 2 per

department.

Question 2. What characteristics do you look for when selecting a teacher for leadership roles?

The following is a list of desired characteristics of new teachers described by deans of the

departments: (i) knowledge of teaching curriculum, (ii) capacity to lead groups, teams, and classes,

(iii) ability to get along with others. Of all, the first two items were the most frequent responses

reported.

Question 3. In what ways have you provided opportunities for teacher leadership capacity?

Department deans have provided opportunities for teacher leadership capacity through informaldiscussions, curriculum meetings, professional seminars and faculty meetings. Deans shared that

their teachers were always willing to express their capacity on concerns and issues presented to

them. It's stated that deans have always considered the ideas when it came to decision involving

curriculum and instruction. What's more, they all said, "our Rector has an open- door policy for

teachers to share views", so teachers feel easy to collaborate.

Question 4. How have you empowered your staff to develop their leadership skills?

Deans believed that leadership skills were created in several ways, such as seminars, exchanging

scientific issues and presenting workshops. Some participants shared that they have encouraged

teachers to share responsibility for student achievement by clubs which has allowed teachers to

become leaders via their expertise within the group. We have also encouraged teachers to become

expert leaders for their team in curriculum areas or asking them to present staff development

workshops. Others stated, Teachers are encouraged to act as mentors. They have also been offered

the opportunity to present information at staff and team meetings.

Question 5. In what ways have your Rector empowered you to develop your leadership skills into

the important decisions that affect your University?

Arising from the data analysis, all deans supported their Rector in allowing them to take advantage

of professional development opportunities. All respondents commented that their Rector provides

funding and professional days for teachers to attend short training courses in the country and

abroad. He offers the opportunity to be a part of a variety of meetings at university level. Another

participant expressed, at the beginning of the school year, the University asks all departments to set

out plan for the departments on all aspects basing on the current situations of the department. If the

department cannot come up with a plan by the deadline of each school year, the bonus money and

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awards gets down in comparison with the rest. Deans showed that, they struggled with creating the

plan, but once finalized it was approved by the staff, it was presented to the Rector for approval.

Survey Questions for Teachers

Teachers were prompted for basic demographic information, such as the number of years spent in

education and at their current schools, on the surveys they completed. At almost departments,

teachers ranged in age from 22 to 45, while at another one they were between 37 and 54. Teachers

had been in the education profession anywhere, for new teachers from 1-4 years, middle- aged from

11 to 15 years and in fifties from over 20 years. However, they had been working in at their current

University from between 1 to 5 years.

Question 1. Do you consider yourself a leader in your department?

All teachers responded no to this question except for those who are taking leadership roles suchas leading the Youth Union, the Trade- Union, etc. Many teachers replied that "a leader is someone

who guides or inspires others through their words, actions, and character and is someone that others

look up to and respect, while I am a normal classroom teacher. However, a few shared that

sometimes I feel I am a leader as I control the class for behaviours such as empathy, pair work,

group work, team work for activities like writing, listening, doing exercises, etc. Only one

answered, "I model behaviours when I am interacting with my colleagues and I am respected".

Question 2. What forms of leadership have you done in Hatinh University for the last four years?

Why or why not?

Leadership opportunities were made to the teachers at all seven departments and two groups in the

University. Ten experienced teachers explained that their deans ask them personally for rewriting

curriculum, assessments or compliance jobs. No new teachers were pointed to take the leadership

roles except for the social activity like for the Youth.

Question 3. In what ways are you given the opportunity to show your ideas into the important

decisions that affect first your department and then your university?

Teachers shared a variety of ways deans have provided opportunities for leadership. A theme that

emerged from the data were at faculty meetings, teachers are given chances to address any issues or

concerns they have that were not discussed such as teaching scheduling, student learning, social

activities, academic programs . The dean listens to teachers, gives comments, selects ideas and sum

up the issues at the same time. Some teachers noted that their deans should allow teachers to come

in any time with ideas or needs by e-mails because they are busy teaching all time or meeting time

is not available for immediate ideas. Others emerged: the University has an open-door policy and

counts on our opinions in making policy decisions. Many commented, "the Rector has an open-door

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policy, meaning that he is open to suggestions or concerns at any time during the year. Contrasting

views were shared by teachers at one department about taking leadership roles in decisions made in

the department. Although the Rector and Dean perceive allows an open- door policy, the teachers

shared mixed feelings. Some suggested that their Rector has an open-door policy, while others do

not. Teachers at several departments felt their Rector and Dean do not feel they are capable of

giving input of leadership into decisions being made in the University. Concerns of trust and input

were discussed. One teacher shared, we have very little leadership input. There is a lack of trust

when delivering opinions. There is a fear of backlash if your opinion does not go with what the

leaders wants. There are a few that reside in the inner circle of having opinions valued; the rest

need to keep their heads down and their mouths shut. Another teacher explained, I do not feel that

the staff is given very much input into important decisions in this University.

Question 4. How does your Dean show that your opinion is valued?

Through teachers' responses, because the University has an open-door policy so their deans

encourage and support ideas, and offer feedback to teachers directly. One teacher disclosed, 'my

dean always tells us that we know our students and that we know where their areas of difficulty are.

We need to define what students need to know and be able to do. We, therefore, need to develop

academic standards and rewrite the curriculum and assessments to reflect the new standards".

Nearly all teachers commented, their dean supports them by encouraging them to bring concerns

and ideas to him/ her. They said, "He/ she truly respects our opinions by allowing us to feel

comfortable with our ideas". Teachers discussed their principals approach on how information was

shared with the faculty and staff. In addition, teachers understood the complexity of the deans role.

One respondent stated, "my dean always tries to soften the blow on many things. The University

has placed so many demands on deans that as soon as the dean makes a decision with the staff, the

demands may have already changed. It must be very frustrating for leaders at department level.

Question 5. What strategies have your dean helped the teaching staff develop their leadership

capacity in your University?

All participants gave detailed responses for strategies. Collaboration among the teachers mentioned

most. "Sharing ideas, coaching other faculty members, and jointly working toward the goal of

student achievement were typical examples of this collaboration", they said. Five deans explained

that they should provide opportunities for teachers to work together. Teachers learn best from each

other because it brings credibility to what is and is not working in the classroom. The deans

believed it was just as important to grow professionally as well as the leadership. Another strategy

evident in all seven departments is faculty-oriented professional development: these departments

have research groups where teachers shared their ideas with their students.

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Phase 2: Questions for Interviews

Questions for Resource Teacher Interview

Although the University has just been established, the rector built a resource staff for the present

and future situations by giving them classes of leadership and management. The number of resource

teachers come up to 57. They are classroom teachers, head of offices, deans, vice-deans of

departments. These participants were very satisfied to answer the given questions. The questions are

displayed in the appendix C.

Question 1. In what ways do you use the term " leader" for yourself?

The participants mentioned, I support the goals of the dean and the University. I do whatever I can

to support the leaders and empower my colleagues to do the same. Other teachers asserted, I help

facilitate the implementation of effective teaching strategies in the classrooms as well as curriculumand in this way move the school toward the goal of increased student achievement. The second

theme that emerged from the data analysis was leading by example. Many of the resource teachers

believed that they set a standard and lead by example. People will often follow someone if that

leader is willing to join in the effort and go through all the steps required to achieve a particular

goal.

Question 2. How can you describe your Rectors leadership style? Give examples to illustrate each

word you selected.

Different respondents offered visionary. An example of this is that all participants agreed the

Rector is capable of seeing the possibility of an academic standard University. One participants

example illustrated her choice of the word: he is able to see the possibility of a better school for

students and teachers even when others could not. He knows what kinds of changes are necessary to

make that happen. Several participants described their Rector as supportive. One of them

elucidated "I had handled a situation about materials for teaching and learning that my department

need. I went to my Rector and informed him of that. Next week we had a meeting with the

librarians and deans of departments about the source of materials. I am glad he handled it the way

he did. A common idea was that the Rector is efficient and get the job done well. A teacher

explained, "the Rector gets the job done well and in a timely manner. I needed a survey for my

Master study and asked him to complete it for me. I told him that I needed it back in one week. The

survey was completed and handed back to me by the given time. Some teachers responded, "the

present Rector is so much better than the last one. He always lets us know what he is thinking. He

knows our demands and funds mid- day meals for all the staff. We are satisfied about that. We,

even, meet to talk about anything we should.

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Question 3. What experiences do you perceive have provided you with the skills to take on

leadership roles?

The pattern that emerged from this question was staff development. Respondents believed that the

various staff-development workshops, scientific research workshops, such as presenting the output

of the study so and seminars for students, helped them develop their knowledge and skills. When

teachers became confident with newly acquired information, they shared their knowledge and

experiences with other colleagues. One teachers response mirrored the groups: The various

leadership opportunities increased my skills and knowledge about the teaching profession, which

gave me what I needed in terms of vital information for leadership.

Question 4. Describe how you have personally contributed to the success of this school.

Resource teachers defined their roles along the lines of how they contributed to the success of the

University. Teachers who do not take the leadership roles replied: We are giving our students a

strong academic and social foundation for success in their future career. Other teachers related,

We are able to look at classrooms and identify students strengths and weaknesses. We continue to

challenge our students and help them to be well-rounded in their jobs. Some stated that as a

resource teacher, I make sure I have the materials in order to teach. I train, coach, and support

students' growth as I am a teacher. I also make time to be in contact with students by individually

working with a group, even after class.

Question 5. Do you think teacher leadership is encouraged at this school?

All teachers emphasized that teacher leadership was encouraged at the school. One participant

explained, "Teacher leadership is emphasized, but not overemphasized. There are plenty of

opportunities to lead and get involved. Yet those who choose not to lead are still great teachers.

They are not made to feel negatively for their lack of leadership involvement. Another teacher

stated, My dean is always encouraging us to be a part of the University. He says it takes all of us

working together to help our students.

Questions for Rector Interview

The researcher tried her best to look for ideas about leadership from the rector of the University as

he is always busy. The participant supported for the study. The questions for interview are put on in

the appendix D.

Question 1. In what ways do you use the term " leader" for yourself?

The rector captured a viewpoint: A leader has a goal or vision and is able to motivate and guideothers towards that goal or vision. He added the phrases, good listener and constant learner to

the same response.

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Question 2. What opportunities have you created in your University for teachers to develop their

leadership capacity?

The participants gave examples of leadership roles they have provided as Deans had listed before

such as staff development presenters, club leaders, and trainer-of-trainers workshops.

Question 3. Are there teachers on your staff that do not take leadership opportunities when

presented? Why or why not?

He said yes. The reasons were given: teachers individual personalities and preferences. That is to

say, some teachers feel insecure about their abilities, some feel uncomfortable speaking in front of

large groups of people. Others are concerned about the extra time required to prepare for said

opportunities.

Question 4. What are the characteristics that you look for when selecting teachers for leadership

roles or opportunities?

The rector shared several characteristics that they look for in a teacher. One response to summarize

the leader's feelings was, people that will get the job done using good judgment. The rector

added, People skills, organization, knowledge, and dependability. In addition, he mentioned an

established reputation with the faculty.

Question 5. Describe how you have personally contributed to the success of this school.

The Rector shared this viewpoint " I am visible and approachable for deans, teachers, parents, and

students. I assist with the day-to-day operations that help the University run efficiently by handling

the majority of the discipline referrals and by sharing work with deans to keep track of the status of

the University,

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