The self-perception of leadership efficacy of teachers and the effects on student achievement

Decades of research and the unprecedented demands being placed on our nation’s schools have revealed changing conceptions in school leadership. Increasingly, teachers are taking a more central role in the daily functions of their schools and are becoming more involved in important decision-making that was once reserved for principals. While the topic of teacher leadership continues to garner support in the literature, little attention has been given to studying teacher leadership through an organizational lens. Closely related to the idea of teacher leadership is collective efficacy, an organizational concept that has previously been linked to student achievement. This study utilized the 17-item Teacher Leadership Inventory [Angelle, P. S., & DeHart, C. (2010). A four factor model of teacher leadership: Construction and testing of the Teacher Leadership Inventory. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO] and the 10-item Teacher Efficacy Belief Scale – Collective Form [Olivier, D. F. (2001). Teacher personal and school culture characteristics in effective schools: Toward a model of a professional learning community (Ph.D.). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (275848775)] to analyze correlations between teacher leadership, collective efficacy, and student achievement as measured by the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP). Findings showed a moderately strong, positive correlation between teachers’ perceptions of teacher leadership and collective efficacy at both the individual and school-level. No significant relationship was found between teacher leadership and student achievement and collective efficacy and student achievement