Leadership in the English classroom in Sweden

(1)

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIETY Department of culture, languages and media

VT 2020

Degree project in the major subject:

English and education

15 credits, basic level

“Leadership in the English classroom in Sweden”

Sanae Ben Yakoub

Basic level degree project in the major subject (15hp) Examiner: BjörnSundmark Date for the Opposition 2020-09-08 Supervisor: Shaun Nolan

(2)

Abstract

The concept of teacher leadership plays a crucial role when improving global educational systems. In the Swedish education system, teacher leadership is critical to the delivery of the English language instructions. However, the types of leadership styles, factors to be considered, the strategies, and rules used by English teachers to be effective classroom leaders are generally under-researched. Moreover, English language instruction in Sweden is affected by serious issues of concern—such as lack of clear guidelines and inadequate teacher training. In light of these problems, this study aims at identifying the types of leadership styles, causes of leadership failure, factors that affect leadership styles, and the rules and strategies utilised by teachers to become effective leaders in the Swedish education system. To provide answers to this objective, a qualitative approach that used interviews from four participants was utilised. The results show that the interviewees were concerned that there appeared to be no specific teacher leadership in their professional training. In this case, interviewees claimed that the type of leadership depends on the group of students and prevailing situations. It was also found that lack of confidence, inconvenience decisions, and not understanding students contributed to leadership failure, while understanding and engaging learners, staying positive, being sensitive, and establishing a positive mind-set are the common strategies used by English teachers to become effective leaders. These findings are crucial because they will add value to the existing literature, particularly the literature on studies that focus on teacher leadership in the Swedish English classroom.

(3)

1. Introduction

Teacher leadership is an old concept that has been extensively discussed in the literature by scholars due to its crucial role in improving education systems across the globe (Shah, 2017). Teacher leadership was originally coined by John Dewey in the early twentieth century when he argued that teachers have an integral role in the governance of schools and the learning process. Since then, the concept of teacher leadership has been consistently evolving and developing. Today, the twenty-first-century teachers in most classroom settings are not merely teachers. Instead, current teachers are supposed to execute multiple leadership responsibilities that include the provision of learning resources, facilitating learning, mentoring and coaching students, and acting as curriculum and instructional specialists. Following these diverse roles, teachers in schools are widely referred to as teacher leaders, while the implementation of leadership responsibilities in the classroom is referred to as teacher leadership (Shah, 2017).

In the context of the Swedish English classroom setting, teacher leadership is perceived as a key part of helping learners acquire and develop their English skills. In Sweden, learning second languages, particularly English, enhances ease of communication at the global level and helps in advancing the graduates' competitiveness in the global career opportunities. However, teaching English in Sweden has been an issue of controversy and continuous debate (Brown, 2013). In this case, despite the country introducing English language subjects in schools through the new curriculum in 1995 and offering guidelines on how to teach foreign languages, these guidelines are not specific on the teaching methods that should be used in delivering English instructions (Kim‐Rivera, 1999). Due to this reason, English teachers have the freedom to choose their preferred instructional strategy. This freedom has raised an extensive debate on the preparedness of English teachers in delivering English instructions. Therefore, the lack of specialised training and policy guidelines in Sweden has been associated with a lack of successful outcomes for students introduced to English-medium programs (Toth, 2018).

(6)

2

Moreover, the Ordinance for Compulsory School provides that schools offering English-medium instruction should only provide half of the instructions in English and the rest of the instructions in Swedish (Toth, 2018). Other than this restriction, the Ordinance for Compulsory School document does not outline other requirements, including professional qualifications for English teachers. Although there is an emphasis on the proficiency of English teachers recruited to teach English in Sweden, little attention is given to these teachers. Since half of the instructions should be delivered in English and the rest in Swedish, most of these English teachers lack knowledge and understanding of Swedish (Toth, 2018).

Moreover, when students in school study their subjects entirely in English, there are limited opportunities for these students to develop their Swedish language competence, especially when introduced to Swedish subjects in the future (Toth, 2018). Besides that, Toth (2018) claims that English learning in Sweden has been widely criticised by the education community and media due to challenges associated with learning English—such as exemption and failure to license English teachers. Therefore, in the midst of ineffective guidelines in providing English instructions, preparedness of English teachers, and the exception of English instructors from licensure, teacher leadership is fundamental in developing the learners' English skills. This is because teachers have an essential role in guiding and facilitating learning in all classrooms. In other words, teacher leadership is perceived as the heart of English learning in Swedish schools because it is the sole strategy of supporting instructions, especially when regulations and guidelines are inexistent. However, there is limited research on the specific leadership styles, factors affecting leadership styles, and strategies that are applicable in the English language learning classroom. Therefore, in regard to these problems, the key focus of this study is to determine the types of leadership styles, factors that affect leadership styles, causes of leadership failure, and the rules and strategies utilised by teachers to become effective leaders in the delivery of instructions in a Swedish education system, where English learning is

(7)

3

1.1 The theoretical and practical justification

Even though there is extensive research that revolves around teacher leadership, the concept has been defined in different ways due to the varied leadership responsibilities performed by teachers, not only in Sweden but across the global education system. According to Wattleton (2000), teacher leadership is associated with inspiring teachers who take the responsibilities of leading school reforms. In their book, Harris and Muijs (2004) claim that teacher leadership involves collaborating with other teachers to enhance professional development and teacher career growth. Nevertheless, regardless of these definitions, evidence suggests that teacher leadership is focal and fundamentally important to English language acquisition. Establishing the most effective strategies to improve English in a classroom setting requires great knowledge of how community procedures are applied and brought into the context. In this regard, teacher leadership emphasises the need to establish an expert network where English classroom teachers can learn from one another and cooperate (Wenner & Campbell, 2017). This collaboration and learning from one another can help develop teacher leadership skills that can be applied in the English classroom context, particularly in gaining skills needed to learn English.

Moreover, Wenner and Campbell (2017) argue that conventional leadership responsibilities characterise the concept of teacher leadership in an English classroom.

Although English does not have official status in Swedish policy documents—such as the Ordinance for Compulsory School and the Swedish Education Act—English is one of the key languages in the Swedish education system in comparison to other foreign languages (Toth, 2018). English is therefore allocated more time than other languages studied in the Swedish classroom setting. However, these policy documents have allowed greater flexibility on how English instructions should be provided. This means that the teacher leadership role in an English classroom setting is comparatively dynamic and varies depending on the instructional strategies used in these classrooms and the prevailing

(8)

4

situations. Therefore, within the 480 hours allocated to learning English, English teachers play diverse leadership roles in guiding learners in acquiring relevant English skills that can help them in

communicating and reading in English (Toth, 2018)

The Swedish educational curriculum further affirms the involvement of teachers in students’ learning processes in a democratic approach by upholding desirable values (Johansson, 2001). In this case, the teacher and the students should equally engage in the learning process, especially in evaluating the outcomes of the learning process. This means that English teachers should act as role models, thereby taking leadership responsibilities and guiding them in their English classroom. In this case, teachers must ensure that quality English instructions are offered to the students in an English classroom. They should also have the capacity to guide students in a way that facilitates the learning process by helping the students learn English by challenging the problems that students encounter.

1.2 Significance of the study

The Swedish curriculum reforms that were introduced in 1995 outlined the need for teaching English in schools to enhance students' competitiveness in the global market. While this was a great

achievement, the guidelines on teaching English as a second language in the classroom do not provide specific teaching methods (Toth, 2018). As a result, teachers have a lot of freedom in choosing their most appropriate instructional strategies. This means that the effectiveness of the English instructional strategies varies from one teacher to another. Therefore, since teacher leadership is unquestionably critical where there are no effective teaching guidelines, investigating the types of leadership styles, causes of leadership failure, factors that affect leadership styles, and the rules and strategies utilised by teachers to become effective leaders in the delivery of instructions in a Swedish education system, this study is significant in identifying the types of teacher leadership styles, causes of leadership failure, and strategies used by teacher leaders to ensure effective delivery of instructions in a Swedish English classroom. Consequently, the study will help inform the Swedish National Curriculum Board on the

(9)

5

most effective leadership strategies and roles that English teachers should pursue to deliver English instructions effectively, particularly due to a lack of specific guidelines on the delivery of instructions. Besides, this study will also add value to the limited literature, particularly the literature on studies that focus on the types of teacher leaders in delivering English instructions in a Swedish context.

Therefore, other students aiming at investigating the types of teacher leadership in a Swedish English classroom can build their research on this study.

(10)

6

2. Aims and Research Questions

The overarching target of this study is to identify the types of teacher leadership styles, causes of leadership failure, factors that affect leadership styles, and strategies used by teacher leaders to ensure effective delivery of instructions in a Swedish English classroom, where teacher leadership is essential due to the lack of specific guidelines on the delivery of instructions. In this regard, the specific

research questions will be;

i. What do some English teachers believe are the best leadership styles, and what are the factors that affect these styles?

ii. What are some strategies and rules that teachers suggest as influential in classroom leadership? iii. What factors contribute to the English teacher leadership failure, according to some teachers?

(11)

7

3. Background

Research on teacher leadership recognises the constructive effects on teacher leaders in relation to their partners, the school association, and the students. Teacher leaders could positively affect students learning because their leadership styles affect the teachers’ instructional choice when teaching English (Campbell et al. 2019). In this section, I will provide a comprehensive theoretical background and previous research underpinning teacher leadership in the English classroom, particularly in the context of the Swedish education system.

The information used in this section was identified through a computerised online search of articles and publications related to the concept of teacher leadership. Since the text that I should read was informed by the three research questions, the identified articles were accurately examined for quality to ensure only accurate information that related to the teacher leadership was included in the literature. Moreover, the theories identified in this section were informed by the consideration of the

circumstances that affect the leadership styles. For example, the identification of situational leadership theory was informed by the fact that leadership is significantly impacted by the prevailing situational factors.

3.1 Teacher leadership as a practice

Historically, the traditional conception of teacher leadership has been concerned with roles played by principals, head teachers, and heads of the departments (Sinha & Hanuscin, 2017). However, over the recent past, the concept of teacher leadership has dramatically evolved to challenge this view. Today, teacher leadership is regarded as the practice of enhancing student learning by influencing others. Therefore, describing teacher leadership as a practice emphasises the roles and undertakings performed by the teacher as a leader in the delivery of instructions. These activities include nurturing a culture of success, striving for academic achievement, confronting cultural barriers that hinder learning, and

(12)

8

translating ideas into sustainable systems of actions. In the context of the Swedish English classroom setting, teacher leadership as a practice is critical. It includes nurturing a culture of positivity in learning English and minimising cultural barriers that hinder students from learning.

3.2 Democracy and leadership

Democratic leaders play an essential. In this case, teachers using a democratic leadership style avoid making too many decisions on their own; hence, they tend to invite others, including students, to participate (Drobot & Rosu, 2012). Applying this leadership style in the context of the Swedish English learning classroom allows students to give advice on how tasks can be fulfilled. Using a democratic leadership style in the classroom setting gives students an experience of security and a feeling of freedom in their learning process. In addition, democratic leadership is flexible and responsive to learners' needs. Therefore, when learners need help in the learning process, teachers using a democratic leadership style can provide help and advice with ease (Drobot & Rosu, 2012).

3.3 Theoretical connection

3.3.1 The social learning theory

The social learning theory emphasises that the learning process requires thoughtful consideration of the context of practice. Based on this theory, learning is considered a key part of social practice that is experienced by the learners and even the teacher. As a result, Lave and Wenger (1991), advocates for legitimate peripheral participation as a logical point of view for the learning process. In this case, legitimate peripheral participation is considered a strategy of engaging in the community or social practice. The key focus of social practice emphasises on an extensive focus on the persons (learners). Usually, learning is a cognitive process; hence, the learning process can be understood in the context of assimilation and the acquisition of instructions. Furthermore, learning involves individual learning in relation to the social practices of a community. Therefore, for an effective learning process to take

(13)

9

place, there is a need for a broader understanding of the learners. Consequently, as leaders, teachers in English language learning classroom setting should position themselves in relation to the learners, develop their cognitive abilities for effective delivery of English language instructions.

3.3.2 The didactic learning theory

The didactic theory is among the most important models in the Swedish education system. This theory is commonly utilised in schools to examine learning and to decide and legitimise how teaching is led. There are generally four didactic zones that the teacher ought to consider in their teaching process. These didactic zones include: what ought to be taught? For what reason would it be a good idea for it to be taught? In what manner would it be advisable for it to be taught? To whom would education be a good idea? The didactic model helps teachers utilise a critical language to portray their training, which, in turn, explains their academic and instructive decisions and distinguishes their work in an

educational setting. Didactics can subsequently be viewed as an instrument to investigate, depict, and articulate the teacher's leadership in a teaching circumstance. Teachers' didactic abilities are

considered to improve teachers' instructional methodologies; hence, they are important in teaching (Lindqvist, 2019).

The didactic model is an integral domain of knowledge for the practices created to enhance the teaching and the learning process. In this regard, this model focuses on the baseline knowledge that learners have and their learning needs. Therefore, the didactic method aims to assist teachers in

delivering instructions in the best possible way to meet these learning needs (Lindqvist, 2019). In other words, utilising didactic methods in the delivery of English instructions acts as the first point of

learning, where the overarching goal is to ensure the effective transfer of knowledge. Although the teacher can act in this role as an authoritative figure, didactic methods allow the teacher to guide the learning process and act as a resource for the students. In other words, this theory emphasises the role of a teacher as the leader in directing the acquisition of knowledge and skills needed in an English classroom.

(14)

10

In the context of the Swedish education system, this model emphasises how the learning should take place with the teacher at the centre of directing instructions and the learning process. It also

emphasises that English instructions should be delivered in a way that meets the learners' needs to advance their English learning process. In this case, applying this model in English classrooms allows the teacher to advance the student's knowledge and understanding of English. It sets out teachers as real models and leaders in the learning process because the teachers have the role of choosing the instructional strategies that best meet the needs of the learners.

3.3.3 The situational leadership theory

The situational leadership theory, which was first advanced by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, emphasises the need to practice the most appropriate leadership style based on the underlying situations. The group's maturity is one of the key factors that dictate the amount of support that the followers should subject to (Thompson & Glaso, 2018). In this case, highly mature followers are subjected to less support and indirect control. Contrariwise, less mature followers are subjected to high support and direct control. In the context of the Swedish classroom setting, a successful teacher leader is the one who can analyse the learners and understand what works well for them and what does not work. This means teachers should understand the learners and apply the most appropriate leadership style based on their existing situation. Moreover, since learning English in the Swedish education system is characterised by insufficient guidelines, teachers should sufficiently support and lead students in a way that will keep them motivated and willing to learn a foreign language. In other words, this theory supports the idea that teachers should act as leaders in directing and supporting the learners in achieving their goals in learning the English language and advancing their English skills.

(15)

11

Teacher leadership has been recently emphasised in education, with the key focus being in English language teaching (Whitehead & Greenier, 2019). There is a strong belief that effective teacher leadership is crucial for enhancing academic outcomes. Teachers have been subjected to the relevant training and education to equip them with the necessary leadership skills. Research carried out by Whitehead & Greenier (2019) indicated that teachers who wish to perform excellently in a language classroom must possess qualities like rapport, passion, flexibility, balance, and purpose, in their teaching practices. Leadership in English language class goes beyond the traditional classroom practices, and therefore, teachers need to develop the necessary leadership competence.

Okilwa and Robert (2018) directly associate teacher leadership with the students' academic

performance. In this case, the authors claim that teachers have a significant influence on learning, as they interact with the learners regularly. Learners who are interested in learning about the English subject come from diverse backgrounds, suggesting that they are linguistically and culturally diverse. English teachers are required to be effective leaders in leading the students to realise their dreams. They are supposed to be culturally responsive, embrace the diversity among the learners, and

differences in understanding. Moreover, successful English classroom teachers show leadership skills by providing clear goals and objectives for the learners. Classroom leadership requires teachers to possess effective leadership skills, which can be acquired through training. Effective leadership skills are realised when the teachers have been able to realise the anticipated results within the classrooms. In the process of determining the expected results, teachers have to test the learners and carry out assessments, to identify their strengths and weaknesses, thereby forming the basis for addressing specific issues facing the learners within the classroom. Khany and Ghasemi (2019) established that leaders need to undergo training to develop appropriate leadership skills. Developing appropriate leadership skills is crucial because it helps teachers take full control over their classes, and ensure regular local assessments, to ascertain the extent at which they have been able to understand the covered content within the classroom.

(16)

12

Leadership has been applied extensively in various settings. However, its application changes from one nation to the other, as well as through expert societies. Within the non-English-speaking countries, teachers are considered to be crucial leaders in enhancing the students' English performance within classrooms. The teachers are therefore expected to develop the necessary skills, to lead appropriately. According to Frey (2018), leadership is connected to English language learning performance in two main ways. The first relates to training teachers to equip them with the necessary leadership

competencies and skills; the second relates to applying the acquired leadership skills, in enhancing the performance of the students within classrooms. Just like other leaders in the corporate world, teachers are expected to have specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound goals with their class. Assessments should be based on the established goals, determine the extent at which they have been achieved, and pave the way for improving performance in the English language.

Classroom leadership requires teachers to develop the necessary mind-set and respective skills. Even though teaching itself is directly connected to leadership principles, language teachers have not practised it effectively as required, as the teacher's leadership concept has not been adequately

incorporated in the teacher education programs. Greenier and Whitehead (2016) strongly believe that developing a precise model of leadership within classroom settings, will help teachers in addressing the challenges they face when teaching English language, besides enhancing their delivery

performance and academic achievements of the learners. Appropriate leadership models within the English classroom setting should embrace leadership styles of self-awareness, balanced processing, relational transparency, as well as having a formulated ethical or moral perspective. Such principles have been directly linked to general performance within the education sector. The teacher's

professional skills will also be enhanced by the fact that they will be able to enrich their skillsets, which will transform into professional success. Typically, teachers are in a position to understand their student’s learning needs and formulate the most appropriate instructional approaches to ensure the delivery instructions appropriately.

(17)

13

Classroom leadership has been associated with positive academic results, behaviour improvement, among many other benefits (Adams et al., 2018). Leadership goes hand in hand with what teachers teach in the classroom, indicating that the leadership within the classes is not optional but mandatory. With the last two decades, teacher leadership in classrooms, especially the English language learning classrooms, has been termed as crucial for not only enhancing the class performance but impacting entire schools positively. Teacher leadership also impacts the teaching profession positively, leading to better results.

Transformational leadership is used in various sectors, but most typically in the business sector. However, this leadership style has recently been adopted successfully in classroom settings too. In the process of transforming learners' performance within the English classroom, teachers require

leadership qualities like optimism, compassion, openness, and an encouraging attitude. Such qualities are crucial in creating an enabling environment for learners to be in a position of understanding what they are being taught in the classes, thus improving their performance (White et al., 2017).

Lack of leadership skills among teachers, especially in the English class, has made many teachers struggle, especially when dealing with learners from different cultural backgrounds. Effective leadership is demonstrated when they have the capability of responding to various learning needs of the students, despite the differences occurring among them (Russell & Von Esch, 2018). Teacher leadership entails promoting professional growth and development, influencing decision making within the classroom setting, and focusing on learners' performance. Teachers have the responsibility of making sure that learners have fulfilled their learning goals, though making appropriate decisions, which have the capability of promoting the academic performance among the learners (Wenner & Campbell, 2017).

Offering quality education to English learners has not always been easy for teachers, key factors being lack of the necessary teacher leadership skills within the class setting. Usually, teachers have to serve as a bridge between the learners and their anticipated learning goals. Besides helping the learners

(18)

14

establish the learning goals, the teachers go to the extent of formulating effective strategies on how they are going to implement the whole process and facilitate the materialisation of the goals. The teachers are required to adopt leadership practices that have the potential of helping learners perform excellently in English classes.

(19)

15

4.0 Methods

This chapter presents a comprehensive discussion of the research methodology that was utilised in this study. In this context, a qualitative research design that was made up of well-structured interview questions was utilised to collect the required data. The purpose of choosing this approach is to ensure that the variables associated with teacher leadership are carefully and precisely identified and

evaluated without the limitations identified in the quantitative analysis of data. Usually, the key aim of using a qualitative research design is to achieve a detailed understanding of the fundamental

explanations, opinions, views, and motivation behind a specific phenomenon, thereby providing insights into the problem (Curry, Nembhard & Bradley, 2009). Therefore, by adopting this research approach, the opinions and views on teacher leadership and strategies used in the English language classroom will be easily obtained. Moreover, using a qualitative research design will help answer the question about teacher leadership's experience in a Swedish English classroom setting, thereby gaining quality first-hand information that adds to the credibility and validity of the study. In other words, qualitative research, especially when using interviews, provides detailed and in-depth answers and allows the respondents to seek clarification or explanation to the questions. This section will also include other key elements of the study methodology: the participants, material, and instruments used to collect data, the procedures of collecting data, the method of data analysis, ethical consideration, and the limitations of the study.

4.1 Participants

The participants of this study were identified through a purposive sampling technique, where the participants were identified based on their special relationship and sufficient knowledge with teacher leadership in the English classroom setting. In this case, the study targeted professionally certified English language teachers at a Swedish secondary school and a high school in a Swedish town. The

(20)

16

core reason for targeting English language teachers is to obtain high-quality and reliable first-hand information on the types of teacher leaders, causes of leadership failures and strategies, and factors to be considered to be an effective leader in an English language learning classroom. These teachers have rich information on the strategies and types of leadership styles used in the English classroom setting. They also have crucial information regarding the causes of leadership failure and factors that affects the type of leadership. Initially, the researcher aimed at interviewing ten English language teachers. However, after sending interview questions through the email, four teachers responded; hence, the number of participants used in this study is four. Among these respondents, two were males, while the other two were females; all of them were certified English language teachers.

4.2 Material and instruments

The study involves the use of well-structured interview questions. This means that the researcher developed standardised interview questions in advance before sending them to the targeted

respondents. On most occasions, these structured interview questions follow a specific order to help in the categorisation of the responses. Initially, the key plan was to hold a face-to-face conversation with the teachers and record their opinions in the notebook while at the same time making an audio record of the response. However, due to the global outbreak of COVID-19, half of the interviewed English teachers worked from home; hence, the interview was done through emails. In the development of these interview questions, one of the key focus was to create ended questions. Usually, open-ended questions yield unique understanding and candid insights that could not have been captured in closed-ended questions. Again, when developing interview questions, I ensured the questions are few and direct to the point. Having too many questions can affect the outcomes of the research, and some respondents may choose to ignore most of the questions, and in some cases, the whole interview. Besides that, the questions were constructed in a logical and orderly format, from the most straightforward and simple questions to the most complex questions.

(21)

17

4.3 Procedure

Upon development of the interview questions, I began by seeking approval from my supervisor. I also sought approval from the head teacher and the principal of the targeted secondary school and high school. In this case, I began by informing them about the intended interview with some of their English teachers. From there, I sought consent from the targeted English language teachers and sufficiently briefed them about the purpose of the research and the agenda of the interview. I also informed them that the information was to be used solely for the study and that their responses were to remain anonymous. Besides, the respondents were informed that the interview was exclusively

voluntary and that they could withdraw their participation whenever they wish. After completing this process, I emailed all the identified teachers the interview questions and asked them to respond within seven days. Finally, I received responses and then sent back a thank you message to appreciate their participation.

4.4 Analysis

The collected data was analysed using a coding strategy, which involves elicitingpreliminary codes from the personal interview data. In this case, the collected data were categorised into themes and sub-themes to bring out the meaning from the raw data provided by the respondents. Therefore, in the process of analysing the raw data, I began by assigning preliminary codes to the themes and sub-themes identified in the provided responses. When I completed the first process, I further filtered and refined the themes by developing final codes, which are more concise and precise. Consequently, in the end, I structured the obtained qualitative data to meet the set research objectives. Besides, since the responses were anonymous, I anonymised the four respondents by giving them codes names like teacher A, teacher B, teacher C, and teacher D, thereby making it possible to track the quotes.

(22)

18

4.5 Ethical consideration

Researchers must ensure that the rights of human subjects are sufficiently protected, and privacy is maintained. In this context, all gathered information provided by participants is considered human subjects and should be accorded appropriate privacy and protection (Buchanan & Zimmer, 2012). Consequently, this study was subject to a number of ethical considerations. For example, before the study was conducted, informed consent was gained before engaging the teachers in the interview. In this case, the participants provided a written acceptance in regard to their participation in the interview. At the same time, the recruited teachers were briefed about the core aim of the study and voluntary withdrawal from the interview at any given point. The aim was to ensure all participants were free to participate in the study. The respondents were also informed that their answers would remain

confidential and used solely for the purpose of the study. Moreover, the data was secured, and no unauthorised persons had access to it.

Personal information, such as the socio-economic data about the participants, was not collected. This ensures that the participants feel comfortable in providing responses to questions that are solely related to the topic. Moreover, as part of the ethical considerations, the respondents were not required to provide their names; hence, responses were anonymous. I also obtained approval from my supervisor and the heads of the secondary and high schools where the participants were recruited. By doing so, I ensured that the study complied with institutional regulations and did not violate the privacy rights of the high school and secondary school where the respondents were recruited. Finally, the data was analysed appropriately, and no cases of manipulation were detected.

4.6 Study limitations

As it is the case for other studies, this study had some limitations. One of the significant limitations is the small sample of the recruited participants. In this case, the study only involved four participants from one secondary school and one high school in a Swedish town. This means that the study's

(23)

19

findings cannot be generalised across all schools in the Swedish education system. Therefore, a bigger sample size of the participants can enhance the reliability of the results and findings gained in the study. In this context, other data collection methods other than the use of emails should be utilised to ensure the response rate is high. Besides, the research focused only on the leadership aspects of the English language teachers' perspective. In the future, there is a need to investigate the leadership styles practised by English teachers in English language learning classrooms from the perspective of the students.

(24)

20

5. Results and Discussion

This study aims to identify the types of leadership styles, causes of leadership failure, factors that affect leadership styles, and the rules and strategies utilised by some teachers to become effective leaders in the delivery of instructions in a Swedish education system. This section will be arranged based on the key themes that were uncovered from the interview responses. Therefore, this paper will begin with the types of leadership and factors that affect leadership styles, strategies, and rules used by English teachers in the classroom and the causes of teacher leadership failure in English classrooms.

5.1 Teacher Leadership

5.1.1 Types of teacher leadership in English language classroom

Teacher leadership varies from one teacher to another, and therefore, there is no one common type of leadership that can be applied in an English classroom setting. However, teacher leadership is ideal in promoting good academic performance among students, success in schools, and enhancing the

teaching profession (Berry, Daughtrey & Wieder, 2010). In the context of teacher leadership, teachers are required to make decisions that directly affect the students. Some of the teachers' common

decisions include class scheduling and selecting the textbook to use. The leadership is expected to go beyond normal teaching within the classroom to incorporate best practices for enhancing English content delivery, mentoring students, and availing the most appropriate information for effective decision making. Therefore, teacher leadership in an English class consists of collective efforts that aim at enhancing the learners' academic performance.

The leadership does not arise as a result of formally assigned roles, but through interactions and experiences with students within the English classrooms. It is through the actions taken by teachers that the leadership is developed and enhanced. Based on the interview responses provided by the four

(25)

21

participants, leadership is more of a control rather than exercising authority. For example, from the interview, teacher B noted that leadership means "control." Therefore, teachers in an English classroom need to exercise their skills in controlling the classroom to be effective leaders. Having control ensures the teacher leads the classroom in the appropriate direction and enhances the delivery of English instructions. Furthermore, teachers need to ensure effective collaboration with all learners for optimal performance. Typically, leadership is not a one-way process; it requires the input of the followers. Based on the interview, teacher C noted that;

I think I am a leader who always has a plan and wants to reach a goal. During the journey, unforeseen things and whims can happen, but I am careful to reach my goal. I like to follow those I lead, while at the same time leading them where I want us to go.

Therefore, in as much as teachers want to reach their goals, there is a need to collaborate with the students and learn what they need. Finally, the type of leaders needed in the English classroom needs to be kind, helpful, and understanding. These types of teacher leaders are crucial in determining the students' learning needs and developing the most appropriate strategies that can be used in the classroom setting.

5.1.2 Factors that affect leadership styles

As identified in the situational leadership theory, teacher leadership varies based on the prevailing situation and group types. These two factors are discussed below.

5.1.2.1 Group of students

Teacher leadership in English classes vary depending on the group of the students. The learners are different in various ways, such as the first language (linguistic differences), age (children and adults, cultural, social, and geographical backgrounds. Teacher C notes:

Leadership is basically the same, but you certainly vary your way of leading in different groups. Some groups require a clearer framework; others are self-propelled. It depends on the

(26)

22

individuals in the group, background knowledge, cultures, and time of the day for lessons, among others.

Typically, the learners have differences in their personal preferences, relating to how they want the teachers to deliver the content. Teacher B argued that,

We work with so many different personalities, and what works with one group may not work at all with the next group. As a teacher, you can meet 50 different students during a day.

Therefore, English teachers must consider these differences and ensure students are led in the most effective way that will give positive outcomes. Based on this finding, the teachers are required to be considerate of their behaviour and how they interact with learners. Some behaviours can result in detrimental outcomes on the overall leadership process, thereby affecting how teachers lead students in the classroom. Therefore, when executing the teachers' leadership roles in the classroom, such as designing the content and determining the content delivery strategies, teachers must be aware of the different groups of students they serve.

5.1.2.2 Situation

The society we live in is dynamic, and things keep on changing from one day to the other. Teachers require to lead classrooms with respect to the prevailing situations. When asked on whether leadership varies depending on the situation, teacher Aargued that,

Of course, it varies depending on the situation. In some groups, you don't even have to think about it, but in other groups, you need to be more aware of your behaviour and how you act.

Again, teacher D noted that,

My leadership is different depending on the situation and group/class. I want to believe that I have a good relationship with my students and that they perceive me as nice. At the same time, this is not a goal of my teaching, and it is not something I am afraid of losing if I am forced to reprimand/lift a student.

(27)

23

Therefore, based on these responses, establishing an appropriate match between the content being delivered and the prevailing situations puts the leadership in the right context and facilitates the realisation of the anticipated results. Leadership in secondary and high schools should vary because the situations are not the same. All changes occurring within the operating environments need to be incorporated fully for the realisation of optimal results.

5.1.3 Qualities of a successful teacher

5.1.3.1 Commitment and dedication

Teacher leaders have to be committed or dedicated to their roles and responsibilities. They have to be committed to ensuring that students have succeeded in their academics. There is a need for the teachers to show interest in the English subject and the learners studying it. The teachers must always be

willing and ready to help the students within the classrooms. Teacher leadership in classrooms should ensure that learners have been fully engaged in the learning process. However, as noted by teacher D, teacher leaders in the English classroom should "quickly switch between being determined and strict." As argued previously, teachers are supposed to be collaborative leaders and not dictators. They have to work with the students towards achieving the common good for all. Effective leadership is not only ideal in enhancing the student's academic performance, but also in enhancing the teaching profession. The primary focus should be on motivating the learners to succeed within the English classroom, within the school, and even thereafter.

5.1.3.2 Respect

Moreover, respect is two-way traffic, and therefore, teachers should also respect the learners. If the teachers believe in leader supremacy and fail to respect the learners, they will not be respected in return. Based on the responses provided by teacher D, English teachers should be "clear about setting boundaries early when needed." This means that although they might be calm, they need to establish respect for learners. Lack of respect will lead to a sour relationship between the teachers and learners in the English classroom, and the delivery of English instructions will not be as effective as expected.

(28)

24

Teachers are required to handle the classrooms professionally, by respecting the leaners, avoid favouring certain students.

5.1.3.3 Equal treatment of students

Teachers must treat each student in a fair and equal way. The same set of rules must apply to all students. Based on the interview responses, a teacher must be fair and consistent when dealing with students. No students should be favoured more than others, and all must be treated equally and fairly. Teacher leadership should not only be constrained within the classroom if the teachers want to relate well with the learners. The teachers need to consider the lives of the students outside the classrooms. The students need to be given insights on how to handle activities outside the classroom and their future lives after the schools. Organising for games, guidance, and counselling, among other extracurricular activities, keep the learners entertained and active, enhances their relationships with teachers, and translates to improved academic performance within the English classrooms. Teacher leaders have to go the extra mile to promote academic performance.

5.1.3.4 Training

Teachers can effectively develop the necessary leadership styles through training. The training sessions must meet various classroom leadership requirements, such as understanding the learners, developing content that matches the learners, and delivering it in the most appropriate ways. The teacher leaders' training needs to be identified, and then proper training designed to meet the same. Training teachers is crucial because it enhances their leadership skills within the classroom, leading to the enhancement of the teaching profession and delivery of the most appropriate content to the

learners. Teachers who feel that they lack the required classroom leadership skills need to consider attending a training session and other activities, which may be ideal in enabling them to become good leaders in the classrooms.

(29)

25

5.2 Rules and strategies used by English teachers

In classrooms, teachers use various rules and strategies to lead the learners. The rules and the strategies used are mainly designed by the schools, based on how they effectively understand their learners. The school leaders have first-hand information about the learners within the English classes, such as what they want, their interests, and their capabilities. Teacher C noted that "…of course, we follow the school's rules and other rules that may be decided in the college afterwards. It is also important to be collegial." Moreover, teacher A noted that; “just ordinary rules, like everyone else. Some rules I have because our school has decided it.” Rules and strategies adopted within the English classes should be compatible with the anticipated learning goals and objectives. The teachers' leadership position requires them to make the classroom goals and adopt the rules and strategies designed by the schools, which will lead to their materialisation. Some of the commonly used rules and strategies in the English classrooms by the teachers are understanding learners, being engaging, staying positive, being

sensitive, and creating a positive relationship with the students.

5.2.1 Understanding learners

Teachers are not supposed to force things, but teach the students depending on their interests, needs, and wants. Understanding learners is crucial. Teacher A noted that "You need to be able to understand other people, especially pupils. You need to try being consistent." The leadership is expected to be collaborative, where the teachers and the learners hold one on one discussions. The learners have different learning skills, which the teacher needs to factor out in their leadership. Typically, the

teachers group the learners based on their skills and design strategies that have the potential of meeting their specific learning needs and capabilities. Based on the strategy of teaching the learners based on will and skills.

(30)

26

5.2.2 Engaging

The English teachers must focus on expanding their personal learning network by interacting with other teachers and professionals, either physically or online. Teacher B noted that "to be in the classroom when the students arrive and greet them one by one. The same when the lesson is over. I stand up and say goodbye to each and every one." Such interactions equip the teachers with various skills, on how they are supposed to teach the learners, for optimal academic results to be realised.

5.2.3 Staying positive

Learners imitate the teachers because they are their leaders. When the teachers stay positive, the learners also develop the same positive attitude towards their studies. Based on the interview, Teacher D noted that "A calm and empathetic personality while being clear about setting boundaries early when needed. You must also be able to quickly switch between being determined and "strict" and happy and inviting." Despite the challenges faced, teachers need to stay positive by setting goals, stay resilient to hardships and difficulties, and work towards meeting the established goals. A positive mind-set is always crucial for effective class leadership.

5.2.4 Sensitive, compassionate, determined, and culturally responsive

Teachers tend to be culturally responsive in their leadership. Teachers seem to embrace the diversity among the learners; hence, the greatest reason for adopting this strategy. As leaders, teachers have the responsibility of being fair and just when interacting with the leaners. In addition, they are required to show respect to all and avoid favouring any. Adopting culturally sensitive instruction strategies creates an enabling environment for delivering the English content appropriately to the learners within the classrooms. One of the interviewees said that determination and sensitivity are crucial when dealing with students. The teachers do engage the learners in the process of formulating instruction strategies that adhere to the various cultures within the classes, as the teachers cannot effectively master the various cultural needs and requirements without the help of the learners.

(31)

27

Again, students have different learning needs and capabilities, and therefore, the teachers are required to be compassionate, determined, sensitive, and understanding of the needs of English language learners. Teacher leaders should be caring, patient, and kind to their learners. Teacher C noted that "determination and sensitivity" are the key factors that should be integrated into the learning process. Teaching English language in the Swedish education system is not a simple process. Students come from culturally and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds; hence, teachers must be sensitive to these needs.

Understanding students is equally beneficial across all teacher leaders. Teacher A noted that it is good to "try to get to know the pupil and then make a mental note which can differ from student to student." Usually, it is impossible to lead learners efficiently if teachers have not effectively developed adequate knowledge about the learners. Students come from different cultural, geographical, linguistic, and social backgrounds. The knowledge obtained by the teachers should also cover emotional, cognitive, and social development among the learners. Understanding how leaders learn within different

developmental levels enables the teachers to make the right decisions, relating to the decisions they make when delivering English instructions. Similarly, leaners have different understanding abilities that require teacher leaders to adopt tailored instruction strategies to address the varying needs of the learners. Understanding the pace and the capacity of the learners is essential for creating a positive and fruitful teacher-student leadership within the classrooms. When leading in English classrooms,

teachers need to take advantage of the learners' interests and use the same in designing content

delivery. Addressing the learners' needs and interests results to trust and fruitful relationships between the teachers and the learners, thus enhancing the learning process.

5.2.5 Creating a positive relationship with students

Leadership in a classroom setting mainly requires teachers who can generate a constructive affiliation with learners. The interviewed teachers suggested that their primary goal was to relate well with their students and meet their needs to satisfaction. Teacher C noted that;

(32)

28

I think I have a good relationship with my students. I care about the relationships in a group and work a lot with it when I get new groups. Everyone should feel safe. No one should be nervous or worried about making mistakes - we are in school to practice and train.

Teachers have to establish a trusting relationship with the students, as they are crucial in developing a positive, safe, and productive learning context. Teacher leaders are required to listen to the students, get the appropriate and suitable information that the learners need, and address them to satisfaction. Moreover, establishing a positive relationship with the students ensures students feel safe. Teacher A argued that creating a positive relationship with students has "more pros than cons in having a good relationship with your students.” This statement indicates that student relationship is a fundamental part of the learning process.

5.3 Factors contributing to leadership failure in the English

classroom

Not all teachers end up being successful in classroom leadership roles. Various factors lead to teacher leadership failure, based on the responses received from the interviewed teachers. One of the greatest factors is the lack of good relationships with learners. Usually, two people cannot walk together unless they have agreed. Teachers need to relate well with their learners to realise the desired goals. Teachers who cannot build a positive affiliation with learners cannot understand the needs and interests of the learners and end up designing class rules and content that do not satisfy them. Failure to meet the students' needs and interests amounts to teacher leadership failure. Based on the interview session, participants provided a wide variety of causes of leadership failure as discussed below;

5.3.1 Inconvenient decisions

Making inappropriate decisions that do not meet the students' needs can result in the selection of inappropriate learning material, consequently leading to leadership failure. On some occasions,

(33)

29

English teachers can be forced by the management to make inconvenient decisions regarding the delivery of English instructions. Such external force can weaken the teachers' autonomy in making decisions that teachers believe are at the heart of the classroom leadership. In response to the question on what causes leadership failure, teacher D argued that "I think the biggest reason is that they do not stand on their own two feet when they are forced to make an inconvenient decision." Forced decisions regarding English lessons can lower the teacher's passion and reduce the time spent with the learners, thus, destroying the teacher-learners' relationship. Moreover, an inconvenient decision can also result in the delivery of inappropriate English language content, subsequently leading to leadership failure. Therefore, teachers should be allowed to gather relevant information about the learners—such as linguistic and cultural differences, needs, interests, and other preferences—and make decisions autonomously for effective leadership in the delivery of English instructions.

5.3.2 Not understanding students

Limited knowledge about the English students also promotes teacher leadership role failure when it comes to delivering English instructions. In most classroom settings, students have diverse attributes. Therefore, teachers are expected to interact with their students and observe the variation across the students because it affects the delivery of the content and how students learn. Based on the interview, teacher C said that;

You are not compliant, do not show understanding that students can react and behave

differently than you thought. You must not be weak in your planning, at the same time, not too rigid. Students are not allowed to take over; then, you have lost face. You should definitely not lose control. You can mark by irritation or raised voice, but always controlled. In that case, you have to talk about this in the coming time. You must not be provoked. A nice welcome is also important to have.

(34)

30

This statement clearly demonstrates that teacher should understand their students, including their reactions, and respond appropriately. Having a poor understanding of the students can result in weak planning and increased rigidity, which, in turn, affects the teachers' leadership role in English

classrooms. Therefore, teachers should consistently interact with their students to create an optimal environment where students can learn English instructions without unnecessary limitations. Equally, understanding students help the teacher make critical decisions regarding the delivery of instructions in a way that gives them the leadership roles in the selection of the material.

5.3.3 Not being confident

Lack of confidence is a key factor that can lead to leadership (Lowery-Moore et al. (2016). In an English classroom setting, a lack of confidence can affect teacher leadership roles. In other words, putting teachers who lack confidence in charge of English is disastrous. According to teacher A, "if you are not confident in front of your students, they will sense it." In this context, students are most likely to be skeptical about what you are teaching them, consequently resulting in poor delivery of content. Again, teachers without confidence cannot initiate positive changes that will enhance the delivery of the instructions.

(35)

31

6. Conclusion

The concept of teacher leadership is not new and has been studied by scholars for many years. Within the classroom setting, teachers are supposed to execute diverse leadership responsibilities by

facilitating learning and acting as curriculum and instructional specialists. In the Swedish English classroom, teacher leadership is crucial for the effective delivery of English instructions. The introduction of the new curriculum provided the new guidelines in the new methods of teaching foreign languages in the Swedish education system. However, these guidelines are not specific to the teaching methods that should be used in delivering English instructions. In this context, English teachers have freedom of their most preferred instructional strategies. Again, there are no sufficient guidelines that govern the delivery of instructions in an English classroom. Therefore, with such challenges, the concept of teacher leadership in Swedish English classroom becomes unquestionably crucial. However, there is limited research on the specific leadership styles, factors affecting these leadership styles, and strategies that are applicable in the English language learning classroom. Therefore, the focus of this paper is to identify the types of teacher leadership styles, causes of

leadership failure, and strategies used by teacher leaders to ensure effective delivery of instructions in a Swedish English classroom.

Based on the results and findings from the interview with the four teachers, it is evident that there are no specific types of leadership styles that can help in the delivery of instructions in a Swedish

classroom setting. The type of leadership is also dependent on the prevailing situation and group of students. However, teachers use a variety of leadership skills that are key to making their leadership effective. For example, some teachers use skills such as being calm, kind, helpful, and collaboration and exercising control to lead students in delivering the instructions. Moreover, English teachers consider factors such as creating a positive relationship with students, passion, sensitivity and

(36)

32

English instructions. Besides that, it was also found leadership is undermined by inconvenient decisions, lack of understanding that students behave differently, and losing control in the

classroom. On the other hand, strategies used by the teachers to remain effective in the classroom are: engaging learners, staying positive, creating a positive mind-set, and being sensitive and responsive to the student's culture.

These findings are conversant with the existing literature. For example, from this study, it was found that teachers’ leadership is dependent on the situation and the group of the students, as highlighted in the situational leadership theory. Again, leadership was found to vary from one group to another. Nevertheless, this study has limitations such as a small sample size that limits the generalisability of the study findings. In this context, the results of this study cannot be generalised across all the Swedish schools. Again, this study focused on the concept of teacher leadership from the standpoint of English language teachers. Since teacher leadership is a wide concept, it is crucial to determine teachers' role from the perspective of students. Based on these limitations, future studies should focus on identifying the types of leadership styles in the English classroom from the standpoint of students. Future studies should also focus on using a considerably larger sample size that can yield results that can be

(37)

33

7. References

Adams, D., Samat, S. N. A., & Samah, H. A. (2018). Teacher leadership: Going beyond the classroom. International Online Journal of Educational Leadership, 2(1), 1-3.

Berry, B., Daughtrey, A., & Wieder, A. (2010). Teacher leadership: Leading the way to effective teaching and learning. Center for Teaching Quality.

Brown, E. (2013). Native and Non-native English Speaking ESL/EFL Teachers in Sweden: A Study on Students’ Attitudes and Perceptions towards the Teaching Behavior of Native and Non-native English-speaking Teachers.

Buchanan, E. A., & Zimmer, M. (2012). Internet research ethics.

Campbell, T., Wenner, J. A., Brandon, L., & Waszkelewicz, M. (2019). A community of practice model as a theoretical perspective for teacher leadership. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 1-24.

Curry, L. A., Nembhard, I. M., & Bradley, E. H. (2009). Qualitative and mixed methods provide unique contributions to outcomes research. Circulation, 119(10), 1442-1452.

Drobot, L., & Roşu, M. (2012). Teachers' leadership style in the classroom and their impact upon high school students. In International conference of a scientific paper.

Esch, K. S. V. (2018). Teacher leaders as agents of change: Creating contexts for instructional improvement for English learner students. The Elementary School Journal, 119(1), 152-178. Greenier, V. T., & Whitehead, G. E. (2016). Towards a model of teacher leadership in ELT: Authentic

leadership in classroom practice. RELC Journal, 47(1), 79-95.

Harris, A., & Muijs, D. (2004). Improving schools through teacher leadership. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

(38)

34

Johansson, O. (2001). Swedish school leadership in transition: in search of a democratic, learning, and communicative leadership? Pedagogy, Culture, and Society, 9(3), 387-406.

Khany, R., & Ghasemi, F. (2019). Development and validation of teacher classroom leadership scale in the EFL context. International journal of leadership in education, 1-20.

Kim‐Rivera, E. G. (1999). English language education in the Swedish compulsory school. Foreign language annals, 32(2), 234-242.

Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge university press.

Lindqvist, C. (2019). Didactic Challenges in the Multilingual Classroom—The Case of French as a Foreign Language. Second Language Learning and Teaching, 87-99.

Lowery-Moore, H., Latimer, R. M., & Villate, V. M. (2016). The essence of teacher leadership: A phenomenological inquiry of professional growth. International Journal of Teacher Leadership, 7(1), 1-16.

Okilwa, N. S., & Robert, C. (2018). Teacher leadership. The TESOL Encyclopaedia of English Language Teaching, 1-6.

Russell, F. A., & Von Esch, K. S. (2018). Teacher leadership to support English language learners. Phi Delta Kappan, 99(7), 52-56.

Shah, S. R. (2017). The significance of teacher leadership in TESOL: A theoretical perspective. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 8(4).

Sinha, S., & Hanuscin, D. L. (2017). Development of teacher leadership identity: A multiple case study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 356-371.

Thompson, G., & Glasø, L. (2018). Situational leadership theory: a test from a leader-follower congruence approach. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.

(39)

35

Toth, J. (2018). English-medium instruction for young learners in Sweden: A longitudinal case study of a primary school class in a bilingual English-Swedish school (Doctoral dissertation, Department of Language Education, Stockholm University).

Wattleton, F. (2000). Teachers as leaders. Retrieved March 8, 2016.

Wenner, J. A., & Campbell, T. (2017). The theoretical and empirical basis of teacher leadership: A review of the literature. Review of educational research, 87(1), 134-171.

White, B. A. A., Pearson, K., Bledsoe, C., & Hendricks, R. (2017). Transformational leadership: The nexus between faith and classroom leadership. Christian Higher Education, 16(5), 276-284. Whitehead, G. E., & Greenier, V. T. (2019). Beyond good teaching practices: language teacher

(40)

36

Appendix 1: Interview questions

1. How long have you been working as a teacher? What work experience do you have in addition to the teaching profession?

2. How long have you been working in this school?

3. What does " leadership" mean to you? 4. What kind of leader do you think you are?

5. What does a successful leader need to include in his teaching? 6. How do you think a teacher can be an effective leader in the classroom? 7. How do you think a teacher can develop a good relationship with students who interfere with teaching?

8. What do you think is the reason why some teachers are unable to manage their classes and fail in their leadership role?

9. Have you received or been offered any leadership training during your working years as a teacher? 10. Do you think having good subject knowledge can replace leadership skills?

11. Do you think that the type of leadership depends on the group of students?

12. Do you consider that your leadership varies depending on the situation? Why? How? Explain? Do you think you have a good relationship with your students? Does your relationship affect your

leadership?

13. What strategies and rules do you have in class? Who has decided them? 14. Have you ever felt hopeless and couldn't handle the class? What did you do?