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Cambridge Journal of Education
ISSN: 0305-764X (Print) 1469-3577 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ccje20
Becoming teacher leaders in Israel: a meaning-
making model
Pninit Russo-Netzer & Anat Shoshani
To cite this article: Pninit Russo-Netzer & Anat Shoshani (2018): Becoming teacher
leaders in Israel: a meaning-making model, Cambridge Journal of Education, DOI:
10.1080/0305764X.2018.1533524
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2018.1533524
Published online: 01 Nov 2018.
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Becoming teacher leaders in Israel: a meaning-making model
Pninit Russo-Netzer and Anat Shoshani
Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Herzliya, Israel
ABSTRACT
Consensus is growing that teacher leadership benefits teaching
quality and student performance. Despite the recognition that
teacher leadership contributes to teachers’professional develop-
ment, little is known about how it is developed and how teachers
experience the transition to the teacher-leader role. This study
explores the internal mechanisms underlying the transition to
and formation of teachers’professional identity as teacher leaders.
It is based on 60 interviews: 41 teachers who were selected to
participate in a leadership training programme, 10 principals and
19 teacher-leaders’colleagues. The findings led to a model with
four central components: (1) Overall professional identity; (2) The
experience of ‘being chosen;’(3) An internal meaning-making
process; and (4) External forces.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 6 November 2017
Accepted 4 October 2018
KEYWORDS
Teacher leaders; professional
identity; meaning-making
Teaching is generally perceived as a flat profession, meaning one lacking substantial
trajectories or opportunities for growth and leadership for those who are successful in it
(Taylor, Yates, Meyer, & Kinsella, 2011). Although most teachers acquire knowledge,
experience and skills throughout their career, their major responsibilities often remain
limited to the classroom alone. Furthermore, the traditional markers of career devel-
opment in other professions, such as decision-making authority, a change of status or a
pay rise, are rare (Fiarman, Johnson, Munger, Papay, & Qazilbash, 2009). The perceived
lack of alternative development options and professional growth for teachers has been
found to be associated with boredom and decreased professional satisfaction
(Katzenmeyer & Moller, 2001; Margolis & Deuel, 2009). In the hierarchical structure
of schools today, the principal is often the leader of the school and perceived as the
main decision-maker (e.g. Pugalee, Frykholm, & Shaka, 2001). Yet, it has been increas-
ingly recognised that teachers can also serve as educational leaders in their schools
(York-Barr & Duke, 2004) as they are in a key position to influence the creation and
implementation of successful educational practices (Michaeli & Sommer, 2014). In
accordance with these assertions, teacher leadership has become an important compo-
nent in school improvement and advancement (Criswell & Rushton, 2013), reflecting a
growing recognition of its key role in motivating bottom-up collaborative learning
(Leithwood & Jantzi, 2000) through the facilitation of knowledge sharing and profes-
sional development in teachers’learning communities (Flores, 2007). This study
CONTACT Pninit Russo-Netzer pninit.russonetzer@gmail.com Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary
Center (IDC) Herzliya, 46150; Department of Counseling and Human Development, University of Haifa, Israel
CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF EDUCATION
https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2018.1533524
© 2018 University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education
examined teachers’perceptions of and experiences during their transition to the
professional identity of teacher leaders. By focusing on the participants as they began
to formulate their identities as teacher leaders, the study was able to identify the central
processes that characterise the transformation of their identity as a teacher to the new
identity as a teacher leader.
Teacher leadership
The notion of teacher leadership has been studied and developed mainly in the United
States, Canada and Australia and emphasises the need to redistribute power and
authority in schools (Muijs & Harris, 2006). In Israel, where this study was conducted,
this represents a rather new phenomenon in the educational system, and a result of a
recent initiative by the Ministry of Education, which sought to introduce a shift in
teachers’professional development towards collegial engagement in school learning
communities –one that would be spearheaded by leading teachers. This move, in turn,
provided a unique opportunity for closely exploring the transitional experience of
becoming a leading teacher. Furthermore, and in terms of power distribution, Israel
is considered as exhibiting a small cultural power distance, scoring 13 on the Power
Distance Index (PDI; Hofstede, 2013) survey that encompassed 56 countries and
regions. In this respect, it also provides an interesting arena for exploring changes in
the construction of professional identity such as to challenge the existing power
distribution and traditional hierarchical structure characterised by such authoritarian
figures as school principals. Evidence confirms that teacher leadership is a significant
internal catalyst for school improvement and progress (Hipkins, 2001), contributing to
enduring and positive processes of change (Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2008).
Despite the large number of approaches and definitions of teacher leadership cur-
rently (Katzenmeyer & Moller, 1996), York-Barr and Duke’s(2004) integrative con-
ceptual framework reflects their common elements: ‘the process by which teachers,
individually or collectively, influence their colleagues, principals, and other members of
school communities to improve teaching and learning practices with the aim of
increased student learning and achievement’(pp. 287–288). In terms of the distributed
leadership theory, which has been suggested as a framework for thinking about teacher
leadership as one which involves all members of the school community, not just the
principal (Spillane, 2005), attention is drawn to ‘collective responsibility and collabora-
tive working’(Frost & Harris, 2003, p. 480).
The leadership practice is thus viewed as the product of routine and daily interac-
tions between teachers, principals, school staff, students and the broader community
(Spillane, 2013), highlighting the importance of social networks for teachers. The
significance of relationships to the function of teacher leaders (Fairman & Mackenzie,
2015) is further reflected in recent descriptions as engagement ‘in the daily work by
modeling new instructional practices, collaborating with colleagues to improve student
learning, and fostering a generally more productive school culture’(Bond, 2011, p. 287).
These conceptions convey an important challenge implicit in this professional oppor-
tunity for teacher leaders to influence their communities. Given that they are both
teachers and leaders, they are required to lead their colleagues and to be valued by them
(Bottery, 2004; York-Barr & Duke, 2004). The informal component of the role of
2P. RUSSO-NETZER AND A. SHOSHANI
influencing their colleagues is not based on their formal position or authority, but
rather on personal, interpersonal elements and may even occur unintentionally (Cortez-
Ford, 2008). This may introduce further pressure and expectations to the duties and
responsibilities already carried by the teachers (Bottery, 2004). Nevertheless, a formal
shift in their job definitions influences their social-professional relations within the
school and may even have negative repercussions, as other school members may
perceive them differently as the leading teachers step out of the ‘teachers zone’
(Struyve, Meredith, & Gielen, 2014). This highlights the importance of addressing the
component of such identity shift as an important component in programmes of
teachers’education (e.g. Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009) and in particular how teachers
themselves experience and make sense of it within changing contexts, while taking into
account the effects of such a context on the shaping of and changes in a teacher’s
identity (e.g. Smagorinsky, Moore, Cook, Jackson & Fry, 2004).
Regardless of the skills learned in the teacher leadership development programmes
(Crowther, Kaagan, Ferguson, & Hann, 2002; Harris, 2003; Lambert, 2002; Gul, 2016),
teacher leaders may find it difficult to implement these skills when they return to their
school, depending on its environment and culture (Snoek & Volman, 2014). Successful
application requires conditions such as professional trust (Smylie, Mayrowetz, Murphy,
& Louis, 2008), minimal role ambiguity (Cortez-Ford, 2008), support from adminis-
trators (Birky, Shelton, & Headley, 2006; Harris, 2013) and perceived autonomy
(Scribner, Sawyer, Watson, & Myers, 2007). These imply the importance of gaining a
deeper understanding of how teachers experience the transition to the new role of
teacher leader and the challenges accompanying it. Carroll and Levy (2010), for
instance, show that leadership development can be seen as identity construction that
enhances a sense of agency. Yet, although teachers’professional identity is recognised as
an essential component of teacher leadership, it has received relatively scant attention
(e.g. Cortez-Ford, 2008). More specifically, the psychological aspect of how teacher
identity develops has received limited scholarly attention, as Rodgers and Scott (2008)
indicated: ‘left largely unexplored by this literature, however, is the black box of how
teachers should go about making the psychological shift from being authored by these
forces to authoring their own stories, and how teacher educators might facilitate this
process’(p. 733). The present study aims at filling this gap by exploring the experience
of change in teachers’identity in the critical liminal phase in the process of ‘becoming’
teacher leaders, reflecting a transitional state from a previous status into a space of
‘betwixt and between’(Turner, 1981) through their own perspective. In addition, this
study approaches the processes of leading teachers’identity formation from the rela-
tively novel point of view of the teachers’principals and colleagues.
Professional identity development
Professional identity has a significant effect on relationships, performance, work engage-
ment, satisfaction and career choices (Gul, 2016). It is commonly viewed as a develop-
mental process, which unfolds over the years and integrates internal (Slay & Smith, 2011;
Weinrach, Thomas, & Chan, 2001) and external-contextual factors (Clarke, Hyde, &
Drennan, 2013). Specifically, teachers’professional identity is based on their experiences
in school, role construct and school culture (Day, Kington, Stobart, & Sammons, 2006).
CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 3
Yet, it is also influenced by their knowledge of their selves (Kelchtermans &
Vandenberghe, 1994), that is, their personal life events and experiences (Acker, 1999).
Both of these affect teachers’satisfaction, commitment and motivation, as well as self-
identification as teachers (e.g. Woods, Jeffrey, Troman, & Boyle, 1997).
In the process of formulating a professional identity, a lack of consistency between
the identity attributed to an individual teacher by others and the identity that the
teacher claims on his or her own may trigger a professional identity crisis. This relates
to the manner in which individuals make meaning of their experiences. According to
the meaning-making model, perceived discrepancies between appraised meaning of a
particular situation and global meaning (i.e. general orienting systems of beliefs and
goals) create distress, which generates meaning-making efforts to reduce it (Park, 2013).
Thus, the experience of a discrepancy in professional identity may, in turn, lead to a
process of reconstruction, a change in the work environment or a modification of
organisational structures. It may even affect perceptions with regard to education and
teaching (Bolívar & Domingo, 2006).
As the construction of professional identity is responsive to contextual influences
such as school culture, teacher-principal and teacher-colleagues relationships may
either impede or facilitate teacher leadership (e.g. York-Barr & Duke, 2004).
Moreover, teacher leadership may cause role ambiguity since not all parties perceive
the leadership role and its responsibilities in a similar manner (Lashway, 1998). Such
potential challenges may be intensified when a teacher is promoted to a leadership role.
For example, when leadership was granted to teachers rather than gradually earned,
these roles were viewed as less legitimate, which may hinder receiving respect from
their colleagues and impede teacher collaboration and distributed leadership (Riordan,
2003). This illuminates the need for a better understanding of how teachers come to see
themselves as teacher leaders.
In sum, teacher leadership has been recognised as a fruitful area of educational research
over the past three decades (Crowther et al., 2002;Harris,2003; Lambert, 2002). However,
most of the research to date has been mainly devoted to exploring the qualifications,
development and impacts of teacher leadership (Smylie & Mayrowetz, 2009). This study
aimed to expand the scope of the research by shedding more light on the internal
mechanisms underlying the transition to and formation of the professional identity of
teacher leaders. Thus this study addresses the unique liminal phase or the period of
transition, in which teachers’identity as leading teachers has been shaped, and the teachers
move to the threshold of new experiences and possibilities, and also possible challenges.
Focusing on the experience of such liminal phase where ‘the cognitive schemata that
give sense and order to everyday life no longer apply but are, as it were, suspended’
(Turner, 1981; p. 161) enables a more complex and nuanced understanding of teacher
leaders’identity formation. More specifically, this study asks: How do teachers perceive
this potential professional identity shift as they evolve from teachers into teacher leaders?
Method
The present study aimed to explore how teachers who had just been chosen to take part
in a new programme for teacher leaders in Israel experience this initial stage of
transition in their professional identity from a traditional teacher to a teacher leader.
4P. RUSSO-NETZER AND A. SHOSHANI
Thus, the study utilised a bottom-up, open-ended qualitative approach. The primary
interest of a qualitative design is grasping how individuals ascribe meaning to or
interpret a given experience or phenomenon (e.g. Hodge, 2001; Merriam, 1998). In so
doing, this study follows calls advocating the application of naturalistic inquiry in the
evaluation of a teacher education programme (Aksamit, Hall, & Ryan, 1990).
Participants
As the idea of teacher leadership is rather new in the Israeli education system, the
participants chosen for the present study were all of the teachers who took part in the
first round of a teacher leadership programme in order to explore how the transition in
their professional identity from a traditional teacher to a teacher leader role is experi-
enced by them. As the focus of the present study was the exploration of the experience
of such an initial transition phase, where the participants strive to make sense of the
new situation, negotiate shifting conceptions of teaching and leadership, and construct
their new identity as teacher leaders, the interviews were conducted with teachers
several weeks following their selection to the programme. Also, interviewing the
teachers’principals and colleagues allowed a broader perspective to be gained on how
such an initial stage of transition is manifested, played out and perceived.
The sample included a total of 41 teachers (seven men and 34 women) from 10
different public schools in Israel: six elementary schools and four high schools. The
schools represent different geographical regions in Israel (from north to south) and
include six Jewish schools (n= 28), three schools from the Arab sector (n= 9) and one
from the Bedouin sector (n= 4). Each teacher agreed to participate in this research
voluntarily. The teachers were recruited to participate in a nationwide teacher leader-
ship development programme by their principals: each principal selected two to six
teachers based on a few general characteristics (commitment and involvement in the
school, openness to learning, and desire and ability to influence the school environ-
ment). Participants ranged in age from 26 to 60 (M= 42.03, SD = 7.8). Most
participants were experienced teachers with 16.98 years of experience in the profession
on average (SD = 7.41). Most of the teachers (70.7%) hold a bachelor’s degree (BA) and
29.3% hold a master’s degree (MA).
In order to broaden the perspective regarding the phenomenon explored, a multi-
source approach was employed. The use of multi-source or triangulation enables the
generation of a more complete, holistic and contextual portrait of the phenomenon
under study (Ghauri & Grønhaug, 2002), and also the ability to ensure validation
(Schwandt, 2007). Gathering data from different data sources facilitates deeper under-
standing of a phenomenon by clarifying its meaning through an exploration from the
different ways it is seen (Denzin, 1989; Flick, 1992). In the present study, this approach
was employed through semi-structured interviews, which were also carried out with the
principals and selected colleagues of the teachers at each of the schools. Overall, 10
principals and 19 colleagues were interviewed from the various schools. Each of the
principals chose approximately two colleagues to be interviewed based on a few criteria:
seniority of at least four years at the school; involvement in school life; not part of the
school’s management team; and not chosen to participate in the teacher leaders’
programme. These colleagues were chosen due to their familiarity with the school’s
CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 5
culture and community, so exploring their perceptions regarding the new function of
teacher leadership in their schools enriched and deepened the understandings gained
from the study.
The teacher leaders programme
The Israeli Ministry of Education designed this initiative to develop teacher leadership
in a formal, nationwide move. This initiative aimed to cultivate a middle layer of
leadership in schools, by teachers and for teachers, in order to change learning cultures
in Israel. This middle layer of leadership is expected to facilitate ongoing professional
development of their colleagues in schools to enable improvement in teaching and
learning practices based on their wisdom of practice (Lieberman & Friedrich, 2010;
York-Barr & Duke, 2004). As part of this initiative to promote teacher leadership, a
two-year training programme was developed for teachers of first to twelfth grade from
all parts of the country.
The programme included regional group meetings, personal guidance meetings and
several large-scale national seminars. In terms of content, the programme focused on
three main areas: (a) cultivation of educational-pedagogical conceptualisations to enable
teachers to lead collaborative pedagogical discourse; (b) cultivation of the teachers’
leadership, self-efficacy and confidence to motivate colleagues and change processes in
their schools; and (c) creation of organisational structures, routines and rituals at
schools in order to establish and support changes in learning and teaching cultures.
Data collection and analysis
Semi-structured, face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted at a place and time of
the participants’choosing; each interview lasted approximately 60–90 minutes. The
interviews were conducted at an initial stage, when teachers had just been selected for
or were just beginning the training programme, and thus constituted an initial exposure
to reflective exploration of their new role as teacher leaders. Prior to the beginning of
each interview, the participants were given a detailed explanation of the research and
their rights. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.
The analysis of the interview transcripts followed a four-step process. First, in order
to get an overall sense of the teachers’attitudes and perceptions, each transcript was
read independently and separately from beginning to end. Second, meaning units (i.e. a
significant statement that characterised each interview) were identified by line-by-line
coding (Charmaz, 2006) to identify the manner in which each participant experiences
the phenomenon under study by asking: ‘Which processes and meanings are expressed
in each line, sentence and paragraph? How, when and why are they expressed?’and so
on. This process of ‘open coding’(Strauss & Corbin, 1990) enabled identification of
patterns and determination of the meaning units as they appear in the text. Third,
major themes were gathered into categories, within and between interviews. These
categories enabled comparison between the interviews (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) and a
broader understanding of teachers’internal and external processes. The final step
included a holistic examination of themes and their interrelations, to gain a broad
understanding of the participants’experiences.
6P. RUSSO-NETZER AND A. SHOSHANI
During the data collection and analysis, researchers constantly addressed the issues
of credibility and confirmability (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Following Shenton (2004), site
triangulation was achieved by interviewing teachers from a number of schools, of varied
characteristics, as well as through the perspectives of other related figures such as
principals and colleagues. The research team conducted numerous debriefing sessions
during the period of collection and analysis, before and after each of the aforemen-
tioned steps. Coding, thematic and categorical analysis were conducted in parallel
segments and the information was circulated and discussed among the researchers,
ensuring scrutiny. This procedure enabled a close reading of the phenomenology of the
participants’experience, thus certifying confirmability.
Findings
Interviewing the participants in the initial stage of being chosen to become teacher
leaders enabled us to gain understanding regarding their subjective experience and its
meaning as part of such a potential change in their professional identity. The analysis
yielded four central themes, which comprise the participants’experience of ‘being
chosen:’(1) Overall professional identity, which refers to the participants’global or
overall comprehension of what it means to be a teacher. This includes both self-
perception of the teaching profession and socially constructed perceptions regarding
the teaching profession that were derived from their socialisation and exposure to
cultural habitus. (2) ‘Being chosen’, which refers to the experience of being externally
singled out or ‘marked’as a potential teacher leader, a new and ambiguous role. This
appeared to challenge and destabilise the participants’existing overall professional
teaching identity and led to the following two components, which are both dynamic
processes. (3) Meaning-making, which refers to the participants’internal process of
evaluation of the new reality they are facing. This process involved three interrelated
ingredients: (a) motivation, (b) perceived availability of personal resources, and (c) the
exposure of core personal orientation, which we have termed ‘first nature’(i.e. ‘teacher’
vs. ‘leader’). (4) External forces, which refers to interactions with principals’and
colleagues’expectations and responses to the new situation.
Overall, the first component provides the context of the teachers’professional
identity, which the status of ‘being chosen’(second component) pervades, while the
last two components focus on the participants’attempts to cope with the new and
ambiguous circumstances, both internally and externally, in an ongoing manner.
Together, these components form a dynamic model of how a transition to the role of
teacher leader unfolds and is experienced (see Figure 1). It is important to note, though,
that while the process is presented here in a linear form, as each component is built
upon its predecessor, in practice they appear to occur simultaneously.
Overall professional identity
The interface between the socially and the self-constructed understanding of the teach-
ing profession comprises participants’overall professional identity. This image merges
the teachers’self-perceptions regarding their role of a teacher with how it has been
perceived by others. The latter includes but is not limited to their family and friends,
CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 7
communities, the education system as a whole, the media, social and cultural norms,
values and expectations. According to the participants, the profession suffers from low
social prestige and appreciation in the general surrounding society. They frequently
expressed their wish that ‘the teaching profession would be valued by people for the
hard work that is being done’(Doreen; all names are pseudonyms to protect the privacy
and anonymity of the participants). The profession’s low prestige and status adds to the
teachers’sense of being overwhelmed with chores involving paperwork or bureaucracy,
which are not always relevant to their role: ‘you get blown away by all sorts of reports
you need to fill out . . . a flood of paperwork that consumes time and energy’(Keren).
Similarly, Judith reported: ‘I feel I am spending hours and hours on paperwork, time
that otherwise could have been used to improve my teaching skills.’
Another prominent feature of the teaching profession refers to its perceived
boundaries, which are seen as confining and as primarily oriented towards measur-
able achievements. Dana, for example, expressed her concern that ‘[the system]
wants to see the grades at the end of the year . . . eventually everything is measured
by grades’.Thus,asstudents’evaluation and measurement are constantly at play, the
teachers must serve as knowledge-providers, which is often not in alignment with the
teachers’aspirations and beliefs. Keren, for example, explained, ‘what the system
actually wants from the pupils is to learn the theoretical knowledge. . .. I believe that
what needs to be promoted is more of a meaningful, values education.’The parti-
cipants also related to the setting in which the teaching takes place, the conventional
classroom, which appears to be in tension with what was repeatedly described by the
participants as ‘breaking down the walls’. Shiran explained it as her desire to ‘take
them [the students] out of this classroom, this fixed position of [being confined by]
four walls day after day. ... I want to take them outside, to really show them all that
is out there.’Taken together, the overall perceived professional identity of what it
means to be a teacher that emerges from the participants’accounts highlights a few
Figure 1. Becoming leading teachers: a meaning-making model.
8P. RUSSO-NETZER AND A. SHOSHANI
central ingredients: the rather low prestige the teachers believe society assigns to
their role, alongside demanding bureaucratic chores and perceived image of knowl-
edge-provider within the rather fixed setting of the traditional classroom. These
appear to produce tension with the participants’desire to influence in a broader
manner through education on values and reflect the background in which the
participants construct their professional identity development.
Being chosen
The participants’selection for a teacher leaders’programme by their principals was
accompanied by ambiguity, given the novelty of this function in the educational system
and the uncertainty regarding what this new and unfamiliar role would entail. During
the interviews, the participants were asked to describe what they believe a teacher leader
is. Adi attempted to do so:
. . . [breathing] . . . ummm. . .. I don’t know . . . to be like someone that is . . . that is willing to
give of himself, but also know, I mean, someone that also ummm . . . is knowledgeable. ...
Someone who is also willing to share, someone that has knowledge and is willing to share. ...
The pauses and difficulty in finding the words to define teacher leadership may testify to
the challenge in addressing the full meaning of the new anticipated role. Despite the
sparse information, the word ‘leader’appeared to arouse implicit assumptions. Whereas
typical school hierarchy is top-town (principal–teacher–pupil), the title evoked images
portraying potential movement to more horizontal structures of leading their peers,
through ‘teamwork and the ability to lead something new’(Vivian). The participants
understood their new role as teacher leaders as differing significantly from their
generally perceived professional identity, which was described earlier. In line with
this, being chosen led to the dismantling of existing perspectives and triggered sig-
nificant ripples, uprooting the teachers from their comfort zones and casting them into
the ambiguity of the new and unknown. Such a change in existing order involved new
external expectations and responses from their peers and principals. This change also
set in motion an internal process of meaning-making and reorganisation.
Meaning-making process
In response to the challenge of being chosen, the participants’internal efforts to meet
the new conditions involved an appraisal of the meaning of their new role in compar-
ison with their motivation to perform it, as well as of the presence or absence of
available resources. Interestingly, this internal dialogue also underscored the partici-
pants’self-perception with regard to their ‘first nature’, traced to their deeply rooted
personal orientations. Overall, this theme includes three interrelated ingredients: (a)
motivation, (b) perceived availability of personal resources, and (c) the exposure of core
personal orientation, or ‘first nature’(i.e. ‘teacher’vs. ‘leader’).
Motivation
Reflecting on the new role offered to them, the participants voiced their motivation to
commit to the new role as corresponding with their personal motivation to contribute
CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 9
to the greater good. This mostly related to dedication (‘I am the last one to leave the
school in the evening. . ., I come here on my free time and on my days off’[Rebecca])
and passion to contribute to the school (‘I come here with a smile and with so much
passion’[Dorit]). The school was repeatedly described as a ‘second home’:‘this is my
home, the second one. I am invested here as much as I am invested in my own private
home’(Lee). The word ‘love’was mentioned repeatedly and demonstrated the partici-
pants’strong sense of belonging, such as ‘school for me is my whole world’(Yael). Such
an emotional connection to the school as an organisation and community was reflected
in the strong motivation to contribute to it and influence its environment positively, for
example: ‘I imagine myself influencing my work environment, my school team and,
further, my community’(Aden), and ‘to contribute to the system is like making the
desert bloom, to renovate, to have a vision and fulfil it in practice’(Dina). Overall, as
part of the participants’personal evaluation of their new role, questions emerge with
regard to their motivation and incentives to undertake the new and ambiguous role.
The motivations that participants voiced appear to align with their discontent with the
current status of the teaching profession (as expressed in the overall professional
identity section above) and their desire for greater influence on their surrounding
environment.
Availability of resources
Alongside the exploration of personal motivations, the participants also voiced an
examination of the personal resources available. The investment of time, for example,
was frequently mentioned as a required resource for optimal functioning as a teacher
leader: ‘In my regular teaching work it already feels like I am taking time away from my
family. . .. I want to do it [be a teacher leader], but it is difficult with all the workload, to
suddenly have more tasks’(Reut). Similarly, Gal explained that such a role ‘requires
commitment and effort, it requires time. It will come at the expense of my free time and
time with my kids . . . [but on the other hand] I want to open up, learn new things’.
These instances imply the tension experienced between the desire to have time available
for family and leisure on the one hand and the anticipated benefits of the new role on
the other hand. The resource of time was frequently related in the participants’accounts
to support. In sum, as part of the participants’attempt to make sense of the new reality
at hand, motivation and the availability of resources were explored and pondered to
evaluate personal willingness, capability and emotional availability to take on new
commitments involved with the new role.
First nature
The analysis of the interviews enabled us to identify another component of the
participants’internal meaning-making process, which refers to their deeply rooted
personal orientations or inclinations, which we termed ‘first nature’. It is important to
note, however, that this should not be understood as a binary phenomenon which
assumes a zero sum, but rather a nuanced continuum. Furthermore, combinations of
these inclinations may also be an option as they can be associated with more than a
single orientation.
10 P. RUSSO-NETZER AND A. SHOSHANI
Leader
Some teachers described themselves as natural leaders, a characteristic that does not
require external ratification and can even be traced to an early age. For example, Hagit
explained: ‘the title [of a teacher leader] is not what turns me into a leader.. .. I was already
like that before.. .. I always felt like I was leading teams.’Aden also voiced a rather similar
experience: ‘I lead my own household and at school I constantly initiate a number of social
projects without being asked to .. . [this] is what makes a leader, his motivation, his
initiatives and his abilities.’Dorit described her story of being ‘the leader type’through her
experiences as a scout-guide, head of the student council at her school and her strong
desire to lead the next generation. Others reflected on their innate communication skills,
portraying them as clear and sharp, thus placing them in a solid leading position as they
‘can reach out if there are problems with fellow teachers, for example, I know how to
search for a way to reach out and lead . . . this is who I am’(Lilach).
Teacher
Another dominant orientation that emerged leans towards being a teacher, which was
presented as a lifelong orientation. Several participants recounted early experiences
playing the role of teachers as children, such as Orna who noted, ‘as a kid, I always
was pretending to be a teacher, teaching my friends and siblings. It’s like this profession
is a part of me.’A dominant theme in this orientation was that being a teacher is ever-
present, and rather than a job, it is who they are, ‘twenty-four hours a day’(Vivian). For
some, it is such a dominant characteristic of their personality, to the point of ‘talking to
my daughter with my teacher tone’(Michal), and being recognised as teachers in their
social circles through their ‘voice, intonation and teacher-like expressions’(Liron). Such
phrases surfaced when the participants attempt to make sense of the new circumstances,
indicating that across time and contexts these interviewees hold a basic orientation to
be a teacher.
To conclude, being chosen to become teacher leaders triggered questions such as
‘why me?’, which the participants had to answer for themselves as well as for others.
Such internal dialogue involved attempts to make sense through evaluation, processing
and examination of personal motivation, resources, capabilities and challenges, as well
as how the new role and commitments correspond to more basic orientations and
tendencies. These may reflect the participants’tendency to seek secure bases or stable
foundations to grasp in the face of challenging and ambiguous circumstances and thus
reduce uncertainty. It is important to note, however, that each of the components
described (i.e. motivation, resources and first nature) does not stand alone but, rather,
interacts with the others. The interplay between them appears to enable the participants
to restore a sense of coherence and balance. These internal processes do not occur in a
vacuum, but also are constantly influenced by external forces shaped by the partici-
pants’interactions with their surroundings.
External forces
The participants perceived the new role as involving taking on a more dominant
position and possibly changing their work relations with their colleagues. This raised
concerns that were common to many participants: ‘How am I going to do it? If I say
CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 11
one thing, what will they say? Will they accept it or not? If not, will that affect our
relationship?’(Roslana). The participants specifically referred to concerns and worries
related to their peers, such as hurting colleagues due to their performance of the role:
It touches a personal weakness of mine, to do things that may hurt others . . . and in this
new role, there may be a pressure to succeed, to do things differently than I used to before,
and it’s not easy. I worry, because I can’t harm or hurt others in the process. (Rafik)
Others expressed specific concerns around criticism:
Honestly, I have concerns that not all the teachers [her colleagues] will see my feedback
[following formal observations of them] in a positive manner . . . not all of them will be
able to accept my presence in a non-threatening way. They should approach it as
constructive feedback, but they may see it as criticism. (Rona)
These concerns appear to add tension to the general sense of ambiguity around the
new role:
I don’t exactly know how to actually do it, it is all very blurry and unclear . . . do I have the
tools to manage this role? I mean, if I’ll say X, or behave Z, what will they say? How will
they react? (Lea)
The need for their colleagues’support and approval was notable throughout the
participants’accounts.
In a complementary manner, interviews with the participants’principals revealed
how the new situation was perceived from the other end. The principals learned about
the training programme through an email, a bulletin or a seminar, and were only partly
informed about its contents. Nonetheless, the scarcity of available information did not
prevent them from setting high expectations for their future teacher leaders. For
example, Nur, a principal, shared her expectation that her teacher leaders would ‘lead
the school’s team. They [teacher leaders] cannot just come to class to teach and then go
home. They are in a different position now.’Dalia, another principal, said: ‘currently I
am the only engine that pulls all the teachers behind me, and I want to see a change . ..
that they [teacher leaders] will come and tell me, “we want to do this, let’s do that”.’The
principals also voiced the expectation that the teacher leaders would commit to the new
role and the responsibilities it entails:
I don’t see how someone who is not committed, loyal enough to the system can be fitasa
teacher leader . .. when someone takes such a role, he or she becomes a representative, it’s
a managerial role. They need to represent the system and lead, which is not easy as they are
also teachers who experience day-to-day challenges. (Lia)
Thus, in the eyes of the principals, teacher leaders are expected to be both teachers
and leaders, to work with their peers and students, and to take an active leadership role,
in a semi-managerial manner.
It is significant that not only the participants were conscious of the new role’s
ambiguity, but also their colleagues. While some principals shared the available infor-
mation with their staff, informing them about their colleagues’participation in the
programme, others made no clear announcement. Such ambiguity often led to obvious
indications of jealousy of the teachers that were chosen coupled with a tense atmo-
sphere at school. Ella explained it by saying, ‘If there is a new programme at school,
12 P. RUSSO-NETZER AND A. SHOSHANI
everyone should know about it . . . such a secret leads to quarrels, a competition among
teachers, and to jealousy’. Diana was explicitly angry at the teacher leaders and her
principal:
They [teacher leaders] don’t talk about it . . . maybe because they feel uncomfortable about
it, ashamed because they were chosen to be in this programme at the expense of others . ..
others need to participate too. You know what? I wanted to punch the principal for
choosing these two teachers to be in the programme.
Hanin, another colleague, articulated her desire to develop professionally and be selected
for the programme as well: ‘It is important for me to be professional too, that I will be a strong
teacher, as an educator, a coordinator, that I will be knowledgeable. It’s an opportunity.’
Hence, with little to no information on the programme, a blend of envy and a sense of
injustice appeared to accompany the chosen teacher leaders’experience and was expressed in
various responses from their colleagues such as rivalry, contempt, resistance or underestima-
tion of the new role, suggesting that the new role is not really that different from existing roles
already filled by other teachers. Marina, a colleague, claimed: ‘I can point at many teachers in
our school that lead projects and different programmes. . .. Frankly, each of us leads . . . you
can say that all of our teachers here are teacher leaders.’Theratherpervasiveopposition
expressed by the participants’colleagues, coupled with their principals’high expectations,
appears to affect the future teacher leaders. In other words, the participants were not only
challenged with their own personal uncertainty and doubts, but were also compelled to take
new expectations into consideration and to face resistance as they step out of existing
patterns. Formerly equal to their peers, they were now challenged to define the meaning of
their new role and thus redefine their position in the school hierarchy.
In summary, the findings of the present study highlight the complex experience of
the future teacher leaders. The participants’overall professional identity, comprising
beliefs, goals and a subjective sense of meaning, was shaken, triggering a need for re-
evaluation. The ambiguity of the new role spurred a search for comprehensibility to
restore a sense of internal meaning to their evolving professional identity. The internal
meaning-making process, a synergic evaluation of their motivation, available resources
and first nature, took place simultaneously in the face of challenging external forces.
Taken together, the ‘meaning-made’of these constantly evolving processes may yield a
variety of outcomes with regard to the likelihood of change in the participants’profes-
sional identity and the way they react. These outcomes may range from the rejection of
new elements and opportunities involved with the new role to transformation by
adjustment and modification of the self to the new situation. In between these extremes,
participants could adopt some elements, while rejecting others. Whichever change in
professional identity may occur for each of the participants, it is likely to be manifested
both internally, within the self at the level of being, and externally, as the level of doing
and behaving in the face of external reality and interpersonal relations.
Discussion
Educational leadership research and application has been on the rise around the world
(Bottery, 2004). For the most part, literature in the field of teacher leadership has
remained largely focused on exploring the definitions, characteristics, training, roles,
CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 13
conditions and effects of teacher leadership (Reeves & Lowenhaupt, 2016; Smylie &
Mayrowetz, 2009), creating a need to deepen understanding of the processes through
which teacher leadership develops (York-Barr & Duke, 2004). The present study
extends previous research in the field by focusing on teacher leaders’professional
identity development and thus joins efforts exploring teachers’professional identity,
an emerging research area that has been on the rise during the last two decades
(Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004). More specifically, this study focuses on the unique
phase of the transition from dedicated teachers into a new position of ‘teacher leaders’,
who can facilitate professional development and instructional improvement of their
colleagues. This study also presents a four-component model of meaning-making that
may serve as a conceptual framework for better understanding of the processes under-
lying the experience of professional identity transition and reconstruction among future
teacher leaders. In what follows, the model will be discussed in terms of the dialectic
between internal and external forces that emerge and interact as part of the participants’
meaning-making process.
Processes of meaning-making in the construction of new professional
identity
In accordance with Kerby’s(1991) suggestion that professional identity constitutes an endur-
ing process of interpretation and reinterpretation of experiences, the present study, based
mainly on the experiences of teachers, attests to the dynamic nature of evolving professional
identity of teacher leaders. The participants’overallprofessionalidentity,whichwaslargely
informed by contextual and cultural perceptions that the broader society maintains of what it
means to be a teacher, was challenged when they were faced with the experience of being
chosen to undertake a new, ambiguous, leadership role. Such a critical transitional phase in the
process of ‘becoming’teacherleaders,aspaceof‘betwixt and between’, is characterised by lack
of clarity, disorientation and ambiguity (Turner, 1981). This entails a process of sense-making
to better cope with changing circumstances and challenges, as people strive to make meaning
of what happens in their environments (Baumeister & Vohs, 2002;Frankl,1963). Essentially,
meaning-making is considered the process through which individuals construe or ‘make sense
of knowledge, experience, relationships and the self’(Ignelzi, 2000, p. 5). Literature on stress-
related growth and coping with adversity, crisis and trauma commonly describe the concept of
meaning-making as an attempt to orient intrapsychic efforts to minimise disparities between
people’s experiences and their global meaning system or basic assumptions (Park, 2013). The
present study suggests that a rather similar process of meaning-making may be triggered by a
positive event as well, such as that of being chosenforaleadershiprole.Bothnegativeand
positive triggers may be perceived as unknown, ambiguous and sometimes unexpected
incidents, to which the individual is required to adjust and cope. These triggers thus bear
the potential to challenge the overall perceptual meaning that a person has about his or her life,
self and profession. Furthermore, in line with previous studies showing the importance of
making sense of potential organisational change for employees (van den Heuvel et al., 2009;
Weber & Manning, 2001) in general, the present study considers the theoretical perspective of
meaning-making as a useful framework to extend the understanding of the experience of
transition into a new professional identity as teacher leaders. The internal processes involved
endeavours to make sense of this through exploration of personal motivation, evaluating
14 P. RUSSO-NETZER AND A. SHOSHANI
available resources, capabilities and more fundamental orientations and tendencies. These
processes were accompanied by external forces, which include principals’and colleagues’
expectations and responses.
Internal processes of meaning-making
Three internal interrelated ingredients of such meaning-making processes emerged from the
interviews: the teachers’perceived motivations, availability of personal resources, and first-
nature or core personal orientation. Evidence from past meta-analytic literature reviews
suggests that motivation is an important source of behaviour (e.g. Deci & Ryan, 2000).
While there are individual differences in motivation from teacher to teacher, the literature
identifies three main motivation categories for choosing the profession of teaching: intrinsic
(i.e. intellectual fulfilment and enjoyment of teaching), extrinsic (i.e. working with children/
adolescents) and altruistic (i.e. making a social contribution, perceived teaching effectiveness)
(Wattetal.,2012). Although all three types of motivations were evident in the present
findings, it appears that the interviewees’dominant focus is oriented towards altruistic
motivation. This is in line with previous studies indicating that intrinsic and altruistic motives
such as the drive to assist in the formation, development and in making a positive difference in
the lives of children have been significant in choosing teaching as a career in western countries
(Ewing&Manuel,2005;Hayes,1990;O’Brien & Schillaci, 2002; Richardson & Watt, 2006;
Sinclair, Towndrow, Koh, & Soon, 2008). In the present study such motivation was manifested
in the teachers’passion to influence others and leave their mark on the school community and
to act as agents of change. In a way, such motivation sustains their striving to rise to leadership
positions despite the perceived demands and challenges. Further research is needed in order to
explore whether the altruistic motives reflect a cultural tendency or a more general or
universal phenomenon of a common aspect of teacher leaders’identity. This may be an
important resource for teacher leaders for maintaining their commitment to the new leader-
ship role, in particular in the face of its ambiguous and demanding nature. The findings also
shed light on an intriguing component of the meaning-making process: the exposure of first
nature. As neither the teacher nor the leader orientation identified reflects a zero-sum
phenomenon, it may represent an important consideration of a basic tendency, which
comes to light through the process of meaning-making. Building on Little’s (2014) distinction
of personality traits between ‘first(bio)andsecond(socio)natures’(p. 52), the exposure of
basic orientations as part of the teachers’internal dialogue may convey their efforts to make
senseofthenewroleaheadandtoaccommodateittotheirfirst, core or customary inclination
(i.e. being identified as a teacher or a leader) in a coherent and consistent manner.
External forces in the shaping of the evolving identity of teacher leader
As the present findings demonstrate, the internal process of meaning-making does not occur
in a vacuum; it is constantly influenced and shaped by external forces, in this case the teachers’
peers and principals. Such a dialectical process between the internal and external may have
significant implications for understanding the dynamics between the environment surround-
ing the teacher leaders, which affects not only their own motivation and potential function, but
also future satisfaction and intention to remain in or leave their current job (Snoek & Volman,
2014). Thus, along with personal consolidation and change processes that the individual
CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 15
teacher is undergoing, it appears vital to take into account the full range of forces operating
and influencing the teacher leaders’professional identity development and the way they
fluctuate and unfold. This accords with recent studies asserting that socio-organisational
factors and structures may foster or hinder the development of teacher leadership (Lieberman,
2000;York-Barr&Duke,2004). These refer in particular to environmental characteristics of
schools such as trust, respect and collaboration (Harris, 2003;York-Barr&Duke,2004)aswell
as formal support from the principal (e.g. Mangin, 2007).
The present findings thus reinforce previous claims regarding the challenging nature
of the teachers’leadership role, specifically due to hostility, envy and resistance from
their colleagues (Fiarman et al., 2009). Additionally, Murphy (2007) shows how schools
are still characterised by deeply rooted norms, such as privacy and autonomy, which
define the teaching profession and allow teachers to fulfil their teaching duties in their
own way. Another shared norm is that of egalitarianism, the social-professional rela-
tions in schools which rely on the idea that all teachers are peers, based on their equal
position in the school. The introduction of teacher leaders in schools may challenge the
norms of privacy, autonomy and especially egalitarianism in terms of ‘the chosen’
teachers versus the rest.
Some studies suggest that teachers recently promoted to pedagogical leadership roles face
opposition or refusal to cooperate from their colleagues, who question the justification and
legitimacy of their role. Peers ask: ‘What makes them better than all of us?’and ‘What gives
him the right to order me around?’Many teacher leaders feel frustrated when their efforts to
transform themselves are dismissed (Donaldson et al., 2008;York-Barr&Duke,2004). They
tend to ‘cling to an us-against-them mentality’(Fairman & Mackenzie, 2015,p.78)andavoid
appearingasexpertsduetoconcernsthatitmay harm relationships with their colleagues
(Mangin & Stoelinga, 2011). It seems that the formal ‘chosen’leaders have to invest more
efforts than potential informal leaders in engaging with their peers. Thus, as this role is
essentially characterised by informal vertical, rather than formal horizontal, ongoing interac-
tion with colleagues and administration, it requires an enhanced capability to handle relational
tensions and complexities.
Along with these challenges, the present findings suggest that, to a large extent, the
resistance teacher leaders experience stems from the ambiguousness regarding their promo-
tion to teacher leaders, particularly due to the lack of a deep understanding of the standards,
expectations and regulations that made them suitable for this (Fiarman et al., 2009). High
levels of ambiguity have often been reported to yield negative outcomes at both the psycho-
logical level (e.g. job satisfaction, tension and commitment) and the behavioural level (per-
formance and turnover) (e.g. Celik, 2013). In the present study, all of the 60 interviewees
without exception raised the issue of ambiguity. This signifies an important feature of the
present sample. Whereas teacher leadership has received considerable attention in the United
States and other countries such as Canada and Australia (e.g. Muijs & Harris, 2006;York-Barr
&Duke,2004), in Israel it is a rather new role with relatively unknown characteristics and
structure which require ongoing efforts to make sense of. However, rather than paralysing or
constraining, such ambiguity appeared to carry with it positive opportunities as well. Unlike
other roles within the educational system in which structure, responsibilities and demands are
relatively known (such as disciplinary coordinator or administrator), the freedom to create
and shape the new role according to individual values, interests and ideals emerged as
fostering, rather than hindering, personal expression and efficacy. Thus, although their
16 P. RUSSO-NETZER AND A. SHOSHANI
selection for the programme was accompanied by ambiguity both in structure and content
that was intensified by the role’s novelty and their colleagues’expectations, they essentially
experienced this very open-ended flexibility as enabling them to dare to dream creatively and
shape their own unique leadership role. This highlights the importance of facilitating proper
leadership preparation (Harris, 2003; Katzenmeyer & Moller, 2001)toclarifytasksand
structure to potential teacher leaders as well as their colleagues on the one hand, yet leaving
the role flexible and open enough to enable personal connection and the development of the
role by the prospective teacher leaders.
Overall, the teacher leaders meaning-making model proposed in this article, based
on a phenomenological analysis of the participants’lived experiences, may serve as a
conceptual organising framework for understanding the dynamic interplay between
internal and external forces underlying the process through which teachers move from
a certain professional identity to that of a teacher leader. The participants’overall
professional identity was challenged when faced with the experience of being chosen
to undertake a new leadership role. The ambiguity of the new role, coupled with
concerns regarding the unknown and colleagues’expectations, yielded an ambivalent
stance among the teachers towards their selection. This triggered meaning-making
efforts to adjust and process the discrepancies between the new, unknown situation
and their overall meaning systems and basic assumptions related to the teaching
profession and opportunities embedded in a leadership position.
Limitations and suggestions for further research
In accordance with the phenomenological view, this study sought to portray the essence and
core meanings of the participants’shared experiences (Patton, 2002). However, the richness
and multidimensionality of the teachers leaders’professional development may also benefit
from an exploration of teachers’distinct rather than common experiences, such as individual
differences in the lived experiences of individuals, socio-cultural differences (for instance,
Jewish and Arabic school teachers; socio-economic backgrounds) or types of environment
(i.e. elementary school vs. high schools, special education, etc.). These may contribute to better
understanding the potential meaning-making processes as well as their mechanisms.
Furthermore, as the participants in this study were chosen by the principals, it is possible
that this had an impact on the participants’self-perception and the way in which they perceive
the role of teacher leadership. Future research will aim to explore the professional identity of
teachers who were chosen via other methods. It would also be interesting to further investigate
whether the directions indicated in the present study are relevant to informal leaders in the
school arena, specifically on the socio-professional level.
Employing a multilevel longitudinal perspective to gain a deeper understanding of how
the teacher leaders’professional identity takes shape and crystallises during and following
training and in-service, while considering both individual and organisational factors, is also
worth exploring. Specifically, to gain a deeper understanding of the dialectic process
suggested in the present study, it is suggested that future research focus on analysis of
specific clusters or groups of interviews conducted with teacher leaders, principals and
colleagues from the same school to consider how they relate to each other.
To conclude, the proposed teacher leaders meaning-making model suggests that
acknowledging potential challenges and ambivalence involved in the transition to a
CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 17
new leadership role –and addressing the internal processes of personal motivation,
available resources, capabilities and more fundamental orientations and tendencies –
may enable better understanding and mapping of the facilitating conditions that may
cultivate (i.e. identity transformation or modification) or hinder (i.e. rejection, anxiety
or concerns) the formation of teacher leader professional identity. As such, the model
has ramifications for furthering study and practice in the areas of leadership develop-
ment, teacher leadership and professional identity. Attentiveness to under-the-surface
processes and perceptions that accompany external forces of principals’and colleagues’
expectations and responses may enable researchers, practitioners and policy-makers
alike to reduce paralysing or threatening ambiguity and concentrate efforts to facilitate
a healthy and growth-oriented expansion in teachers’professional identity and invest-
ment of time and energy in the new role.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Tami Hirsch for her helpful assistance and insightful comments,
and to express gratitude to the participating schools and teachers as well as to the Branco-Weiss
institute and the Yad HaNadiv foundation for their support throughout the process.
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