Shanghai Teachers’ Perceptions of Distributed Leadership : Resources and Agency
Tian, M., & Virtanen, T. (2021). Shanghai Teachers’ Perceptions of Distributed Leadership : Resources and Agency. ECNU Review of Education, 4(4), 808-829. https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531120921051
Published in
ECNU Review of EducationDate
2021Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020
Purpose:
Drawing on distributed leadership and motivation theories, this study investigates teachers’ perceptions of resource and agency distributions and identifies the key factors motivating leadership among teachers.
Design/Approach/Methods:
This quantitative study collected data from 327 teachers in nine schools in Shanghai. Chi-square tests of independence were conducted to examine the associations between leadership structures and power distance, while Spearman’s correlation tests were used to identify changes in leadership resource impact. A nonparametric Friedman’s test was applied to detect discrepancies between the agency of principals, team leaders, and teachers. Finally, Chi-square tests were conducted to discern the associations between teachers’ workload and motivation to lead.
Findings:
Most teachers identified the pyramid and spider’s web structures—which feature one power center and a high power distance—in their schools. The leadership resources and agency distributions corresponded to the school hierarchy: the higher position held by a teacher or a leader, the more resources they received, and the greater the agency they exercised. Results indicate that support from the principal is the most important factor in teachers’ participation in distributed leadership, while extra pay and leadership title are the least effective motivators.
Originality/Value:
This study has theoretical and practical value. First, it demonstrates the value of the resource–agency duality model for analyzing distributed leadership. Second, this study shows that promoting distributed leadership in Shanghai schools requires re-designing organizational resources and individual agency.
...
Publisher
SAGE Publications; East China Normal UniversityISSN Search the Publication Forum
2096-5311Keywords
Publication in research information system
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/98893158
Metadata
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Additional information about funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.License
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