Triadic Teacher Leadership Webb, P

¶ … Triadic Teacher Leadership

Webb, P Taylor,

Neumann, Maureen, & Jones, Laura C. (Spring 2004). "Politics, School

Improvement and Social Justice: A Triadic Model of Teacher Leadership." The Educational Forum. Retrieved 24 Feb 2007 at http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4013/is_200404/ai_n9406443

As eloquently noted in the article "Politics, School Improvement, and Social Justice: A Triadic Model of Teacher Leadership" by Taylor P. Webb, Maureen Neumann, and Laura C. Jones, teachers are often expected merely "to be led" rather than to lead" despite their frequently undervalued ability to provide constructive advice in constructing new school initiatives (Webb, Neumann & Jones, 2004: 1). The article discusses different leadership models that might be applicable for teachers, such as triadic, critical, and transactional leadership. Triadic leadership suggests that true leadership involves careful consideration of the interrelated nature of key actors within an organization. In contrast, transactional leaders "are sometimes referred to as "benevolent dictators" who direct organizations through heroic and charismatic efforts" (Webb, Neumann & Jones, 2004: 1).

Ultimately, the article offers the view that a school's administration is most appropriately structured in a triadic form, where administrators, teachers, and parents engage in a web of mutual information-sharing and dependence. Another mode of understanding triadic leadership is critical leadership, where all organizational actors critique its modalities and methodologies and have equal input about instating changes, rather than one person such as a principal providing organization-wide criticism (Webb, Neumann & Jones, 2004: 5).

One of the article's strengths is that it does not view any leadership perspective with a dogmatic perspective. For example in the classroom itself, to maintain guidance of the class, a teacher might find a transactional mode more appropriate. But in a wider school effort, the article expresses the view that triadic leadership is preferred, for while transactional leadership might be effective in some circumstances, for example, walking a recalcitrant student down a hallway, this approach is not really an effective governing mode to initiate substantive organizational changes. For example, a charismatic teacher with the clearly defined goal of improving student's math scores can be a transactional leader. Even teachers can benefit from transactional strategies in terms of their own professional developments, as two classroom advisors of a teacher's methodology noted: "You're influencing what people are doing but you're not there to say what they're doing is wrong" (Webb, Neumann & Jones, 2004: 3). Influence is important in transactional leadership, not pure dictatorship.

Still, deciding upon a new mode of curriculum instruction to improve scores on a school wide basis would best be served by soliciting input from a number of sources in the triadic mode, according to the article. The need to facilitate effective and equal dialogue between teaching colleagues in the field is one of the strengths of a sharing approach to leadership. Teachers can pool resources, for example, as to what methods they currently use and what changes might be helpful. Parents can provide input about student frustrations, and administrators can examine the feasibility of new programs. Breaking down barriers is another positive aspect of this mode, as well as giving teachers leadership roles outside of their immediate classroom domains.