Transformational leadership has transitioned into a dominant strategic framework to enhance leadership roles in education. This chapter will examine the correlation between teacher transformational leadership in the classroom and the significant effectiveness this does have to shift the traditional teacher-centred approach to learning in the classroom. Transformational leadership employed in the classroom combined with inquiry-based learning can enhance students' critical thinking skills to shape their lives and their roles in the world. Through transformational leadership, teachers can hone their leadership skills, while understanding the value of equipping students with the skills to become activity participants in the learning process. That is empowerment of students.
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Education should promote critical thinking. Teachers are an integral part of the education process as they practice and maintain higher levels of thinking for problem-solving. Today’s educational system requires educators who are able to keep learning, think critically and translate new information into better teaching practices for their students. As posited by Vermeulen et al. (2022) being innovative or showing innovative behaviour is often defined as the generation and implementation of new ideas”. Therefore, teaching in this knowledge-based economy requires teachers who are life-long learners, who can motivate their students towards innovative, critical thinking for problem-solving and being agents of change. This can be aided through teachers possessing transformational leadership skills in the classroom. Transformational leadership refers to the ability of motivating its followers towards the achievement of organizational goals (Amanchukwu, et al., 2015). Teachers in full display of transformational leadership in the educational context must possess multi-dimensional lens. That is, to engender plans and instructions to assist students towards meeting institutional set goals as well as possessing the ability to solving future problems.
Education in the 21st century has evolved from rote learning and conformity to one that emphasizes critical thinking and innovation to meet the challenges of tomorrow. The teacher-centered role of the traditional classroom is seen as relic to the now embraced teacher-centered classroom. Lwi (2019) posited that changing the status quo does require leadership transformational change both in administrative and classroom operations. Despite the forward push for this pedagogical shift, many teachers are still stuck in making the transition where the teacher monopolizes the learning process as the agent of knowledge and students relegated to mere receptors of knowledge. The advantage of a learner-centered classroom as posited by Doyle (2008) affords active learning such as critical and divergent thinking, student engagement to become active participants in their own learning.
Bolkan and Goodboy (2009) opined that organizational leadership theories are application to the classroom and when used by teachers result in students becoming more participatory in the learning process. Leadership is often conceptualized as either transformational or transactional. Transactional leadership operations on the premise of rewards and punishment for the achievement of goals. In theory, transactional leadership conjures a relationship between leaders and subordinates where leaders provide the motivation, structure, and supervision for their subordinates to achieve their goals.
Transactional leadership in the classroom exemplifies a relationship between teacher and students based on “contingent reward” (Erdel & Takkaç, 2020). According to Khan (2017) transactional leadership focuses its attention on students’ completion of tests, projects or assignment where a grade is affixed to these. Transactional leadership is driven by rigorous management structure formulated on processes and control. Employed in the classroom students are often rewarded with high grades for the reproduction or regurgitation of information. Transformational leadership is one that is characterized by intellectual stimulation where leaders provide the space for people to learn, grow and undertake new things for new experiences. In other words, transformational leadership can be seen as “transforming the existing order of things as well as directly addressing… followers’ needs for meaning and development” (Conger, 1999, p. 149). Therefore, teachers as transformational leaders would be more concerned about empowering their students through inquiry-based learning rather than being the authority and controller of learning in the classroom. Teachers as transformational leaders in their classroom elevates the teaching-learning output to maximize student learning.