G5 Doctoral dissertation (article)
Student teachers' leadership development in a Finnish class teacher education-integrated study group (2024)
Opettajaopiskelijoiden johtajuusosaamisen kehittyminen suomalaiseen luokanopettajakoulutukseen integroidussa opiskeluryhmässä

Alho, J. (2024). Student teachers' leadership development in a Finnish class teacher education-integrated study group [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Jyväskylä. JYU Dissertations, 846. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-86-0385-6

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Alho, Janni

eISBN: 978-952-86-0385-6

Journal or series: JYU Dissertations

eISSN: 2489-9003

Publication year: 2024

Number in series: 846

Number of pages in the book: 1 verkkoaineisto (78 sivua, 39 sivua useina numerointijaksoina, 3 numeroimatonta sivua)

Publisher: University of Jyväskylä

Publication country: Finland

Publication language: English

Persistent website address: https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-86-0385-6

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Abstract

The present thesis examined student teachers’ leadership development in initial class teacher education in Finland, focusing specifically on a class teacher education-integrated study group, and applied the socio-cultural theory and social constructivist approach to leadership development. The thesis consists of three sub-studies of which sub-studies I and III examined the student teachers’ leadership development in the study group and sub-study II more broadly in the teacher education programme. The participants of the study consisted of 15 student teachers and 3 teacher educators in the study group. The data were collected using semi-structured focus group interviews. Additionally, data included the motivation letters written in the application process to study groups and semi-structured individual interviews of 5 of the 15 student teacher participants. The data were analysed using qualitative problem-driven content analysis in sub-studies I and II, with sub-study II also including typologisation. In sub-study III, the data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results of this study indicated that, in the study group, student teachers developed leadership competencies towards collaborative leadership in their future professional learning communities and their awareness of the leadership aspect in a teacher’s work and professional development. Their leadership development was particularly supported by the study group’s daily action and operational culture that applied collaborative and relational leadership, together with shared and reflective peer discussions on leadership. This study identified as development needs of leadership development support in teacher education that student teachers’ leadership development in understanding a school organisation and becoming aware of the deeper aspects of leadership was relatively limited, and that they faced challenges in fully recognising their leadership development. Overall, the present thesis suggests a study-group-based leadership development support approach, increasing the awareness of teachers as leaders and imitating collaborative leadership among peers in a school’s professional community, as a potential way of enhancing future teachers’ leadership competency and meeting several topical development needs of leadership development support in Finnish teacher education.

Keywords: teacher training; class teachers; leadership (properties); learning; development (passive); teaching groups; doctoral dissertations

Free keywords: teacher leadership competency; teacher leadership development; student teacher

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

VIRTA submission year: 2024