Middle leadership can be tricky – you quickly learn that you can’t do it all on your own. The age-old saying, that two heads are better than one, is something that is directly applicable to effective middle leadership.
However, getting everyone in your team onto the same page can be a tough task. But if you can manage it then once you’re aligned everything changes.
Collective efficacy is one of the most powerful tools for consistency, progression and motivation – harness it and you can move things forward quickly and overcome the plateaus that you may be facing.
Collective teacher efficacy
First thing’s first – we need to explore the concept of collective teacher efficacy. What does it actually mean and refer to?
We can trace the idea back to the 1990s. Its origins lie with Albert Bandura and collective efficacy is rooted in his concept of self-efficacy (Bandura 1993, 1997).
He defines collective efficacy as “a group’s shared belief in the conjoint capabilities to organise and execute the courses of action required to produce given levels of attainment”.
He adds: “Unless people believe they can produce desired effects by their actions, they have little incentive to undertake activities or to persevere in the face of dificulties. Whatever other factors serve as guides and motivators, they are rooted in the core belief that one has the power to affect changes by one's actions. This core belief operates through its impact on cognitive, motivational, affective, and decisional processes.” (See further information)
He found that the positive effects of collective teacher efficacy on student academic performance more than outweigh the negative effects of low socio-economic status.
More recently, Hattie and Zierer (2018) cite Eells’ 2011 synthesis of various research projects which identified collective teacher efficacy as pivotal to student progress.
Eells conducted a meta-analysis of 26 studies on collective teacher efficacy and found that “the weighted average effect size … was 0.617″. This number can easily be converted into Cohen’s (d=1.568), which is the number Hattie reports.
For those of you familiar with Hattie’s work and his previous findings, that’s more than twice the impact of feedback (d=0.72) and classroom control (d=0.52) – the conclusion is clear: together teachers can achieve more, especially if they collectively believe it. (For more on what Hattie has to say about collective teacher efficacy, see further information.)
Effective Middle Leadership Series
Part 1: The principles of effective middle leadership: Published August 31. Click here.
Part 2: Six middle leadership styles: Published September 7. Click here.
Part 3: Leading the subject curriculum: Published September 13. Click here.
Part 4: Assessing and quality assuring teaching as a middle leader. Published September 20. Click here.
Part 5: Collective efficacy for your team: This article
Together is better
Leading a team can be a difficult task, especially if your team contains a number of variables. Whether you are new to middle leadership or a seasoned hand, it is a worthwhile task looking at what you are doing and how you can harness the skills of those around you.
Hero leadership isn’t sustainable and a department where teachers are all pulling in their own direction leads to a disjointed mess, for staff and learners alike.
Singing from the same proverbial hymn sheet through collaborative practice can have a huge impact on learning and teacher workload.
As schools continue to improve, the realisation that centralised, top-down systems aren’t always sustainable is becoming more apparent. Change is something that can’t be driven by the few – it needs to be driven by the many.
However, for staff to truly buy into a departmental approach that is based on collaboration, they need to understand the rationale, believe in the theory and evidence supporting the approach, and most importantly the staff need to be able to see how a collaborative approach translates into their individual classrooms.
It is clear that improvement initiatives will not succeed unless there is buy-in, a willingness of those engaged. Dufour (2007) states that staff need to rally around an initiative or project and without a good level of buy-in, trying to implement change will only generate resentful compliance – which may lead to the approach ultimately failing.
Leaders should certainly use every component of an effective change process and commit to what Elmore (2006) refers to as "reciprocal accountability”.
This principle calls upon leaders to help build the capacity of the members of the group to accomplish what they have been asked to accomplish, thus empowering the staff through knowledge and understanding as opposed to enforcing a rigid framework upon them.
How to build collective teacher efficacy
There are a number of things middle leaders can do to heighten collective efficacy in their teams, some more detailed and complex than others.
Advanced teacher influence
Advanced teacher influence is defined by the degree to which teachers are provided opportunities to participate in important decisions.
Harnessing the skills of those around you is a great way to increase the influence of individuals. Through effective delegation and task-management, leaders can heighten involvement and, in turn, motivate those in their teams through inclusion.
A word of warning though, increasing teacher influence may increase workload, so it is important you are transparent with your team.
Goal consensus
Reaching consensus on goals not only increases collective efficacy, it also has a direct and measurable impact on student achievement.
When everyone in the team has a clearly selected and defined goal, it is easier for everyone to work towards it. These goals need not be complex or difficult to define, but if planned well can quickly become the backbone of your department ethos.
The best example I have worked with is: “We do the simple things well.” Incredibly, I’ve seen a whole school rally behind that shared goal and rapidly improve in an incredibly complicated context. The principal (at the time – now CEO) behind the phrase harnessed the power of goal consensus and built the school around the idea of clarity and simplicity.
Teachers’ knowledge about one another’s work
Teachers gain confidence in their peers’ ability to impact student learning when they have more intimate knowledge about each other’s practice.
In article four in this series, I discussed the importance of quality assurance. Not only does this process help individuals develop in their teaching through in-depth understanding it also makes teachers more aware of what others around them are doing.
Knowing what others are doing builds a collective goal and also adds significantly to the team knowledge of their subject. An awareness of self is important, but an awareness of others can be an amplifying factor for success.
Cohesive staff
Cohesion is defined as the degree to which teachers agree with each other on fundamental educational issues.
You can’t have cohesion without the opportunity to discuss. As a middle leader, it is important that you make the most of meeting times, with individuals and as a department group.
Clarity of communication helps keep things transparent. Messages need to not be muddied as they go up and down the chain.
Another factor that we must consider is that we don’t work in an ideal world. There will be conflict and this needs to be managed. Disagreement can be a healthy precursor for discussion, but you don’t want it to take away from the goal consensus. Ensure this doesn’t happen by managing conflict carefully and openly.
Responsiveness of leadership
Responsive leaders show concern and respect for their staff and protect teachers from issues that detract from their teaching time and focus.
Effective systems of intervention
Effective systems of intervention help in ensuring that all students are successful. Leaders at all levels need to realise that collective vision is a huge driving factor for success. The data Hattie has put forth exemplifies the power of effective change management on learner – and that’s what were all in this for.
So instead of sweating the small stuff, maybe it’s time to look at how things are being run. It might make all the difference.
- Adam Riches is a senior leader for teaching and learning, a Specialist Leader in Education and author of Teach Smarter (Routledge, 2020). Follow him on Twitter @TeacherMrRiches. Read his articles for SecEd at http://bit.ly/seced-riches
Further information & resources
- Bandura: Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning, Educational Psychologist, (28,2), 1993.
- Bandura: Self Efficacy: The exercise of control, WH Freeman & Co, 1997. For the collective research papers of Albert Bandura, visit https://albertbandura.com/albert-bandura-self-efficacy.html
- Dufour: In praise of top-down leadership, School Administrator, November 2007: http://bit.ly/2uXuADE
- Eells: Meta-analysis of the relationship between collective teacher efficacy and student achievement efficacy and student achievement, 2011: http://bit.ly/3958KNf
- Elmore: Leadership as the practice of improvement, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, June 2006: http://bit.ly/2OqyDz4
- Hattie & Zierer: 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning, Routledge, 2018. For a useful overview of what Professor John Hattie’s Visible Learning research says about collective teacher efficacy, visit http://bit.ly/2RU3W7F
- SecEd Podcast: Effective middle leadership, February 2021: https://bit.ly/3KADitL