Leadership Qualities Of A Teacher – A Factor Of Student Success

Abstract

The article is devoted to topical issues of education modernization in the direction of the formation of a socially active and successful student personality. New time makes new requirements for the content and methods of educational and upbringing activities. Competitiveness and success in society means initiative, the ability to think creatively, find non-standard solutions, be able to choose a professional path and be ready to learn throughout life. A modern school should form, first of all, a self-confident personality, resistant to stress and troubles, able to cope with difficulties, to cope with anxiety, insecurity and fear. The presence of such qualities determines the setting of adequate socially and personally significant goals, planning activities and taking actions to achieve them. In this aspect, the leading role belongs to the personal qualities of the teacher, the style of his leadership, the ability to inspire students, lead, form motivation and interest in independent activity and self-development. In this aspect, the role of the development of the teacher's leadership qualities is considered as a factor in increasing the success of students - both in educational activities and in the social, cultural, and leisure sphere. The components of personal success and the components of the educational space that contribute to its development are highlighted. The main indicators and criteria for diagnosing the leadership qualities of teachers are indicated. Correlation analysis has been carried out, which showed the presence of a close relationship between the leadership qualities of a teacher and the level of student success.

Keywords: Leadership, leadership qualities, motivation for success, success, social activity, pedagogical interaction

Introduction

Modern education is in the process of transforming both value orientations and criteria for the effectiveness of training, upbringing and personal development, and methodological approaches to the organization, forms and technologies of educational activities. The content of subject areas, goals and objectives, the model of a graduate in demand in today's society are changing. At the same time, new guidelines have led to a change in the role characteristics and positions of participants in the educational process. So, if in the traditional education system the teacher was the bearer of knowledge that he must pass on to the students, and the student acted as a recipient, receiving and sowing information, then today's school is rather a social institution that forms a successful personality in all its manifestations (Adamsky, 2005).

In this regard, the question of the components of success and the factors contributing to its increase becomes relevant.

Within the framework of the traditional training system, widespread in the twentieth century, the success of training was associated with positive marks and high quality of knowledge, skills and abilities. However, today an increasing number of authors point out the inconsistency of this approach. Practice shows that even a person with a broad outlook, outstanding abilities in a particular area of knowledge or in all academic disciplines is often unable to present himself favorably in society (Abraeva & Povoroznyuk, 2015). Knowledge in itself does not guarantee an opportunity to achieve professional success, to be realized in family, social and other spheres of life. Based on this, Samokhinet al. (2016) and other researchers define success as a combination of the effectiveness of teaching, the quality of knowledge and a favorable emotional state of students in the development of academic disciplines.

According to Lebid and Shevchenko (2020), the increase in the volume of information in many respects complicates its correct generalization, analysis and systematization. The set of knowledge, separated from personal efficiency and motivation of activity, does not contribute to the activation of thinking, and the orientation towards mechanical-reproductive training does not satisfy the growing and constantly changing needs of the labor market. The classroom system cannot provide the required number of qualified, creatively gifted personnel with erudition and creative thinking skills.

Success implies the harmonious development of all components of the personality, its physical, intellectual, emotional, personal, social, mental, psychological health. A child who knows how to manage his own feelings and emotions, is able to substantiate and defend his interests and beliefs, apply knowledge in non-standard situations, cope with difficulties in life more easily and achieves greater success.

This makes it necessary to increase the prestige and personal effectiveness of the teacher, to develop technologies for shaping the personality of the teacher-leader, which is a reference point for modern students.

Modern research clearly demonstrates that the lack of comfort in the educational environment negatively affects the effectiveness of learning and the success of socialization and self-realization.

At the same time, as noted by Martínez et al. (2019), the comfort of the educational and upbringing space is directly provided by a number of psychological characteristics and personal qualities of the teacher, his ability to captivate students with his subject, inspire discoveries and achievements, stimulate self-development and self-improvement. In this regard, modern research is increasingly focusing on the personality of the teacher as the main participant and leader of the educational process.

Rokhmani et al. (2019) and a number of other scientists make convincing arguments, justifying the need to introduce institutional changes based on the transformation of relationships, leadership style and the development of values common to all participants in the educational process. The functions of a modern teacher are at the junction of a number of areas: leadership, career guidance, and personal and social adaptation of schoolchildren.

At the same time, Orlando (2013) notes the following criteria for the personality of a teacher, contributing to an increase in the success of students:

• respect for students;
• creating a sense of belonging to the group;
• caring for students and their achievements;
• high requirements for results;
• love for the subject;
• leadership skills;
• the skill will switch;
• ability for effective cooperation;
• concern for improving the level of professionalism.

A competent, qualified teacher is considered by modern science as the main figure in creating an effective educational, educational and developmental environment focused on the student's personality. Today, in all spheres of society (economy, politics, culture, education, etc.), ideas about leaders and leadership as a mechanism for increasing the effectiveness of the existence of social formations are spreading. This approach is of particular importance for the education sector, based on the system of subject-subject relations, where the result of an activity is not objectified in a specific product (Velikhanova, 2015).

From modern teachers, teacher-leaders are required not only a high level of individual development, organizational qualities, but also the ability to lead, inspire, generate ideas, actualize the inner potential of students, initiate their self-development (Belova, 2015).

Velikhanova (2015), describing the formation of student success, notes that the first impression of the teacher is the most important factor that determines the nature of interaction in educational activities.

At the same time, among the components of an effective teacher, most scientists name: spirituality, morality, communication skills, the ability to overcome and prevent conflicts, persuasiveness, optimism, benevolence, etc.

Kamalova and Mukhitdinova (2019) note that a modern teacher should not so much transfer knowledge as develop in children the desire to acquire this knowledge on their own. The tasks of the teacher include: to maximize the potential of the student, to develop the motivation for success and independence. These tasks can only be solved by an effective teacher, a leading teacher who has a certain set of personal qualities and properties.

Scholars point out the increasing influence of the teacher's personality on the formation of social, moral, professionally significant qualities of schoolchildren.

Navickiene et al. (2019) emphasize the interconnection of communication and educational processes, a creative approach in the field of education. It is the personality of the teacher that determines the comfortable interaction of the participants in the educational process, which contributes to the education of the effective personality of the student.

The leading teacher, as Dressinger and Vdovinskiene (2020) point out, has the ability to successfully connect theoretical material with practice, explain in an accessible way, conduct a lesson in an interesting way, combine various interactive methods in teaching, and encourage students with additional points. He/she can communicate actively and informally, be student-friendly, and organize student feedback.

Sabol et al. (2020) emphasize that the teacher should give children an example of managing emotions, reflecting social experience, understanding and applying the laws and patterns of life around them in different situations.

At the same time, Vazieva and Galiakberova (2019) assign a special role to the relationship between the authority and leadership abilities of a teacher with the characteristics and successful interaction of a group of students. The authors argue that this influence is of a complex indirect nature, shaping the motivation of students, their hard work, discipline and attention. Activity, creativity, emotionality, confidence and creativity of the teacher contribute to an increase in interest in the academic subject, due to which high performance results are achieved.

Based on the active independent activity of students as a factor in achieving high cognitive results, Swanson et al. (2019) note the role of active teaching methods and the guiding position of the teacher in increasing the motivation for achieving success by schoolchildren.

According to research by Velikhanova (2015), the factors that shape the authority of the teacher's personality are reflected in the teacher's personality, in the value expectations of students and in the parameters of the social environment. In this case, the leading role is played by: the level of knowledge of their subject, methodological skills, organizational skills, moral and communicative qualities, the level of empathy, etc. In addition, the success of the interaction of participants in the educational process is influenced by various micro- and macrosocial conditions.

Problem Statement

Gutierrez (2020) describes the leading teacher as an authoritative person with high qualifications, level of professional education, work experience, competence in teaching their discipline, leadership and management. He is actively engaged in research and self-educational activities, improving his skills in new technologies; is student-friendly, able to inspire, demonstrates faith in children's abilities. The personality of the leading teacher is distinguished by the predominance of positive character traits, versatility, resilience and a sense of humor. He/she has a high level of spirituality, serves as a role model and a catalyst for the cognitive activity of schoolchildren. At the same time, not a single characteristic in isolation can be an indicator of the teacher's effectiveness. In addition, personal authority is the result of many factors.

Most scientists note the following indicators of an effective leading teacher who is able to shape the personality of a successful student: the ability to quickly adapt to new types of relationships, flexibility of thinking, individuality, originality and creativity (Gabelia, 2016; Navickiene et al., 2019).

Thus, as the analysis of literary sources has shown, the traditional system and the authoritarian style of the teacher did not provide effective preparation of the child for life, and school performance is by no means always an indicator of social success. The main goal of a modern school is to form a competent, successful, socially active person. It is a teacher with developed leadership qualities who can cope with the tasks put forward by the new educational standards (Roslyakova, 2015).

In this regard, a deeper study of the problem of assessing the teacher's leadership qualities and their role in increasing the success of students becomes necessary.

Research Questions

Among the main research questions are:

• What determines the success of students in the light of the FSES criteria?
• What are the key concepts of the structure of student leadership qualities?
• What is the relationship between the teacher's leadership qualities and the level of student success?

Purpose of the Study

The aim of the study was to study the role of the teacher's leadership qualities in ensuring the educational and social success of schoolchildren, as well as in increasing the self-esteem of schoolchildren of their own capabilities and prospects for achieving success.

Research Methods

We used the following research methods:

• theoretical analysis of scientific literature;
• empirical research using socio-psychological diagnostic techniques;
• methods of mathematical statistics.

Findings

The experiment involved 100 schoolchildren of 9–11 grades of state budget educational institution “School No. 129” in St. Petersburg and 40 teachers of secondary schools in the city. At the same time, in the process of organizing the research, we relied on the criteria and indicators highlighted by modern domestic and foreign authors.

Thus, Salimullina (2017), on the basis of empirical research, identified a list of the most significant qualities of a teacher-leader: professionalism, communication skills, persuasion ability, developed intellect, activity, organizational skills, decisiveness, initiative, responsibility. In our research, we added to these qualities such criteria as flexibility, willingness to innovate, benevolence, faith in students, the ability to motivate and inspire students for self-development.

The results of the study of teachers’leadership qualities showed the prevalence of a high level among 58% of teachers (Table 01).

At the same time, the overall indicator of the development of leadership qualities in 15% of teachers was at a low level, and 21% have developed leadership skills at the average level (Figure 01).

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The study of the components of the success of schoolchildren was carried out using the questionnaire “Motivation for success – fear of failure” A. A. Rean and Demo-Rubinstein's Self-Assessment Test (Gladkaya & Gutnik, 2016).

After summarizing the diagnostic results, it was found that the motivation to achieve success prevails in 44% of schoolchildren. While 56% of the subjects noted the motivation to avoid failures.

The self-assessment test showed the predominance of the average level for most indicators (Figure 02).

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Such a distribution indicates an insufficient level of assessment by students of their own abilities, opportunities and prospects for achieving success. So, the success of schoolchildren and students can be characterized as the ability to maximize their inclinations, interests and abilities based on personal qualities. At the same time, an important indicator of success is adequate self-esteem and the presence of motivation to achieve success. Comparison of the indicators of teachers and schoolchildren in their classes showed a correlation between the level of development of the teacher's leadership qualities and the level of success of schoolchildren. Thus, in classes where teachers teach with a high level of leadership, creativity and authority among schoolchildren, on average 64% of students have high indicators of achievement motivation and self-esteem. Whereas in the classes of teachers with a low level of development of leadership qualities, a high level of success and achievement motivation was revealed only in 35% of children. Data processing using the Spearman coefficient showed the presence of a strong direct relationship (p = 0.948 with a significance level of 0.05) between the level of leadership qualities of teachers and the presence of motivation to achieve success among their students. At the same time, the correlation coefficient between the leadership of teachers and the level of self-esteem of their students (p = 0.953) also demonstrates the presence of a direct connection between these criteria. Thus, based on the study, we can conclude that the development of leadership qualities in a teacher has a direct impact on the level of success of their students. An active, proactive, responsible and independent teacher, constantly improving and perceiving new conditions and increased requirements as an incentive for self-development, showing respect for students, is able to lead, serve as a role model, and cause students to strive to achieve better results. At the same time, a teacher accustomed to working according to traditional methods, based on the principles of transfer and control of knowledge, using authoritarian methods of leadership, provokes anxiety in students and a desire to avoid punishment. Trying to get around difficulties and unusual situations, such students do not set high goals for themselves; prefer to act according to a template, which reduces the level of their social adaptation, self-realization and competitiveness. This, in turn, negatively affects the success of such students – both in educational activities and in other areas of life.

Conclusion

The research carried out has a high theoretical and practical significance, since it not only reveals the relationship between the level of development of the leadership qualities of teachers with the indicators of student success, but also provides sufficient empirical material for further research and development of programs for the development of leadership qualities of teachers in higher educational institutions and institutions of professional retraining of teachers.

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