“I was a class leader”: Exploring a Chinese English teacher’s negative emotions in leadership development in Taiwan

Abstract

The importance of teacher leadership has gradually come to be recognized in English Language Teaching (ELT). Research on this topic, however, has focused on program management or learner perception without considering teacher emotions. This study explores the leadership development of one Chinese English teacher who was a subject leader in the 12-Year Basic Education Reform in Taiwan with an aim to show how negative emotions may impede leadership development. Data were gathered from interviews and documents. The results reveal negative emotions—worry, anxiety, powerlessness, exhaustion, and dissatisfaction—in the English subject leader’s journey of developing a school-based curriculum. These emotions not only signify unpreparedness, low self-efficacy, limited support, exhausting work, and a divided vision, but also a disempowerment resulting from a hierarchical leader-follower relationship. This study thus highlights the primacy of learning a new mindset of horizontal teacher leadership and calls attention to the role emotions play in leadership development.

英語教學(ELT)已逐漸注意到教師領導的重要性。但是, 相關研究都著重在組織管理或學習者感知上, 而尚未討論教師的情緒。本研究探討一位在臺灣十二年國教改革中, 身為英語校本課程召集人的領導力發展過程, 重點將展現負面情緒如何阻礙教師領導力的發展。資料主要來自訪談和文件。研究結果顯示, 該英語學科召集人在校本課程的開發過程中, 所面臨的負面情緒, 如憂慮、焦慮、無能為力、疲憊和不滿。這些負面情緒不僅顯示教師領導的準備不足、低自我效能、有限的支援、工作疲憊感和分歧的視野角度, 而且還指出領導者與下屬之間的上下關係剝奪教師的賦權。據此, 本研究凸顯平等教師領導新思維的重要性, 並呼籲情緒在語言教師領導發展中所扮演的重要角色。