A tree, a sun, a compass: Metaphors shaping preservice teachers' views on leadership in education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29329/pedper.2025.114Keywords:
Leader teacher, metaphor, teacher leadership, preservice teachers, qualitative researchAbstract
In contemporary educational discourse, the concept of leadership has expanded beyond administrative roles to include teachers who influence classroom culture, pedagogy, and school development. Despite its increasing significance, teacher leadership—particularly how it is perceived by preservice teachers—remains underexplored in the literature. This study aimed to examine the perceptions of preservice teachers regarding the characteristics of leader teachers and to explore the metaphors they use to describe the concept of teacher leadership. A qualitative research design grounded in phenomenology was employed. The study sample consisted of 105 third-year preservice teachers enrolled in the Primary Mathematics and Classroom Teaching programs at a public university in Türkiye. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview form including two open-ended questions and analyzed using content analysis. The findings revealed that participants conceptualized leader teachers through four categories: student interaction, the educational process, family engagement, and environmental awareness. Additionally, 35 distinct metaphors were produced, with common symbols including the tree, sun and the compass —indicating the perceived guiding, enlightening, and nurturing roles of leader teachers. These results suggest that preservice teachers hold a multifaceted and idealistic vision of teacher leadership. The study underscores the importance of integrating teacher leadership training into preservice education programs and encourages further qualitative and mixed-method research to explore contextual factors that shape leadership perceptions among future educators.
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