The challenges of teacher leadership in the Philippines as experienced and perceived by teachers

This research employed a qualitative method based on focus group discussions and individual interviews of teachers from different jurisdictions in the Philippines and supplemented with a critical analysis of the educational reform in the country. Based on the findings, the concept of teacher leadership still struggles to thrive in school organizations. This paper has highlighted two phenomena that make it a challenge for teacher leadership to blossom: one is the traditional ‘principal-oriented’ nature of leadership that is heavily entrenched to its system and second, the lack of leadership training and the teacher classification that they follow. These conditions critically limit the role that teachers play in the school. With the recent educational reform, wherein K-12 curriculum was adopted, this paper suggests that the application of teacher leadership in the local context can potentially make a significant contribution in shaping the culture of their schools, advancing student learning, and influencing practice among their peers.