Experiencing Transformation of Professional Identity: From Teaching to Leadership in a Small Rural Primary School in Cyprus

Abstract

The study used the Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002) model on teacher professional growth to investigate the changes and the transition of professional identity when a deputy head teacher was appointed as an acting head teacher in a small rural primary school in Cyprus. The head teacher had no previous experience in headship, and did not receive any training or followed an induction course to the job. The goal of the study was to identify ways to support novice acting head teachers for effective leadership in the complexities of small primary schools. Data was collected through diary notes and semi-structured interviews using thematic analysis of qualitative data. The analysis revealed the importance of the interaction between the external stimuli and information through informal professional learning in the role set and the personal knowledge and previous experience. Feelings of isolation as the main outcome of this experience enabled changes in leadership practice through enactment and reflection. The teacher’s suggestions for a professional learning program could be the contribution of her personal experience on the educational context.

Is small beautiful? A scoping review of 21st-century research on small rural schools in Europe

“…The fact that the area of small rural schools is a relatively small field and that some authors might have been more keen to publish in the English language than others would also help explain why the same author per country often appeared in Table 3. Karlberg-Granlund (2011) 32 Autti and Hyry-Beihammer (2014) 4 Kimonen and Nevalainen (2001) 33 Autti and Baeck (2021) 5 Kimonen and Nevalainen (2005) 34 Bajerski (2020) 6 Koroļeva et al ( 2017) 35 Beach et al (2019) 7 Kovács (2012) 36 Beach and Vigo Arrazola (2020) 8 Kramer (2019) 37 Cedering and Wihlborg (2020) 9 Kučerová and Trnková (2020) 38 Cannella (2020) 10 Kvalsund ( 2004) 39 Deunk and Maslowski (2020) 11 Kvalsund (2009) 40 Domingo Peñafiel and Boix Tomàs (2015) 12 Kvalsund and Hargreaves (2009) 41 Dowling ( 2009) 13 Öhrn and Beach (2019) 42 Forfang (2020) 14 Pettersson and Ström (2019) 43 Germeten (2011) 15 Raggl (2015) 44 Gill (2017) 16 Raggl (2019) 45 Gristy (2020) 17 Raggl (2020) 46 Hadjitheodoulou Loizidou and Fokaidou (2020) 18 Rothenburger (2015) 47 Hargreaves et al (2009) 19 Smit et al (2015) 48 Hargreaves (2009) 20 Supule (2019) 49 Hemming (2018) 21 Trnková (2009) 50 Hilli (2020b) 22 Tsiakkiros and Pashiardis (2002) 51 Hilli (2020a) 23 Vigo Arrazola and Soriano Bozalongo (2014) 52 Hillyard (2020) 24 Vigo Arrazola and Soriano Bozalongo (2015) 53 Hillyard and Bagley (2013) 25 Villa and Knutas (2020) 54 Hillyard and Bagley (2019) 26 Walker (2010) 55 Hyry-Beihammer and Hascher (2015) 27 Wildy et al (2014) 56 Jones (2009) 28 Wilson and McPake (2000) 57…”

“…In Cyprus, Hadjitheodoulou Loizidou and Fokaidou (2020) tried to understand the complexity of the leadership experience of a novice active principal in a small rural school in her first year of headship. They used Clarke and Hollingsworth's (2002) Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth as a framework, which emphasizes teachers' active role in their own professional development and learning.…”

“…prominent outcomes related to practice). In their case study, Hadjitheodoulou Loizidou and Fokaidou (2020) found that the new principal felt isolated and hopeless in the face of challenges in the external domain, having never worked in a small rural school, but 'commitment and care in interaction overcame challenges through reflection on definitions of situation' ( 174).…”