“The Effects of Teacher Leadership Practices on Learner Character Building in
Schools: A Case Study of International School of Lusaka, Zambia”
BY
GRACE CHEWE
No. 232131980
Spervisor: Dr. Mboyonga
Statement of the Problem
Character building is a fundamental goal of holistic education, especially in International
schools like the International School of Lusaka (ISL) which aim to educate and produce
global citizens. Many Zambian school environments fail to utilize teacher leadership
properly to merge traditional academic development with moral development (York-Barr
& Duke, 2014; Lickona, 1996). The government-led life skills programs and value-based
curricula both initiated by Zambia's Ministry of Education together with UNICEF face
limitations in teacher influence over school environments and learner conduct (MOE,
2013; UNICEF, 2019; Nguni et al., 2016; Harris & Muijs, 2015).
Furthermore, the annual report of ISL higlight growing behavior challenges among
students, suggesting gaps in character development despite existing strategies (ISL
Annual Report, 2022). The failure to address this issue could eventually produce three
main negative effects which include academic dishonesty, weak interpersonal skills and
decreased social responsibility (Berkowitz & Bier, 2015). This study therefore aims to
investigate how teacher leadership practices influence character building at ISL. It aims
to identify weaknesses in current approaches and propose effective teacher-led
strategies to strengthen learners’ moral development and contribute to a more ethically
grounded school environment.
Research Objectives
1. General Objective
To examine the effects of teacher leadership practices on learner character building at
the International School of Lusaka (ISL) how these practices contribute to the
development of moral and ethical values among learners.
2. Specific Objectives
1. To examine the current teacher leadership practices implemented at ISL.
2. To assess the extent to which teacher leadership practices influence character traits
such as responsibility, respect, and integrity among learners.
3. To explore teacher and student perceptions of the role of teachers in fostering
character development.
4. To identify gaps or weaknesses in the current teacher-led initiatives on character
education
3. Research Questions
1. What teacher leadership practices are currently employed at ISL?
2. How do these teacher leadership practices influence key character traits such as
respect, responsibility, and integrity among learners?
3. What are the perceptions of teachers and students regarding the role of teacher
leadership in character education?
4. What are the existing gaps in teacher-led character-building initiatives at ISL?
Methodology
1. Research Approach
The current research will take a form of a mixed methods research approach, which
combines qualitative and quantitative methods to gain an overall understanding of how
teachers’ leadership practises affect learner’s character building at the International
School of Lusaka (ISL). Employment of both qualitative and quantitative approaches
gives room for triangulation of findings hence a greater credibility and depth of research
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Primary sources of data will only be utilised and data will
be directly gathered from teachers as well as pupils for relevancy and accuracy.
2. Research Design
The research design of the study will be a case study, where it will be narrowed down to
the study of ISL as a closed unit. This design is suitable for the investigation of difficult
social phenomenas like teacher leadership and formation of character in a real-life
educational environment (Yin, 2018).
3. Study Population
The target population will be composed of about 30 teachers and 60 pupils. Teachers
will be purposively chosen based on their leadership position, bearing in mind subject
heads, club mentors or class coordinators while pupils will be chosen through stratified
random sampling to ensure variation based on age groups and classes.
4. Data Collection
Data collection will include structured questionnaires for both teachers and the pupils in
order to obtain quantitative responses to leadership practices observed learner
behaviors. Semi-structured interviews with the selected teachers will supplement the
quantitative one by producing in-depth qualitative insights of the leaders’ strategies and
their perceived influence on the character development of the students.
5. Data Analysis
The analysis of quantitative data will be conducted by using logistic regression, which is
the best type of analysis in order to test the likelihood of character traits (dependent
variables) to relate with leadership practises (independent variables). This statistical
technique is useful in estimating the predictive power of different forms of teacher
leadership to learner outcomes (Hosmer et al., 2013). The thematic coding for
qualitative data will be used as elaboration and interpretation of the quantitative findings,
while being guided by the Transformational Leadership Theory (Bass & Riggio, 2006),
where it is argued that inspirational and individualised teacher leadership can have a
substantial impact upon students’ moral development.
6. Ethical Issues
Ethical issues will be strictly adhered to in the course of research. Parental consent for
the underage participants and informed consent for the rest of the participants will be
gained. The process will be voluntary with the right of withdrawal at any time for
respondents, which will aim at respecting their autonomy. Confidentiality of data will be
maintained in all circumstances and anonymity in presentation of the results. The study
will follow set up ethical guidelines (British ERLA, 2018).
References
Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational Leadership (2nd ed.). Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
BERA. (2018). Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (4th ed.). British
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