Transnational experiences of teacher leadership: narratives of South African expatriate teachers.Izehleko zothisha abangabaholi emazweni ngamazwe=Okuxoxwa wothisha baseNingizimu Afrika abasebenza kwamanye amazwe.

Abstract

Over the past two decades, teacher migration has become popular amongst South African teachers. South African teachers are leaving their home country to go to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country schools owing to better job opportunities and better salaries as compared to South Africa. There are six GCC countries, which South African teachers are being recruited to. Not much is known about the experiences of the South African expatriate teachers, particularly as it relates to teacher leadership. Given this, the focus of the study is to explore the lived experiences of the South African expatriate teachers in the GCC country schools. The purpose of my study is threefold. Firstly, it seeks to make visible the identities of the South African expatriate teachers. Secondly, it explores how their personal and professional lived lives shape their enactment of teacher leadership. Thirdly, it seeks to make visible the enablements and constraints within the GCC country schools influencing the actualizing of teacher leadership. The study uses the teacher identity theory, the distributed leadership theory, and the teacher leadership theory as a lens. The study is positioned within the interpretivist paradigm. Methodologically, the study used narrative inquiry. The study utilized narrative interviews, photo-elicitation, and artefact inquiry to generate field texts. Field texts were then analysed using visual mapping and by finding participants' similarities and particularities of experience. The findings revealed that the South African expatriate teachers possess multiple selves. These multiple selves influenced their teacher leadership enactments in the GCC country schools. Furthermore, organizational culture plays a vital role in the advancement of teacher leadership within the schools, and teacher agency is a driver of teacher leadership in the GCC country schools. The study concluded that the South African expatriate teachers’ multiple selves become an asset in their practices of teacher leadership. Additionally, they exercised their agency by transforming themselves from primary agents to corporate agents to advance their teacher leadership practices. The study contributed to a ground-breaking phenomenon in educational leadership research on teacher leadership and South African expatriate teachers in the GCC country schools.

Iqoqa

Eminyakeni engamashumi amabili edlule, ukufuduka kwabafundisayo sekube nedumela kothisha baseNingizimu Afrika. Othisha baseNingizimu Afrika bashiya izwe labo baye ezikoleni zakwamanye amazwe zeGulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ngenhloso yokuthola amathuba emisebenzi angcono kanye nemiholo engcono uma uyiqhathanisa neholwa eSouth Africa. Ayisithupha la mazwe eGCC lapho othisha baseNingizimu Afrika bebuthelwa khona. Aluluningi olwaziwayo ngokuthi basebenza kanjani kwamanye amazwe, ikakhulukazi uma kuza ngasebuholini. Ngenxa yalokhu, lolu cwaningo lwagxila ekutholeni ngempilo yomsebenzi wothisha. Eminyakeni engamashumi amabili eyedlule, ukufuduka kwabafundisayo sekube nedumela kothisha baseNingizimu Afrika. Othisha baseNingizimu Afrika bashiya izwe labo baye ezikoleni zakwamanye amazwe zeGulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ngenhloso yokuthola amathuba emisebenzi angcono kanye nemiholo engcono uma uyiqhathanisa neholwa eNingizimu Afrika. Ayisithupha la mazwe eGCC lapho othisha baseNingizimu Afrika bebuthelwa khona. Aluluningi olwaziwayo ngokuthi basebenza kanjani kwamanye amazwe, ikakhulukazi uma kuza ngasebuholini. Ngenxa yalokhu, lolu cwaningo lwagxila ekutholeni ngempilo yomsebenzi yothisha baseNingizimu Afrika abasebenza ezikoleni zamazwe eGCC. Inhloso yalolu cwaningo yayikathathu. Okokuqala, lwaluhlose ukwenza othisha abasebenza ngaphandle babonakale ukuthi bangobani. Okwesibili, lwaluhlola ukuthi impilo yabo neyomsebenzi bayiphile kanjani ukuze bakwazi nokuba ngothisha abakwazi ukuhola abanye. Okwesithathu, lwaluhlose ukugqamisa lokho okwakubasiza kanye nokwakuyizithiyo ezikoleni ezingaphansi kweGCC okwakunomthelela ebuholini babo njengothisha. Ucwaningo lwasebenzisa izinjulalwazi i-teacher identity theory, i-distributed leadership theory, kanye ne-teacher leadership theory njengezinsizakuhlaziya. Ucwaningo lwakhetha indlelakubuka yomhumusho. Ngokwezindlela zokuqhuba ucwaningo, kwakhethwa indlela elandisayo. Lwasebenzisa imposambuzo elandisayo, ukuthatha izithombe, kanye nobuciko obulondoloziwe ukuqoqa imininingo. Imininingo yahlaziywa kusetshenziswa imidwebo engamamephu kanye nokufanayo nokwahlukile ezimpilweni zababambiqhaza. Imiphumela yocwaningo yakhombisa ukuthi othisha abasebenza emazweni angaphandle banobubona obunhlobonhlobo. Lobu bubona bunomthelela ekuholeni kwabo njengothisha ezikoleni zamazwe eGCC. Ngaphezu kwalokho, kwatholakala ukuthi inqubo yangaphakathi ibamba iqhaza elikhulu ekuthuthukiseni ubuholi ngaphakathi ezikoleni, nokuthi ukusebenza ngokuzimisela kothisha yikhona okuqinisa ubuholi ezikoleni zeGCC. Lolu cwaningo luphetha ngokuthi ububona obunhlobonhlobo kothisha baseNingizimu Afrika yibona obube yifa ekusebenzeni kwabo njengabaholi. Ngaphezu kwalokho, bakwazi ukuzimisela ngokuthi bazishintshe ekubeni abazosiza kodwa bazithatha njengabantu abazosebenza enkampanini ukuze bathuthukise ikhono labo lobuholi. Lolu cwaningo lunikele ngolwazi olungandile kwezobuholi kwezemfundo ngokubheka ubuholi bothisha baseNingizimu Afrika abasebenza ezikoleni zeGCC kwamanye amazwe.