Entrepreneurial teacher leaders as reframers of pastoral care: the mediating influence of technological opportunism

ABSTRACT

Studies have shown that teacher leaders take the initiative to shape and exercise pastoral care practices to meet the rapid changes in student learning and well-being. The present study aims to examine and conceptualize the relationship between teacher entrepreneurial behaviour (TEB) and the renewal of pastoral care practices while accounting for any possible mediating effects of new technologies. We collected 446 responses to survey questions from teacher leaders from 53 secondary and primary schools in Hong Kong. We then employed structural equation modelling to test the associations between TEB, renewing pastoral care practice, and technological opportunism. The results support three proposed hypotheses insofar as higher levels of TEB are positively associated with renewing pastoral care, which is in turn mediated by technological opportunism. The results advance teacher leadership research regarding how TEB contributes to the sustainable development of pastoral care strategies in schools. They also demonstrate that teacher leaders with strong TEB are more willing to seek new technologies and treat them as opportunities for change, which contributes to the literature showing that information and communication technology (ICT) resources not only support teachers initiatives but also help them develop new ideas.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher entrepreneurial behaviour
• pastoral care
• technological opportunism
• teacher leaders
• sustainable improvement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2023.2292965

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chun Sing Maxwell Ho

Chun Sing Maxwell Ho is Assistant Professor of the Department of Education Policy and Leadership at the University. Dr Ho has been invited to hold school leader training programmes for primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. He was awarded the 2021 Emerald Young Researcher Award and 2023 Michael Fullan Emerging Scholar Award, in recognition of his contribution to research and practice, as well as its impact on Hong Kong’s schools.

Darren A. Bryant

Darren A. Bryant is Professor of Education at Curtin University’s School of Education. He took up the post in August 2023. Previously he was Head of the Department of Education Policy and Leadership, and Associate Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change at The Education University of Hong Kong. He serves as Associate Editor of the International Journal of Educational Management. Darren’s publications concern the role of school leaders in enacting policy, senior and middle leader development, and how policy informs leader preparation. Before beginning his academic career, Darren spent a decade as a secondary school teacher and K-12 curriculum leader.