Teacher Leadership in Mathematics Learning: An Empirical Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33595/2226-1478.16.4.1452Keywords:
Education, Innovation, mathematics, students, quantitative methodologyAbstract
Learning mathematics represents a persistent challenge in secondary education, often conditioned by pedagogical, institutional, and motivational factors. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between teacher leadership as perceived by students and their level of satisfaction with learning mathematics in the context of secondary education in Ecuador. A quantitative approach was used, with a non-experimental cross-sectional design. The initial population consisted of 450 students, but certain inclusion criteria were subsequently applied, resulting in a final sample of 258 students, who responded to two validated questionnaires: the MLQ-5X to assess teacher leadership and the BPNES scale adapted to the educational setting to measure satisfaction with mathematics learning. The results indicated that there is no statistically significant relationship between the two variables. However, high correlations were identified between satisfaction and the basic psychological dimensions of competence, autonomy, and relationships with others. It is concluded that satisfaction with mathematical learning is more closely associated with internal student factors than with perceived teacher leadership, and implies the need to reconsider pedagogical strategies from more comprehensive and student-centred approaches
Downloads
References
Adela, F. S., Orbegoso, C., Salazar, M., & Hernández, R. (2018). Autonomía del trabajo y satisfacción laboral en trabajadores de una universidad peruana. Apuntes Universitarios, 8(3), 43–55. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=467657107003
Arcara, G., Mondini, S., Bisso, A., Palmer, K., Meneghello, F., & Semenza, C. (2017). The relationship between cognitive reserve and math abilities. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00429
Aldridge, J. M., & Fraser, B. J. (2016). Teachers’ views of their school climate and its relationship with teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Learning Environments Research, 19(2), 291–307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-015-9198-x
Arthur, Y. D., Appiah, S. K., Amo-Asante, K., & Asare, B. (2022). Modeling student’s interest in mathematics: Role of history of mathematics, peer-assisted learning, and student’s perception. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 18(10). https://doi.org/10.29333/EJMSTE/12458
Asami-Johansson, Y., Attorps, I., & Winsløw, C. (2020). Comparing mathematics education lessons for primary school teachers: case studies from Japan, Finland and Sweden. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 51(5), 688–712. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2019.1614688
Baker, C. K. (2022a). Learning to design effective professional development: The influence of integrating a coaching tool with an elementary mathematics specialist course assignment. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 25(5), 555–580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-021-09507-2
Baker, C. K. (2022b). Learning to design effective professional development: The influence of integrating a coaching tool with an elementary mathematics specialist course assignment. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 25(5), 555–580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-021-09507-2
Barnett, J. H., Lodder, J., Pengelley, D., Pivkina, I., & Ranjan, D. (2011). Designing student projects for teaching and learning discrete Mathematics and computer science via primary historical sources. In Recent Developments on Introducing a Historical Dimension in Mathematics Education (pp. 187–200). Mathematical Association of America. https://doi.org/10.5948/UPO9781614443001.018
Blömeke, S., Busse, A., Kaiser, G., König, J., & Suhl, U. (2016). The relation between content-specific and general teacher knowledge and skills. Teaching and Teacher Education, 56, 35–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.02.003
Bogler, R. (2001). The influence of leadership style on teacher job satisfaction. Educational Administration Quarterly, 37(5), 662–683. https://doi.org/10.1177/00131610121969460
Borko, H., Carlson, J., Deutscher, R., Boles, K. L., Delaney, V., Fong, A., Jarry-Shore, M., Malamut, J., Million, S., Mozenter, S., & Villa, A. M. (2021). Learning to Lead: an Approach to Mathematics Teacher Leader Development. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 19, 121–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-021-10157-2
Burić, I., & Kim, L. E. (2021). Job satisfaction predicts teacher self-efficacy and the association is invariant: Examinations using TALIS 2018 data and longitudinal Croatian data. Teaching and Teacher Education, 105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103406
Carrillo, C., Moscoso, D., Gonsález, L., & Toalombo, M. (2025). El liderazgo educativo en el proceso de aprendizaje. Invecom, 5(1), 1–11. https://ve.scielo.org/pdf/ric/v5n1/2739-0063-ric-5-01-e501028.pdf
Chalen, J. G., Ramírez, J. F., & Cañizares, R. (2021). El impacto de los recursos educativos abiertos en la socialización del conocimiento en el sistema educativo ecuatoriano. Serie Científica de La Universidad de Las Ciencias Informáticas, 14(6), 59–71. https://publicaciones.uci.cu/index.php/serie/article/view/890
Chapman, D. W., & Lowther, M. A. (1982). Teachers’ satisfaction with teaching. Journal of Educational Research, 75(4), 241–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.1982.10885388
Crossman, A., & Harris, P. (2006). Job Satisfaction of Secondary School Teachers. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 34(1), 29–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143206059538
Ebby, C. B., Hess, B., Pecora, L., & Valerio, J. (2024). Facilitating collaborative inquiry into practice around artifacts of mathematics teaching. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-024-09649-z
Eryilmaz, N., Kennedy, A. I., Strietholt, R., & Johansson, S. (2025). Teacher job satisfaction: International evidence on the role of school working conditions and teacher characteristics. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 86, 101474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2025.101474
Espinal, S., Pichardo, I. C., & Manzur, K. (2023). El liderazgo docente y su relación con la retención estudiantil: un estudio de casos. Revista Lasallista de Investigacion, 20(2), 156–169. https://doi.org/10.22507/RLI.V20N2A9
Evans, L. (1997). Addressing problems of conceptualization and construct validity in researching teachers’ job satisfaction. Educational Research, 39(3), 319–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/0013188970390307
Geesa, R. L., Stith, K. M., & Rose, M. A. (2022). Preparing School and District Leaders for Success in Developing and Facilitating Integrative STEM in Higher Education. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 17(2), 139–159. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775120962148
Guerra, L., Machado, E., Espíndola, A., & Rubio, J. (2020). La competencia trabajo en equipo entre docentes de la Universidad de Camaguey. Revista Electrónica Formación y Calidad Educativa, 8, 224–235. https://refcale.uleam.edu.ec/index.php/refcale/article/view/3090/1992
Grootenboer, P., Edwards-Groves, C., & Rönnerman, K. (2019). Understanding middle leadership: practices and policies. In School Leadership and Management (Vol. 39, Issues 3–4, pp. 251–254). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2019.1611712
Hernández-Sampieri, R., & Mendoza, C. P. (2018). Metodología de la Investigación (Séptima).
Leithwood, K., Harris, A., & Hopkins, D. (2020). Seven strong claims about successful school leadership revisited. School Leadership and Management, 40(1), 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2019.1596077
Lewthwaite, B. (2006). Constraints and contributors to becoming a science teacher-leader. Science Education, 90(2), 331–347. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20093
Lipscombe, K., Tndall-Ford, S., & Lamanna, J. (2021). School middle leadership: A systematic review. Educational Management Administration and Leadership. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143220983328
Maluenda Albornoz, J., Varas Contreras, M., & Chacano Osses, D. (2021). Efectos del aula invertida y la evaluación auténtica en el aprendizaje de la matemática universitaria en estudiantes de primer año de ingeniería. Educación, 30(58). https://doi.org/10.18800/educacion.202101.010
Moreno-Casado, H., Leo, F. M., López-Gajardo, M. A., García-Calvo, T., Cuevas, R., & Sánchez-Oliva, D. (2021). Adaptation and validation of the mlq-5x leadership scale to the Spanish educational context. Anales de Psicologia, 37(2), 311–322. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.425351
Murphy, S. (2023). Leadership practices contributing to STEM education success at three rural Australian schools. Australian Educational Researcher, 50(4), 1049–1067. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-022-00541-4
Natarajan, U., Tan, A. L., & Teo, T. W. (2021). Theorizing STEM Leadership: Agency, Identity and Community. Asia-Pacific Science Education, 7(1), 173–196. https://doi.org/10.1163/23641177-bja10021
Quiroz, J. I., Rizo, J. R., De La Torre, C. M., & Rizo, G. D. (2022). Impacto de la gamificación en el aprendizaje de estudiantes universitarios ecuatorianos. Estudio de caso. Estudios Del Desarrollo Social, 10(3), 2–20. http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2308-01322022000300006
Rahman, S. A., Busari, A. H., Mazlan, M. N. A., & Suhaili, A. (2025). Systematic literature review on developing an integrated STEM leadership model for middle leaders in school. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 14(2), 786–796. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v14i2.31691
Rodríguez Navas, P. M., Simelio, N., & Corco y Ruiz, M. (2017). Metodologías de evaluación de la transparencia: procedimientos y problemas. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 72(8), 818–831. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS
Roque Herrera, Y., Ángel, P., Moral, V., Santiago, I. I., García, A., María, I., Zagalaz, L., & Iv, S. (2018). Metacognition and autonomous learning in higher Education. Educación Médica Superior, 32(4), 293–302. http://scielo.sld.cu/pdf/ems/v32n4/a023_1480.pdf
Sellami, A. L., Al-Ali, A., Allouh, A., & Alhazbi, S. (2023). Student Attitudes and Interests in STEM in Qatar through the Lens of the Social Cognitive Theory. Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097504
Tan, C. W., Ling, L., Yu, P. D., Hang, C. N., & Wong, M. F. (2020). Mathematics Gamification in Mobile App Software for Personalized Learning at Scale. 2020 9th IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference, ISEC 2020, 2020-January. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISEC49744.2020.9397846
Tsakeni, M., Munje, P., & Jita, L. (2021). Issues and challenges influencing school improvement opportunities for science and mathematics. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, 16(3), 1300–1318. https://doi.org/10.18844/CJES.V16I3.5853
Wright, P. (2017). Critical relationships between teachers and learners of school mathematics*. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 25(4), 515–530. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2017.1285345
Wright, P., Fejzo, A., & Carvalho, T. (2022). Challenging inequity in mathematics education by making pedagogy more visible to learners. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 53(2), 444–466. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2020.1775320
Yan, J., Liu, S., Armwood-Gordon, C., & Li, L. (2024). Factors affecting Active Flipped Learning on Underrepresented students in Three STEM Courses. Education and Information Technologies, 29(9), 10791–10804. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12234-1
Yow, J. A., Wilkerson, A., & Gay, C. (2020). Mathematics and Science Teacher Leadership Understanding Through a Teacher Leadership Course. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 19(4), 839–862. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-020-10080-y
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Esteban Lopez, Darwin Marcelo Varela Lascano, Patricia Alexandra Chávez Calderón, Nancy Patricia Ruiz Pulig
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
