Effects of Teacher Leadership on Parent-Teacher Collaboration at The Elementary School in Nanjing, China

Teacher's role in fostering effective parent-teacher collaboration is critical for the educational process and can greatly influence its growth. This study investigates how primary school teacher leadership influences parent-teacher cooperation in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. This article utilises the five forces model of leadership and incorporates teachers' professional traits to provide an analytical framework for teacher leadership, aiming to provide a thorough examination of the current state of teacher leadership. An analytical approach is developed to evaluate the existing state of parent-teacher collaboration simultaneously. This approach utilises existing literature and collaboration theory to provide a thorough grasp of the status of parent-teacher collaboration. The parent data was analysed using descriptive statistical analysis and Pearson correlation. This dual method enables a thorough investigation into the impact of teacher leadership on parent-teacher collaboration. The study revealed that the general state of parent-teacher collaboration is positive, with notable variations among parents in their level of cooperation. Teacher leadership plays a crucial role in fostering parent-teacher cooperation, and its various sources of influence have distinct effects across different dimensions. If the research results are applied to real-life scenarios, then teachers will assume a more influential leadership position, thereby helping parents to become more involved in parent-teacher collaboration, increasing the overall effectiveness of the collaboration, and ultimately promoting the development of elementary school students in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.


Introduction
Effective cooperation between parents and teachers in a home-school alliance is crucial for student growth (Khoirunas et al., 2023).This partnership signifies a robust connection between home and school, with the goal of collaborating to enhance pupils' social Vol 14, Issue 5, (2024) E-ISSN: 2222-6990 development.Effective communication between teachers and parents fosters a strong educational partnership that benefits student growth and minimises conflicts.Teachers have a prominent role in cooperation, utilising their experience and communication skills to lead the collaborative efforts.Studies have demonstrated that when teachers take initiative in engaging with parents, it encourages more active collaboration and leads to improved student (Evinoria et al., 2023).Teachers usually take the lead in collaborating with parents to better assist them and work together to enhance student development, despite both parties being considered equals in the partnership.Teacher leadership is crucial in fostering parentteacher cooperation by engaging absent parents, shaping their attitudes and behaviours, enhancing the collaboration's quality, and ultimately helping teachers (Bektaş & Küçükturan, 2020).In Nanjing, there are 390 elementary schools with a total of 529,250 students.The overall student population in Nanjing is 2,395,000, with elementary school students making up 22% of the total (Department of Statistics Nanjing, 2023).Considering this sizable group of individuals, we should focus on their education.
Parent-teacher collaboration in primary education in Nanjing, China appears to be underutilised (Wang, 2023).Wang's study revealed that just 26% of parents had a basic comprehension of parent-teacher collaboration.Why does a relationship meant to foster the comprehensive growth of the child seem disconnected in reality?Teachers may prioritise kids' academic performance above recognising the crucial role they play in fostering parentteacher cooperation (Wang et al., 2024).Research should revisit elementary education in Nanjing to examine the status of parent-teacher cooperation and teacher leadership and analyse their relationship to comprehend the significant connection between teacher leadership and parent-teacher collaboration.(Baharuddin et al., 2023).Parents and teachers are crucial stakeholders who should work together, yet there is a dearth of good guidance for their collaboration (Guo & Kilderry, 2017).This raises the question of how teacher leadership in parent-teacher interactions might be better understood and improved to support the overall development of pupils.Answering this question will enable teachers to intentionally enhance their leadership abilities to fulfil the requirements of their educational pursuits.
Analysing the current state of teacher leadership and parent-teacher collaboration at elementary schools in Nanjing, examining their relationship, and providing recommendations will greatly impact and improve the educational setting and enhance the quality of education.Teachers can design and modify techniques to enhance parent-teacher involvement in cooperation more successfully.This will enhance cooperation, address existing educational challenges at the primary school level in Nanjing, and foster student development (Peng & Zhang, 2023).

Literature Review Teacher Leadership
Teacher leadership has become a significant area of study within the field of education since the 1980s.The topic has shifted significantly from examining how teachers act as senior leaders in schools to studying how instructors display their leadership both in and out of the classroom.This has expanded the notion of teacher leadership and highlighted a leadership strategy focused on influence rather than power.
Teacher leadership originates from an individual's proficiency, abilities, and social connections built via engagements with others.This effect is not based on official authority or standing, but on positive interpersonal interactions and professional ability (Bolat & Toytok, 2023).Studies have demonstrated that teacher leadership has a favourable effect on individual teachers by boosting their professional happiness and self-efficacy.Additionally, it is essential for shaping school culture, improving student success, and encouraging educational innovation (Supriyatna et al., 2023).Teacher leadership development and implementation are influenced by external factors like school culture, organisational structure, and interpersonal relationships, as well as internal factors such as teachers' leadership skills, affective states, and professional role identity (Geijsel et al., 2009).Enhancing teacher leadership necessitates a blend of national policies, school settings, and teachers' skills, which can be advanced through supportive policies, improved school cultures and structures, and enhanced professional development for individual teachers (Caride & Rivas, 2023).
The research utilises the Five Forces Model of Leadership, which is an inclusive theoretical framework incorporating various leadership perspectives like transformational, visionary, and charismatic theories, to illustrate a multifaceted leadership concept with multiple elements and dimensions.Choosing the Five Forces of Leadership model to examine the present condition of teacher leadership in a study of elementary schools in Nanjing is highly practical implications (Miao & Huo, 2006).The model constructs a conceptual chain of leadership to explain the interrelationships among leadership elements, stress the integration of theory and practice, and underscore the individual's capacity to influence group or organisational goals and their achievement through improved leadership.
The concept classifies leadership into five essential elements: attractiveness, foresight, influence, decisiveness, and control.Effective leadership requires the integration of the characteristics depicted in Figure 1 to engage and influence both followers and stakeholders to continuously achieve the group or organization's objectives (Miao & Huo, 2006).To exhibit teacher leadership, teachers must have compelling personal charisma and proficient communication abilities to actively involve and sway pupils, in addition to the five listed criteria.

Parent-teacher Cooperation
Parent-teacher collaboration is widely acknowledged as a crucial element in enhancing student growth and educational efficiency.This relationship is founded on a shared interest and obligation to enhance student development and academic achievement (Pan & Liu, 2023).Parent-teacher collaboration has gained significance due to advancements in educational research and society's increasing need for quality education.
Parent-teacher collaboration is important because it combines the assets of the home and school to create a synergistic educational environment that supports students' development (Mokhtar et al., 2023).By engaging in good communication and collaboration, parents and teachers can jointly contribute to decision-making, exchange educational materials, and support each other in parental responsibilities and problems.
Various factors impact parent-teacher collaboration, such as the school climate, individual characteristics of teachers and parents, and differences between them.The quality of collaboration is significantly influenced by teachers' professionalism, communication skills, and attitudes (Kocaman, 2022).Parents' willingness, time availability, socioeconomic level, and education knowledge are crucial aspects that impact the efficacy of partnership.These considerations demonstrate that parent-teacher collaboration is a complex process that necessitates both parties to cooperate based on understanding and respect.Parent-teacher cooperation encounters challenge such cognitive disparities, oversimplification of collaboration techniques, and inadequate depth of engagement.These issues frequently impede the development of successful collaboration, leading to parents or teachers not fully achieving their potential in educational collaboration (Neuenschwander, 2020).To improve cooperation between parents and teachers, schools, teachers, and parents must implement proactive initiatives.
Collaboration theory offers a structure for examining and comprehending the interactions involved in parent-teacher collaboration.Collaboration, as per Friend and Cook (1992), is a direct interaction between two or more interdependent actors who willingly work together towards a shared objective.This philosophy highlights the significance of voluntary collaboration, equality, shared resources, and shared accountability.When applying this theory to parent-teacher cooperation, four elements may be identified for analysing parentteacher collaboration.The variables to be analysed are parents' motivation for engaging in parent-teacher cooperation, the conditions of parents' participation in such cooperation, the extent of parents' involvement, and the level of parents' trust in teachers.
These factors can aid in comprehending the present level of collaboration between parents and teachers and in investigating strategies to enhance pupils' growth.

Conceptual Framework
Teacher leadership comprises six essential components: teacher attractiveness, teacher foresight, teacher influence, teacher communication, teacher decisiveness, and teacher control.Parent-teacher collaboration involves motivation, collaboration conditions, collaboration levels, and trust in the teacher.The researcher details each facet of pro-teacher cooperation and examines the correlation between teacher leadership and Parent-teacher collaboration. Figure 2 depicts the conceptual framework of this investigation.1.What is the status of teacher leadership and parent-teacher cooperation among elementary school teachers in Nanjing? 2. Is there a significant relationship between teacher leadership and parent-teacher cooperation among elementary schools in Nanjing?

Methodology
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between teacher leadership and parentteacher cooperation at the elementary school level in the Chinese city of Nanjing.Data were gathered from participants through the distribution of questionnaires, and the sample was chosen using a stratified random sampling method.Two elementary schools, one public and one private, were chosen for the study, and the study proposed to randomly select teachers and parents of students from grades one through six in both elementary schools.Specifically, 215 elementary school teachers and 671 parents of students were selected as the study's subjects.
This study focused on kids and parents from Nanjing Mechanics Elementary School and Nanjing Zhiyuan Foreign Language Elementary School, with children in grades one through six.The questionnaire "Teacher Leadership Questionnaire" replicated and modified the original "Teacher Leadership Questionnaire" created by (Xu, 2012).The Teacher Leadership Components were created using the  (Zhang, 2012).By contacting the teacher departments of the two schools and distributing the questionnaires online using an application called Questionnaire Star, we made sure that participants are anonymous and willingly participate in our data collection process.The privacy of the participants were protected by allowing them to answer the questions anonymously.
The "Teacher Leadership Questionnaire" contains 27 items, while the "Questionnaire on the Status of Parent-Teacher Collaboration" contains 19 items, respectively, and respondents were required to finish them within 20 minutes.Data was analysed using descriptive analysis and Pearson correlation analysis.Pearson's correlation coefficient was utilised to examine the association between the independent and dependent variables.Both questionnaires underwent validation by experts prior to the commencement of the study.Pilot research was carried out with a sample of teachers and parents from Mechanics Primary School and Zhiyuan Foreign Language Primary School in Nanjing.  1 shows the Cronbach's alpha values for two variables: teacher leadership and parentteacher collaboration.The Cronbach's alpha value for teacher leadership is 0.957, which indicates that the overall reliability of the questionnaire is high and the reliability of the dimensions is good according to the criterion of the alpha coefficient's appropriateness, and 27 items were retained in this study for the data analysis; the Cronbach's alpha value for parent-teacher cooperation is 0.940, which also shows a very high reliability, and 19 items were retained in this study for the data analysis.

Demographic Profiling
A total of 671 respondents were randomly selected from 4,000 parents of students in two primary schools in Nanjing, and 215 respondents were randomly selected from 260 teachers.
The questionnaire was distributed and the response rate is 100%.

Descriptive Findings on Teacher Leadership
Table 4 shows the mean scores for each construct on the teacher leadership dimension.The Attractiveness dimension had the highest mean (M = 4.51, SD = 0.57), followed by Communication (M = 4.12, SD = 0.67), Influence (M = 4.06, SD = 0.66), Foresight (M = 4.03, SD = 0.69), Control (M = 3.92, SD = 0.68), and lastly, decisiveness (M = 3.78, SD = 0.68).The overall mean of teacher leadership was 4.10, which was higher than its scaled mean of 3, and the mean of each dimension was also greater than the scaled mean of 3, indicating that the group of teachers in this survey had a high level of teacher leadership.

Descriptive Findings on Parent-teacher cooperation
Table 5 presents the mean scores for each element of parent-teacher collaboration.Parents' trust in teachers had the highest mean (M = 4.03, SD = 0.79), followed by parents' level of involvement in parent-teacher collaboration (M = 3.94, SD = 0.71), parents' motivation to participate in parent-teacher collaboration (M = 3.80, SD = 0.76), and parents' conditions of involvement in parent-teacher collaboration (M = 3.57, SD = 0.81).In this study, the overall mean for parent-teacher collaboration was 3.82, and all dimension means were also greater than the scored mean of 3, indicating that parent-teacher collaboration is good.

Correlation Analysis
The data was analysed using bivariate Pearson correlations, as shown in Table 6.The study found significant positive correlations between the six dimensions of teacher leadershipteacher attractiveness, teacher foresight, teacher influence, teacher determination, teacher control, and teacher communication-and the four dimensions of parent-teacher cooperation-motivation to cooperate in parent-teacher cooperation, the conditions of cooperation, the level of cooperation, and the level of trust in the teacher.These correlations were statistically significant (p < 0.01) as indicated in Table 6.All correlations are significantly positive (p < 0.01).A link suggests that increased teacher leadership is associated with improved parent-teacher cooperation.understanding of how teacher leadership relates to parent-teacher interaction.The study's data indicates that teachers at the primary school level in Nanjing have commendable levels of teacher leadership.The average score for teacher leadership was 4.10, with all dimensions scoring above 3.This suggests that elementary school teachers in Nanjing exhibit a high level of teacher leadership in the six dimensions: attractiveness, foresight, influence, communication power, decisiveness, and control.
Upon further analysis of the scores for each dimension, it was observed that the mean scores for each dimension ranked in descending order as follows: teacher attractiveness, teacher communication power, teacher influence, teacher foresight, teacher control, and teacher decisiveness.This outcome exposes the varying strengths and shortcomings of Nanjing primary school teachers across several aspects of leadership.Teacher attractiveness received the highest score, suggesting that teachers possess a significant capacity to inspire and motivate pupils, as well as ignite their excitement and drive through their charm and passion.Elementary school teachers in Nanjing demonstrate strong communication skills, successfully conveying information, solving difficulties, and promoting understanding among pupils, colleagues, and parents.Although the situation is generally positive, the study revealed that the standard deviations of teacher leadership were all above 0.5.This suggests that there are still some teachers in the elementary school teaching force in Nanjing with relatively low levels of leadership, leading to differences and imbalances.The variation in teachers' educational background, teaching experience, and personality could account for this discrepancy (Zhu et al., 2023).
Parent-teacher collaboration is essential in education.It is not only connected to kids' general development but also influences the strong relationship between schools and families (Fu et al., 2022).Parent-teacher cooperation encompasses motivation to collaborate with instructors, the terms of collaboration, the extent of collaboration, and the level of trust in teachers.These factors together provide the comprehensive framework of parent-teacher collaboration.
The study shows that the mean value of the overall condition score for parent-teacher cooperation is 3.82, indicating a relatively good performance at the elementary school level in Nanjing, ranking at the upper middle level.Parents' emphasis on education and collaboration with instructors are key factors contributing to this performance.Merely assessing based on the average value is insufficient.The standard deviation data enhances comprehension.If the standard deviation is above 0.7, it indicates significant variations in parents' performance across the four domains of parent-teacher collaboration.While most parents excelled in collaborating with teachers by actively engaging, establishing conducive settings, enhancing the level of collaboration, and trusting the instructor, there were still some parents who did not meet the expected outcomes in this endeavour.Motivation to collaborate with teachers is a crucial requirement for parent-teacher interaction, according to (Mård and Hilli, 2023).Parents' active involvement in school educational activities and effective communication with instructors contribute to creating educational synergy and collectively enhancing pupils' development.Additionally, the terms of collaboration have a crucial role in determining the success of parent-teacher cooperation (Levin, 2023).This pertains to the circumstances about the schedules of parents and teachers, their communication methods, and the educational materials available.Parent-teacher cooperation can go smoothly and achieve the intended results only if these conditions are met.The extent of collaboration directly impacts the scope and scale of parent-teacher cooperation.Superficial cooperation may just comprise basic communication and trade, while profound cooperation may include collaborating on educational programmes, participating in children's learning experiences, and other features (Miralles et al., 2016).Enhanced collaboration fosters a closer connection between home and school and supports the comprehensive development of the child.The amount of trust in teachers significantly impacts the quality of parent-teacher cooperation.Parental trust in teachers fosters a positive teacher-student relationship and encourages students to identify with and appreciate their teachers (Nulman & Alkalay, 2023).Mutual trust is essential for parents and teachers to collaborate effectively in creating optimal settings for children's development.
This study found a positive correlation between teacher leadership and parent-teacher cooperation at the elementary school level in Nanjing, aligning with prior research (Lee & Ahn, 2022).Stronger teacher leadership is associated with enhanced cooperation between parents and teachers.Additionally, the study indicates that teachers with greater appeal and communication skills tend to exhibit higher leadership qualities Talalienė & Šečkuvienė (2015), leading to efficient cooperation between these teachers and parents, ultimately benefiting students' development.What is the importance of enhancing teacher leadership?Enhancing teacher leadership is crucial for promoting parent-teacher cooperation and improving the quality of education.By improving their leadership skills, teachers can effectively engage students and enhance their performance in the classroom (Khoirunnisa & Widiati, 2021).Strong leadership fosters teamwork among teachers to collaboratively establish a peaceful and positive learning environment for kids.We should acknowledge the existing level of teacher leadership, while simultaneously identifying and addressing any issues or deficiencies to develop and improve it.To enhance teacher leadership, we must provide specialised training programmes tailored to the specific requirements and expertise of teachers (Tazhina et al., 2021).We advocate the use of questionnaires to assess teacher leadership.Teachers lacking charisma skills can receive training and lectures from education experts to enhance their influence and inspiration on students.A communication platform can be established for teachers with insufficient communication skills to share their expertise in talking with students or parents.By utilising these methods, teacher leadership development can be effectively encouraged.
Based on the data analysis, it is evident that there are notable disparities in parent-teacher collaboration.Parents' engagement and effectiveness in collaborating with teachers vary among individuals (Bashir, 2023).Teacher leadership characteristics vary in their impact on different facets of parent-teacher collaboration.Teachers should utilise various strategies to collaborate with parents based on their leadership skills and the relationship between teacher leadership and parent-teacher cooperation.By assessing parents' involvement and performance in cooperation, teachers can tailor their approach to enhance parental participation in collaborative efforts.This will enhance parents' engagement and effectiveness in parent-teacher collaboration.Parents generally see the parent-teacher interaction positively; however, some parents lack the means to participate fully, resulting in insufficient depth of cooperation.Most parents acknowledge the crucial role of parentteacher collaboration in students' development and are enthusiastic about it.Only a minority of parents believe that education is solely the school's responsibility and feel they are too busy with work to take on an educational role.Some parents lack the competence and abilities to effectively interact with instructors, apply appropriate educational methods, and collaborate in their child's education, which can lead to disruptions and interference (Carabantes & Paran, 2022).The level of individual participation influences the end outcomes according to participation theory (Ichdan et al., 2023).To enhance parent-teacher cooperation, it is essential for parents to actively engage and commit to improving their participation, rather than solely relying on the teacher's efforts.Without parental involvement, the assistance and impact of schools and instructors on parents will be ineffective (Mbhiza & Nkambule, 2023).
Parents must alter their thinking, as it directly influences their educational practices and behaviours.Parents have a crucial role in both supporting and actively participating in their children's education alongside teachers.They must have a proper understanding of parentteacher cooperation to take responsibility, actively engage in cooperation, and enhance their level of participation (Jevtic, 2018).Improving one's ability to participate in cooperation is only achievable after which one can cooperate with teachers at a deeper level.
It is crucial that parents proactively seek assistance from teachers.Some parents have limited learning ability due to their education level, work, and other variables, making it challenging for them to acquire educational knowledge and procedures by self-directed efforts.Teachers, possessing educational expertise and methodologies, can offer parents educational guidance, impart educational techniques, and address issues that emerge throughout pupils' development.Parents should communicate with teachers and seek help to enhance their ability to participate in parent-teacher cooperation and deepen collaboration for the benefit of students' educational growth.We can strengthen teacher leadership, promote cooperation between parents and teachers, and create better conditions and environment for the holistic development of students through the above methods.

Conclusion and Suggestions for Future Research
Parent-teacher partnership is a crucial element in kid growth.Successful parent-teacher collaboration leads to improved academic performance, stronger connections, and a more pleasant learning environment for pupils.The study findings indicate that teacher leadership significantly influences parent-teacher collaboration in primary schools in Nanjing.To address the remaining challenges, interventions should be implemented including teachers, parents, and educational institutions.Teachers should prioritise enhancing their leadership skills, parents should adjust their attitudes and consider seeking professional assistance, and educational institutions should create conducive environments for fostering teacher leadership and parent-teacher collaboration.Therefore, by fostering collaboration between home and school, the overarching objective of education can be attained.
There are various constraints in this study.The study utilised random sampling and selected two elementary schools in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province-one public and one private-as the sampling locations.The sample size and data collection method may be limited.In future studies, the sample size should be expanded, the representativeness of the study should be enhanced, and improved data collection methods can be adopted.Additionally, while the six aspects of teacher leadership are based on past research, there may be more suitable dimensions to measure teacher leadership.Future research could explore additional aspects that are crucial in teacher leadership and collaboration between parents and teachers.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: The Five Forces of Leadership Model.

Figure 2 :
Figure 2: Conceptual framework Five Forces Model of Leadership to analyse the traits of existing teacher leadership.The questionnaire comprises two sections: Part A includes a demographic profile, while Part B consists of 27 items focusing on specific teacher leadership skills based on the previously mentioned Xu (2012) study.The "Questionnaire on the Status of Parent-Teacher Collaboration" used in this study was adapted from the questionnaire of the "Questionnaire on Parental Involvement in Home-School Collaboration in Elementary Schools", created by Jianwei Zhang in 2012.The components of parent-teacher collaboration were created following the collaboration theory to investigate the present condition of parent-teacher collaboration.It comprised two sections: Part A: demographic profile; and Part B: 19 items concerning parent-teacher collaboration

Table
Table 1 displays the reliability coefficients of the questionnaires used in the pilot study.
Table 2 displays data on teacher respondent characteristics, while Table 3 displays data on parent respondent characteristics.The data reported that among the teacher respondents, 45 (20.9%) were male and 170 (79.1%) were female.The largest proportion of participants aged 50 years or above (n = 107, 50.69%), with the next highest age group being 41-50 years (n = 74, 34.42%), followed by 31-

Table 6
Correlational Analysis Result of Studied Variables (n=215) *significant<0.01 (2-tailed); r =Pearson's correlation coefficient; p = p-valueDiscussion and ImplicationThis study aimed to investigate the intricate connection between teacher leadership and parent-teacher collaboration at the elementary school level in Nanjing.The study used scientific methods to collect and analyse data, resulting in a thorough and comprehensive