Empowering EFL Teachers through Distributed Leadership: A Critical Perspective on Leadership Practices in an Educational Institution
Sayyed Rashid Shah

Abstract
There is a serious lack of literature on teacher empowerment and the effectiveness of educational leadership within a TESOL framework in Saudi Arabia.This small-scale critical study reports the findings on EFL teachers’ perceptions of their empowerment and the effectiveness of leadership style adopted at a Saudi Arabian university. As positioned within the critical paradigm, this study attempts to raise EFL teachers’ awareness and empower them to have voice and become a part of the decision-making processes in a language institute. As a result of five semi-structured interviews with five purposively chosen participants, qualitative data was gathered. Thematic analysis of the data led to five major themes, whichare the absence of appreciation and celebration, lack of collaboration and interpersonal trust, the foundations of ineffective leadership style, the oppressive nature of the policies, and teachers’ empowerment through distributed leadership. Participants have unequivocally challenged the status quo of the top-down management and hierarchal leadership style, which gives space to oppression, lack of teachers’ voice, teachers’ disempowerment and organisational failure. Therefore, it is suggested that distributed leadership will allow EFL teachers to have a sense of responsibility, ownership, colleagueship and fulfillment by involving in the decision-making processes and building collaborative relationship between supervisors, teachers and other stakeholders in the organisation.

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