Abstract:

Since the earliest pedagogical studies, the role of the teacher as a leader in the classroom has been recognized. However, it is only recently that research has focused on analyzing the effects that the use of different leadership behaviors has on student outcomes (e.g., satisfaction, motivation, academic results). In this sense, a stream of research has emerged aimed at studying the application of different leadership theories within the classroom (e.g. transformational leadership) to improve the teaching-learning process. In this line, a model that has been considered adequate to favor the teacher-student relationship is servant leadership.

A servant leader is an altruistic leader who seeks above all else the development of followers, even above organizational goals and his or her own. Thus, the emphasis of servant leadership on the development of followers (the students) and service to them as priority objectives makes it a valuable approach to teacher leadership. Therefore, the potential transferability of servant leadership to teacher leadership is evident since its presence can generate high-quality exchanges between the teacher and the students that can enhance high levels of engagement, the latter understood as the student's performance of high levels of enthusiasm, involvement and connection with the subject matter. Thus, it is not surprising to think that maintaining servant leadership in the classroom allows students to be more engaged in their learning because they feel challenged, supported, encouraged to take an active role in the learning process and become involved with the course content.

To better understand the mechanisms used by the servant teaching approach to enhance student engagement, two complementary avenues of analysis are used in the present study. On the one hand, the mediating role of cooperation/interaction in the classroom is examined. The presence of this variable in the teaching-learning process can generate essential resources that foster active student participation, greater knowledge, and the incorporation of different points of view; elements that can boost student engagement. On the other hand, we study how the use of a flipped learning methodology in the classroom can play a moderating role in the relationships proposed. That is, it can activate differential mechanisms in the development of greater student engagement. In the flipped classroom, the teacher helps the students, instead of simply delivering information, while the students become responsible for their learning process and must control their own pace of learning. This means that a flipped learning approach in the classroom can lead to different results in terms of student engagement compared to a traditional approach.

Keywords:

Servant teaching, student engagement, cooperation, interaction, flipped learning.