“I never thought of myself as a teacher leader!”: Discovering the teacher leader within

Sharon L Daley, Purdue University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand how teachers' participation in a study group affected their learning about teacher leadership and explain how that process happened. The study sought to investigate how the teachers’ understanding and perceptions of teacher leadership changed over time during participation in a study group, and discover what mechanisms within a study group facilitated teachers’ understandings of teacher leadership. Considerable work has already been done to investigate leadership in general so this study was designed to examine the unique context of the development of teacher leaders. This mixed methods study was based on the methodological framework of phenomenology and the theoretical frameworks of communities of practice and situated learning. The findings of this study led to three assertions. First, as the teachers participated in the study group they personalized their definitions of teacher leadership. They did this by first attributing leadership characteristics to the general population or their colleagues then attributing these same characteristics to themselves. The teachers also expanded their definitions of teacher leadership. Second, the teachers believed more in their abilities to be teacher leaders at the end of the study than at the beginning. Third, the teachers’ participation in the study group activities facilitated a shared understanding of teacher leadership and personal growth as teacher leaders. The mechanisms of reflection, shared experiences, making sense of new information, and problem solving facilitated the teachers’ change in their perceptions of teacher leadership. This study concludes with suggestions for future research including examining how the development of relationships in the study group impacted the teachers’ development; studies designed to investigate beginning teachers’ experiences in a similar study group; and teacher leaders’ impact on school reform.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Capobianco, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Educational leadership|School administration|Teacher education

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