“Issues in Teacher Leadership Review”

Yvonne Epps

EDEL 502H-73

Dr. Kristen Shand

April 26, 2020

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Amore et al (2015) conducted a study about the role of teacher voice and leadership

during the rollout of Common Core standards in various districts. The setting was various

districts around the US including Baltimore City Public Schools, Georgetown Exempted Village

Schools, Marquardt School District 15, Poway Unified School District, San Juan Unified School

District, and Washoe County School District. The findings were that professional development

opportunities were the best quality and most effective when teachers submit ideas and the most

successful districts included time and structure for teachers to teach and collaborate. This is

consistent with what I experience at my own school, in which PDs that I advocate for and

request are the ones that I learn from the most rather than ones that are required of me. In

addition, when I’m given ample time and structure to begin a new unit, I’m able to more examine

the group of students I have and the standards they need more support and practice in. The

authors suggested creating teacher leadership roles at certain levels of the school structure,

giving teachers an active role in the selection of Common Core materials, and planning

collaboration time between teachers. This study was done in 2015 and I already see many of

these recommendations as expected norms for professional development, but as Common

Core standards are being challenged by the need to increase 21st-century skills and technology

literacy, we will need to continue to improve for our students’ sakes.

Barry (2016) conducted a study about the link between student learning and leadership

and the systems that govern teacher learning and leadership. The setting is at Social Justice

Humanitas Academy in Los Angeles, serving a high-poverty neighborhood challenged by gang

violence, yet is able to provide high expectations and positive student outcomes. The findings

were that student success was due to the high level of autonomy teachers were given, the

individualized education plans, and interdisciplinary grade level teams. Due to this, students

were seen as individuals and had a sense of empowerment to show up for themselves, not just
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their teachers. The authors suggested that there needs to be more focus on supportive

administrative leadership, enabling work structures, and a new orientation towards inquiry and

risk-tasking. It’s interesting to think that there needs to be space for failure in order for there to

be growth within the professional staff in our current hustle culture. While we have increasingly

supportive administration and empowering work structures, the idea of taking risks and learning

from the failure isn’t as talked about. As teacher leaders, we need to change this rhetoric and be

comfortable with the same level of failure we expect our students to be comfortable with so we

can all grow together.

Beachum et al (2004) conducted a study about the presence and power of teachers as

leaders on renewing school. The participants were 25 teachers in 5 schools in 1 district who

were interviewed. The findings were that strong teacher teaming, encouragement of teacher

advocacy and autonomy, and a strong connection to universities, community and urban

environment, and the world via the Internet produced the best teacher leaders. The more

supported a teacher is with their decisions to be the best teacher leader, the more incentivized

they are to make decisions to benefit the whole school. The authors suggested building

communities of teacher leaders and administrations should involve teachers in their

decision-making, delegating tasks to teachers, and giving adequate time and resources to be

successful. While many would view the politics at a school as segregated, it’s a lot more

integrated in 2020, where I’m seeing department heads finally attending leadership meetings

and advocating for their departments.

These three articles suggest that teacher leaders have the most impact on their students

when they are encouraged to have the autonomy, work together collaboratively, and have the

time and space to effectively and successfully implement their decisions. The focus of Amore et
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al (2015) was the ability to advocate for the types of professional developments in order to be

effective, however, Barry (2016) was recommending a focus towards inquiry and risk-taking.

Beachum et al (2004) recommended involving teachers in administrative decision making, but it

has been 16 years since this study and we already see this evolving in our current climate, in

which Amore et al and Barry build on this need.

Works Cited

Amore, A., Hoeflich, N., and Pennington, K. (2015). ​Teacher Leadership: The Pathway to

Common Core Success.​ Center for American Progress

Barry, B. (2016). ​Teacher leadership & deeper learning for all students.​ Center for Teacher

Quality

Beachum, F. and Dentith, A. (2004). Teacher Leaders Creating Cultures of School Renewal and

Transformation. ​The Educational Forum​, 68.