Katie Godinez

Issues in Teacher Leadership Review

Critical Practices Guide for Anti-Bias Education: Teacher Leadership by Teaching Tolerance. This
article addresses 5 critical practices that could be implemented in anti-bias education in teacher
leadership. These critical practices include Self-Awareness and Cultural Competency; Speaking
Up and Responding to Prejudice, Bias, and Stereotypes; Building Alliances; Leading Beyond the
Classroom; and Ongoing Reflection and Learning. For each critical practice, a description is
given, a connection to anti-bias education is made, and multiple helpful strategies are given. The
overall theme throughout the article is the importance of making connections, self-reflection,
and self-awareness.

Teacher Leadership is Linked to Higher Student Test Scores in New Study. In this article, Will
describes some of her findings in a study she conducted regarding the correlation between
teacher leadership roles and student performance on standardized tests. Over the course of four
years, Richard Ingersoll, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of
Education and a former high school teacher, studied responses from almost 1 million teachers
across various schools in 16 states. Two aspects of leadership he considered in his study were:
“1) Do school leaders have an instructional focus, in the sense that they place teaching and
learning at the center of their decision-making? And 2) Are teachers included in that decision-
making beyond the classroom?” One of his findings was that students at schools who give their
teachers a large role in school improvement planning, experience success at a much higher rate.
The author insinuates that because teachers are closest to the students and know them best,
that it naturally makes sense for them to play a larger role in schoolwide decision-making.

The Many Faces of Leadership. In this article, Charlotte Danielson explains why there is a need
for teacher leadership in schools, describes the qualities of an effective teacher leader, and
shares three areas in which schools benefit from having teachers who participate in roles outside
of the classroom. One of the arguments she makes for the necessity of teacher leaders, is that a
teacher’s tenure in schools is longer than an administrator’s. She says that while administrators
come and go after 3 or so years, the teachers “often hold the institutional memory; they are the
custodians of the school culture.” The three areas a teacher can become involved in are within
their department, across the school, and at the district-level. Danielson provides an example of
teacher leadership in each area.

Compare/Contrast. The three articles I selected are all in support of teacher leadership, and
agree that the more teacher leaders a school has, the more successful it will be, regarding
standardized test scores and student buy-in. Another theme throughout all was that of making
meaningful connections with students and members of the school’s community. Meaningful
connections with students is part of creating a safe learning environment where students are
more comfortable in taking risks in their learning experience.
Citations:

Teacher leadership: Critical practices for anti-bias education (n.d.). In Learning For Justice.
Retrieved from
https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/publications/critical-practices-for-antibias-
education/teacher-leadership

Will, M. (2017). Teacher leadership is linked to Higher Student Test scores in New Study.
Education Week Teacher. Available at: https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/teacher-
leadership-is-linked-to-higher-student-test-scores-in-new-study/2017/10Links to an external
site.

Danielson, C (2007) The Many Faces of Leadership. Available at: