Excellent Teachers Leading the Way: How to Cultivate Teacher Leadership

Abstract

Policy changes and mandates that may be at odds with middle school philosophy continue to come from state legislatures and departments of education. Increased emphasis on content coverage and test scores can be an obstacle to many middle level practices, such as curriculum integration and differentiated instruction. As this situation continues, it becomes increasingly difficult for middle grades educators to meet students' needs as individual learners, to develop their voices and ownership in learning, and to explore students' questions and concerns about the world around them (Kohn, 2000). While an increasing number of well-prepared, exemplary middle grades educators know and understand this situation, these educators are often not the ones leading school change. Teachers are at the center of all reform movements, and without their full participation and leadership, any effort to reform education is doomed to failure. Real change cannot be mandated, even by well-intentioned policymakers (Lieberman & Miller, 1999). Given this, why is it that teachers are not taking the lead in current reform, and how can they best be supported as leaders of school improvement? A grassroots movement by teachers reinforcing the notion that every teacher is a leader may be vital to the continued success of middle level schools in this challenging time. Benefits of teacher leadership Middle schools benefit in numerous ways by increasing opportunities for teacher leadership. Teacher leaders serve as mentors and encourage their peers; they influence policies in their schools; they assist in improving instructional practice; and they help develop the leadership capacity and improve retention of other teachers (Katzenmeyer & Moller, 2001). As these teacher leaders work to help others develop skills and practices, they frequently hone their own teaching skills and improve their classroom performance (Ovando, 1994). The ultimate benefit is improved practice and increased student performance for all (Katzenmeyer & Moller). Higher student achievement, even as defined by traditional measures, increases in schools with strong teacher leaders (Lambert, 2003). Teacher leadership allows excellent teachers to impact their colleagues and the students in their classrooms, and this serves as an incentive for them to remain in the classroom. Given these benefits, it may be worth asking, What is the current status of teacher leadership? and How we can we cultivate it in our middle level schools? In the spirit of teacher leadership, let us ask teachers to answer these questions. Are teacher leaders in our schools? Teachers enrolled in graduate programs that included a focus on action research and teacher leadership designed and implemented studies within their home schools. These teacher researchers used action research projects to examine teacher leadership in 44 middle level schools in 13 counties. All were rural or small community schools, identifying themselves as middle schools or middle schools within a K-8 setting. Most schools housed grades 6-8, with others housing grades 7-8 or K-8. All included elements of middle school organization such as teaching teams, common planning time, a verbalized commitment to teachers who are knowledgeable about young adolescents, and some implementation of integrated curriculum and exploratory classes. They included a range of educators in terms of experience, typically predominantly female, with 10%-15% males. Both male and female principals were included in the study, and the gender of the principal did not correlate with any findings. The schools ranged in size from 160 to 908 students, with the majority falling within the 500-749 range. The schools varied in terms of students' ethnic diversity, with the majority serving less than 25% students of color. Half of the schools identified more than 50% of students as economically disadvantaged. In terms of student achievement test scores, the majority of the study schools were identified as meeting expected state growth goals (Figure 1). …