Abstract
Advocacy is an emergent dimension of teacher leadership, given its growing importance in shaping policy and facilitating reform efforts in American K-12 education. In 2014, the National Academies called for advancing advocacy-based activities and leadership among K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers, who are presently understudied. The purpose of this embedded single-case case study was to explore STEM teachers’ development of self-efficacy in advocacy for STEM education. Contextualizing the case, participants consisted of 11 STEM teacher leaders who were part of the STEM Teacher Ambassadors (STA) program, a year-long advocacy-focused leadership development fellowship program, jointly sponsored by the National Science Teaching Association and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Employing case study research methodology, primary data were collected using semi-structured interviews, while secondary data were sourced via focus group interview and documents to triangulate interview data. Utterances (i.e., participant statements, groups of statements, or segments of statements) from transcribed data were coded a priori and analyzed via four constructs of self-efficacy theory: enactive master experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. Results revealed 157 utterances coded to self-efficacy building within STEM education advocacy. Findings suggest that STEM teacher leaders’ participation in professional development programs that specifically focus on development of policy knowledge and advocacy activities help to develop and sustain STEM teacher leaders’ advocacy self-efficacy, given that participating teachers have numerous opportunities to fully engage in mastery experiences in STEM education advocacy. Implications and recommendations for policy and suggestions for further studies are discussed.
Highlights
Recent initiatives in K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education have strived to strengthen the STEM teacher workforce in America by advancing teacher leadership (Honey, Pearson, & Schweingruber, 2014; National Education Association, 2019; U.S Department of Education, n.d.; Wynne, 2001)
As the data were analyzed deductively using the constructs of self-efficacy as a theoretical lens, the results are further explicated per constructs of enactive master experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal
There is evidence to suggest that first-hand STEM education advocacy practice, observances of advocate role models, external and internal encouragement to advocate, and the ability to navigate through challenges influenced this type of advocacy self-efficacy
Summary
Because of the variation in definitions of teacher leadership, Wenner and Campbell (2017) have sought to define teacher leadership, in each and every study, to bridge this need and gap within the literature. Gen and Wright (2013) defined advocacy as “intentional activities initiated by the public to affect the policy making process” 165), with a goal in making change to current policy Synthesizing these definitions of teacher leadership and advocacy, the present study conceptualizes STEM teacher advocacy as teacher leadership as intentional activities by STEM teacher leaders to influence STEM education policy
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