"I'm Not a Bystander"

Jeffrey C Eargle

doi:10.35608/ruraled.v35i1.362

Abstract

Rural teachers need ongoing, flexible professional development designed to encourage collaboration and curriculum development. Furthermore, rural school reform requires successful collaborations between schools and colleges to create leaders within schools. Therefore, this case study is a program review that investigates how social studies teachers at Timberwood High School, a rural high school in the American southeast, are emerging as teacher leaders through a school-university partnership to improve their practice, mentor pre-service teachers, and generate reform. Interviews were conducted with members of the social studies department, all of whom were involved in the project. The findings indicate that the school-university partnership encouraged experimentation with new strategies, stimulated reflective practices and teacher growth, and created a more cohesive social studies department. However, while it was evident that teacher leadership did develop through the process, traditional school norms of egalitarianism and structural hierarchy prevented teachers from fully embracing their roles as teacher leaders. Study findings suggest that rural administrators and rural school-university partnerships must focus on developing teacher leaders to initiate school reform and grow professionally.

Highlights

IntroductionFlexible professional development designed to encourage collaboration and curriculum development
Rural teachers need ongoing, flexible professional development designed to encourage collaboration and curriculum development
To what extent were the social studies teachers at Timberwood High School developing a greater sense of experimentation with new instructional strategies as a result of the collaboration with Madison College? Second, in what ways was the school-university partnership between Timberwood High School and Madison College increasing the confidence of the social studies teachers to become teacher leaders? This study serves to connect the research on schooluniversity partnerships and teacher leadership using rural teachers as the linchpin

Summary

Introduction

Flexible professional development designed to encourage collaboration and curriculum development. This case study is a program review that investigates how social studies teachers at Timberwood High School, a rural high school in the American southeast, are emerging as teacher leaders through a school-university partnership to improve their practice, mentor pre-service teachers, and generate reform. Strengthened ties between the Timberwood High School and Madison College could develop teacher leadership, encourage collaboration within the social studies department, and serve as a step toward reform. To what extent were the social studies teachers at Timberwood High School developing a greater sense of experimentation with new instructional strategies as a result of the collaboration with Madison College? Defining teacher leadership is complex, yet the focus is on teachers leading the improvement of education for students by mentoring, conducting professional development, creating policy, and developing curriculum

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Conclusion