BECOMING TEACHER LEADERS: CASE STUDY OF TEACHERS 3-7 YEARS AFTER PARTICIPATION IN A 12-MONTH TEACHER LEADERSHIP PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

For more than a decade, there has been a growing interest in promoting teacher leadership as a lever for school change. How teachers developed as leaders and experienced efforts intended to support their leadership development was still unclear. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to add to this body of knowledge by examining teacher leaders’ perceptions of their own teacher leadership development. To that end, the study focused on three potential factors in teacher leadership development: teacher professional learning, professional background, and workplace environment. First, former participants of a teacher leadership professional development program run by a nonsystem professional development provider were surveyed three to seven years after program completion about their program experiences and the perceived influence the program had on their leadership beliefs, knowledge, skills, and practices. A subset of survey respondents identified as active teacher leaders were then interviewed about their development as teacher leaders and how, if at all, the program, their professional backgrounds, and their workplace environments influenced their teacher leadership trajectories. Study participants perceived that the program positively influenced their leadership development, most notably in increasing their confidence. According to participants, one of the most influential aspects of the program was the connection they made with other educators and education stakeholders that expanded their professional and social networks. Overall, participants considered their personal beliefs, like having a growth mindset, as one of the most important background factors in their leadership development. There was some evidence that teachers experienced teacher leadership differently based on their content areas, with more non-STEM teachers reporting frustration at accessing teacher leadership opportunities. Complementing existing research, the study found that participants identified the principal as an important in-school factor influencing their teacher leadership development, but it was not the only factor. Participants also pointed to personal attributes, like beliefs and past experiences, as important influences on their later leadership development, rivaling the influence of professional background or contextual features. This study provided insight into how teachers experienced teacher leadership development and suggested possible ways to scaffold leadership learning for other teachers interested in developing as leaders.Doctor of Philosoph