Teacher Leadership Practices in Large Texas High Schools with Different Accountability Ratings: A Mixed Methods Study

A promising strategy for improving education is to use the energy of teacher leaders as agents of school change. According to Katzenmeyer and Moller (2001), teaching and learning improve where shared leadership exists, and when there is no expectation of “heroic leadership” from one person. Therefore, this mixed methods study was designed to examine teacher leadership and the leadership styles and practices of principals in large Texas high schools with different accountability ratings. Two hundred and fifteen participants consisting of teachers, teacher leaders, and leadership team members from 24 high schools were surveyed; and personal interviews were held with principals and teachers from a Recognized campus and an Academically Unacceptable campus (highest and lowest ends of the Texas Accountability Rating Categories). Survey results indicated that there were no significant differences in teacher leadership or in the seven dimensions of teacher leadership in high schools with different accountability ratings. However, there were significant differences found in principal leadership, transformational leadership, and functions of school management (transactional practices). Between the Recognized and the Academically Unacceptable campuses, interview and descriptive data revealed that there were differences in teacher leadership