Teacher leadership, a qualitative study in three secondary schools

grantor: University of TorontoFour teacher leaders from each school were selected by their peers as being leaders in their schools. The primary means of data collection was through intensive semi structured interviews of twenty one participants across the sites which included the nominators, the nominees and the principal of each school. Observations over a three year period provided additional data to answer the research questions that inquired about who the teacher leaders are, in terms of their demographic data, their motivation, their goals for their students, their own educational goals and values; the leadership practices of the teacher leaders; the sources of power of the teacher leaders; the conditions in the school that supported or constrained teacher leadership; the perceived impact of teacher leadership on their colleagues, the students, the principal and the direction of the school. The findings are presented as three case studies in both narrative and tabular form. The case studies were also cross analyzed to determine significant similarities and differences. Similarities in the findings suggested that peers tended to nominate teachers who were in leadership positions such as department heads. The teacher leaders also had considerable teaching experience and shared common goals for their students which were congruent with the goals of the schools. Much of the findings were tied to the context of each school. The teacher leaders performed a number of administrative tasks as well as supporting colleagues, being a visionary, and inspiring their colleagues. Power was granted to them by their colleagues because of their expertise and their personal characteristics. Conditions that supported teacher leadership were the leadership of the principal, a collaborative and supportive culture and decision making processes that were open and inclusive. A perceived impact of teacher leadership in these schools was that by recognizing and providing opportunities for teachers to share their expertise and their knowledge, they contributed to the professionalization of teaching. A general conclusion of the study was that the teacher leaders were admired for their self initiated programmes towards school improvement. A possible framework for future studies of teacher leadership was proposed.Ph.D