Understanding the Role of Principal Leadership in Implementing Teacher Peer Excellence Groups

• In Event: Instructional Leadership

Abstract

We analyze interview and survey data from 27 schools in 6 Tennessee school districts to investigate how principals enact their role in facilitating Teacher Peer Excellence Groups (TPEGs), a model for building teacher professional communities of practice based on Shanghai lesson study groups. During the initial implementation of the model, principals had autonomy to support TPEGs according to their own understanding of instructional leadership. Findings suggest that principals fostered greater capacity-building when they differentiated their levels of direct and indirect involvement according to each TPEG’s needs. While high-functioning TPEG groups were less dependent on principal competency, low-functioning groups were most negatively impacted by the absence of strong central leadership.

Authors

• Laura Rogers Jackins, Vanderbilt University - Peabody College

• Timothy Drake, Vanderbilt University

• Xiu Cravens, Vanderbilt University

• Ellen B. Goldring, Vanderbilt University