Talking About Teaching: How Teacher Participation Matters to Principal Instructional Leadership

• In Event: Instructional Leadership

Abstract

Policymakers call for principals to directly support teachers’ professional learning yet current research does not explore how teachers’ participation during learning activities may shape principals’ instructional leadership actions. Using cultural historical activity theory, I found that teachers’ participation mediated the types of discourse moves two principals used in their interactions with teachers, and subsequently shaped the overall outcome of the interaction. Principals were more likely to evaluate teachers’ contributions to the exchanges that reflected student or logistic centered discourse, but were more likely to elaborate and agree on teachers’ contributions to the exchanges when they focused on teaching. These findings suggest that researchers conceptualize teacher participation when studying instructional leadership practice.

Author

• Nitya Venkateswaran, RTI International