54.050 - Working Toward Teacher Ownership and Meaningful School Improvement

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Currently, in education reform, where one idea, program or innovation is quickly replaced with another, teacher ownership is critical. Teacher ownership encompasses how a school improvement effort is implemented by teachers—by those individuals engaged with and influencing students’ learning. Additionally, teacher ownership recognizes that those responsible for change must have a voice in creating and directing that change. Teacher ownership recognizes the power of the collective—it is a cultural construct that necessitates a shared understanding and commitment among those implementing the effort. The papers in this symposium explore teachers’ understanding of the construct of ownership, provide a better understanding of the opportunities, structures, practices that lead to teacher ownership, and the critical outcomes of ownership.

Sub Unit

• Division K - Teaching and Teacher Education / Division K - Section 2: Teacher Leadership Within and Beyond the Classroom (teachers as leaders, researchers, policy makers, community activists, and decision-makers)

Chair

• Barnett Berry, Center for Teaching Quality

Papers

• Teacher Collective Leadership to Ensure Equal Access to High-Quality Education - Christian Quintero, Los Angeles Unified School District; Marisa Saunders, Annenberg Institute for School Reform

• Co-Constructed Knowledge for Collective Teacher Action - Michelle Renée Valladares, University of Colorado Boulder; Wendy Y. Perez, Annenberg Institute for School Reform

• Critical Teacher Agency: Transformative Teaching and Learning - Ruth María Lopez, University of Houston; Vianna Alcantara, Annenberg Institute for School Reform

• Measuring Teacher Ownership, Knowledge, and Leadership - Jaime Liborio Del Razo, Vassar College; Laura A Cervantes, Brown University

Discussant

• Melanie Bertrand, Arizona State University