The Emergence and Failure to Launch of Hybrid Teacher Leadership

• In Event: 47.050 - Re-Visioning Teacher Leadership for the 21st Century: What's Next?

Abstract

Hybrid teacher leadership (HTL)—that is, teachers whose official schedule includes both teaching K–12 students and leading teachers in some capacity—seemed poised to evolve as a more systemic enterprise at the turn of the century; however, implementation has been surprisingly sporadic. This contribution explores Washington (a state long known for its support of teacher leadership) as a case study of HTL’s failure to launch fully as a statewide initiative. Through examining the intersection of recent research and the diverse considerations related to the creation and maintenance of HTL roles, the goal is to provide meaningful insights into the re-envisioning of HTL in the 21st century. While numerous challenges prevail with structuring and supporting HTL, its potential to broadly impact teacher learning, professional development, and student outcomes make the enterprise worth continued consideration and support.
These contributors focus on the hybrid approach to teacher leadership, and connect the results of the Washington study to some of the trends across other states, as well as to the larger body of research on teacher leadership. They make the case for the importance of developing a definition to be able to establish roles, responsibilities, and compensation for hybrid teacher leaders. HTL offers teachers a structured arrangement that allows them to stay close to students, experiment with teaching approaches alongside their colleagues, contribute to school improvement efforts, and explore new aspects of their career. Seeing the potentials for HTL, they wonder why this construct has not taken off in practice. With their research they aimed to determine how teacher leadership emerged in districts, and how and why these districts incorporated hybridity (or not). They found that hybrid roles are often designed to meet the specific needs of the district implementing them and often dependent on administrative budgets and hiring needs, meaning that HTL is inconsistent with few formal guidelines and structures. Nevertheless, they see strong possibilities for HTL and suggest that research should move towards offering evidence-based models of HTL that districts can try out and adapt to their local needs.
This contribution suggests further research exploring the most effective ways to appropriately mentor and support hybrid teacher leaders to encourage retention and thriving in their work, given the levels of stress already reported among teachers in general, and by hybrid teacher leaders in particular (Margolis, 2012). There is also a need for further research examining how HTL has a positive effect on student learning and experience, and how this kind of leadership helps develop teachers’ collective agency to contribute to ongoing improvement of teaching, learning, and school organization.

Authors

• Sylvia Stralberg Bagley, University of Washington - Seattle

• Jason M. Margolis, Duquesne University