Supporting Middle Leaders: A Strategic Plan for Improving Curriculum and Instruction

• In Event: Organizational Dimensions of Instructional Leadership Implementation

Abstract

This paper aims to illuminate how middle leaders utilize research to improve curriculum and instruction and how administrator can strategically support the role. An exploratory case study was conducted in a Massachusetts district where administrators consciously increased the number of middle leaders. Interviews, memos, observations, and artifacts were collected from 14 participants in the district (4 administrators, 4 middle leaders, and 6 teachers). Results indicate that middle leaders engage with research by attending professional development opportunities and sharing best practices with colleagues. However, the success of the role of middle leaders depend on senior leadership styles. Specifically, it is important for administrators to explicitly describe the role to organizational stakeholders and to provide autonomy to middle leaders.

Authors

• Anne T. Vera Cruz-Madden, Brown University

• Bridget Gough, Walpole Public Schools