Teacher Leadership for Expanding Capacity and Access in Statewide Computer Science Education

• In Event: Promoting Equitable CS and AI Education: Strategies to Expand Capacity and Access

Abstract

Objectives or Purposes
This study investigates how computer science (CS) teachers in Oregon's eight-year "CS for Oregon" initiative embodied undoing leadership practices (Liu, 2021) to drive systemic transformation that expands capacity and access in CS education. Aligned with the CAPE framework's focus on capacity and access [5], this research examines how teacher-led distributed leadership networks address persistent inequities in CS education participation.

The CS for Oregon initiative represents a sustained effort to democratize CS education, serving over one hundred teachers through professional development (PD) programs built on the Exploring Computer Science (ECS) framework [15]. The initiative addressed severe capacity limitations, with initially fewer than 20% of Oregon high schools offering CS courses, and dismally low participation rates for female, Latinx, Black, and Native American students.

Theoretical Framework
This research applies Liu's [16] undoing leadership theory, which rejects hierarchical power and heroic individualism, centering leadership as relational practice occurring "in the space between people" committed to social justice. Undoing leadership includes decolonizing minds, relating with others, and reimagining leadership. This approach directly addresses CAPE framework components by building teacher capacity through professional networks while expanding access through equity-focused transformation. Research demonstrates teacher leadership focuses on peer learning and policy influence, though school structures can empower or marginalize teacher leaders [17]. Building on frameworks for equitable CS leadership [18] and Indigenous leadership [19], this approach examines how distributed networks sustain change.

Methods and Data Sources
This sequential mixed methods study triangulated data examining teacher leadership across Oregon's professional learning ecosystem. Data analysis employed collaborative consensus coding, operationalizing Liu's framework by identifying instances where teachers rejected individualistic narratives, described horizontal networks, and articulated non-hierarchical leadership.

Survey data came from 28 ECS teachers across Oregon's PD programs. Observational data involved 10 days of participant observations across summer PD settings. Interview data included semi-structured interviews with six teachers representing diverse participation levels in professional learning opportunities.

Results
Analysis revealed teacher undoing leadership practices impacting CS education capacity and access:

Decolonizing Minds
Decolonizing Minds: Teachers rejected hero-narratives, with specialists eschewing "expert" identities to "learn with" teachers. This involved challenging assumptions about student capabilities and rejecting deficit-based thinking about who belongs in CS education.

Relating with Others
Teachers developed horizontal relationships enabling program survival and disciplinary growth. Eighty percent of teachers maintained long-term connections across experience levels, creating distributed networks sustaining programs in institutional isolation.

Reimagining Leadership
Teachers reconceptualized leadership, moving beyond hierarchical structures toward collective transformation. Working with justice-focused materials, teachers engaged in collective 'unforgetting' addressing systemic barriers rather than surface-level inclusion, demonstrating how CS educators develop agency to advocate for inclusive policies [20].

Scholarly Significance
This research demonstrates how undoing leadership address capacity and access challenges in CS education through distributed teacher networks. While teachers developed transformative pedagogy and advocacy, institutional resistance remained a barrier to sustained change. Findings suggest that sustainable CS education equity requires both grassroots teacher leadership development and institutional transformation that embraces distributed, justice-oriented leadership models.

Authors

• Joanna Goode, University of Oregon

• Adrienne Pinsoneault, University of Oregon

• Casey Emmanuel Tiemannn, University of Oregon

• Jill Hubbard, Oregon State University - Cascades