EMSs' Enactment of Informal Leadership

• In Event: The Work of Elementary Mathematics Specialists: Findings From the STEAM Project

Abstract

Purpose. This poster session will present data and findings about leadership opportunities and challenges for 3rd -5th grade Elementary Mathematics Specialists (EMSs). Although the main purpose of the BLINDED Project was to study the teaching practices of EMSs, EMS programs are also designed to support teachers in developing leadership capacity. In our interviews with eight of the EMS teachers in the larger study, we explored the types of leadership tasks they enacted and the challenges these tasks presented for them, especially given that they still serve as full-time classroom teachers.

Framework. We drew upon the work of Gigante and Firestone (2008) who define two primary types of teacher leadership tasks, support and developmental. Support tasks, such as managing materials, piloting curriculum, and establishing pacing guides, do not necessarily lead to an increase in colleagues’ knowledge or skill for teaching. Developmental tasks, such as leading professional development, answering questions about mathematics teaching and learning, and designing lessons, are all designed to build knowledge and skill of the teacher leader’s colleagues. While support tasks are important, developmental tasks are more likely to lead to long-term instructional improvement.

Methods. This study was conducted through qualitative case study methodology (Yin, 2014) using semi-structured interviews with self-contained teachers (typical elementary teaching assignments with contextual variation.) Leadership tasks identified in the data were categorized as either formal or informal (York-Barr & Duke, 2004) to give insight as to the origin of the opportunity, and as either support or developmental. Challenges were identified and coded as either external (e.g., lack of opportunities, not having time to devote to leadership opportunities, not being recognized as a leader by administration) or internal to the participant (e.g., reluctance to engage in particular leadership activities).

Results. This session will describe a range of formal and informal, supportive and developmental, leadership activities. Looking across cases, we found that the formal leadership opportunities (those connected to a role formally recognized by an administrative leader in the building) tended to be support tasks while nearly all of the informal leadership acts were developmental, highlighting a strong willingness and driving purpose among EMSs to use their expertise to improve instruction in their local contexts.

Significance. This study highlights the many challenges faced by these teachers in fulfilling this purpose, such as mismatched expectations and a lack of time, acknowledgement, or clarity, and offers significant implications for how to improve the supportive structures that will allow EMS to fully utilize their expertise by improving their capacity to lead. This study offers implications for administrators, EMS certification programs, and the EMS teacher leaders themselves.

Author

• Christina F. Sheffel, Missouri University of Science and Technology