Change From the Outside: Teacher Leaders and External Change Initiatives

• In Event: 29.051 - Teacher Leadership, Learning, and Change

Abstract

Programs offered by universities and non-governmental organizations are an important source of ideas and support for educational improvement. Organizations working outside of schools' administrative structures often focus on important needs, such as equal educational opportunity or improved science education, that may not be on the short list of priorities for a school's administrators. In such cases, teacher leaders who are engaged in the work of the external organization play key roles in importing that work into schools and gaining administrative support. This kind of teacher leadership, responding to external initiatives, not just to administrative priorities, is understudied. This paper draws upon case studies to offer conjectures to inform empirical study of this important kind of teacher leadership.

Author

• Bill Zoellick, Schoodic Institute