Good to Great and Great to Influential: Teacher Leadership From the Perspectives of Exemplary Teachers

• In Event: From Policy to Practice: Investigating Teacher Leadership as a Lever of Educational Change

Abstract

Great teachers are the key to student success. Not only are effective teachers the most important school-based factor affecting student achievement (Kane & Staiger, 2008; McCaffrey, Lockwood, Koretz, & Hamilton, 2003; Rothstein, 2010), but research also estimates that teachers impact students’ lifetime earnings by 10%–20%, which has the potential to increase the U.S. gross domestic product by tens of trillions of dollars (Hanushek, 2011). Securing a world-class teaching force requires not only investments in teachers’ professional learning and growth opportunities but also across the policy spectrum, including higher teacher salaries, strategic recruitment and retention initiatives, improved school climate, and enhanced infrastructure. As states and districts revisit their approaches to supporting excellent educators, they have the opportunity to consider the relative return on these investments and chart a course to wisely invest resources to ensure excellent educators for all students.
Research that informs teacher policy leaves important questions unanswered. The questions that remain relate to the professional experiences that effective teachers view as critical for equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need to help their students succeed. This study began with a focus on educator effectiveness; over time, the study grew to focus on the critical voices of teacher leaders. The overarching purpose of this study has been to shed light on the most important supports and experiences that helped teachers become effective over time. The following research questions shaped the study:
o What experiences and supports were most important for developing the effectiveness of state and national teachers of the year across the career continuum?
o What role did teacher leadership play in improving the effectiveness of state and national teachers of the year across the career continuum?
o What do state and national teachers of the year perceive as the major supports and barriers to teacher leadership?
o What experiences and supports were most important for developing the effectiveness of National Board Certified Teachers across the career continuum?
This study examines the perspectives of over 6,000 exemplary educators, including 300 state and national teachers of the year and over 5,000 teachers with National Board of Professional Teaching Standards certification. It explores their experiences associated with all varieties of teacher leadership. In terms of methodology, focus group and interview data were analyzed using a coding structure based on preliminary thematic analysis. Survey data were reviewed for possible invalid values, skip pattern violations, and other data anomalies, but missing data were not imputed. Survey data were analyzed descriptively to illuminate qualitative findings. In presenting findings, authors will describe the evolution of the study series, including how the focus of the study shifted in response to state and federal priorities. Authors will also discuss how teacher voice was included throughout the study series, including study design, analysis, and development of policy recommendations. Finally, the authors will discuss the role of teacher leadership across the career continuum, including promoting a growth mindset, promoting peer collaboration and self-reflection, connecting research to practice, modeling effective teaching practices, and promoting instructional risk taking.

Authors

• Catherine Jacques

• Ellen J. Behrstock-Sherratt, American Institutes for Research

• Katherine Ann Bassett, National Network of State Teachers of the Year