A Recipe for Success: One Part School Leadership + One Part Influential Faculty

• In Event: Innovative Approaches and Considerations for Educational Leaders and Their Preparation

Abstract

It has been widely suggested that it is no longer possible for the principal to lead a school as an instructional leader and competent manager absent the partnership of faculty and staff. This research investigates how to more broadly define teacher influence liberating it from its reliance on specific district/school assigned teacher leadership roles to include the belief that all teachers are capable of leadership. This research argues that a social network analysis of the nature of teacher influence offers a framework for understanding how professional teacher interactions in communities of practice build social capital and support the diffusion of knowledge and expertise, and ultimately are responsible for the success of organizational change.

Author

• Deborah Shea, College of St. Rose