Empowering Solutioneers: A Teacher Leadership Development Case Study

Abstract

Teacher leadership has been a prominent feature of school reform in the United States for nearly three decades. During this time, researchers have identified numerous benefits teacher leaders bring to their school and communities, yet few studies have focused on how teacher leaders are developed or how professional development should be designed to support them. This case study seeks to reveal how one teacher leadership development program affects teacher leaders by addresing two research questions: 1) How does participaton in OKMath/OKSci Leadership change a teacher leader’s professional practice? and 2) How do the program features of OKMath/OKSci Leadership contribute to teacher leader development and leadership practice? The data for this case study were gathered from participant’s program application responses, from semi-structured interviews with program participants, and from program planning materials. Triangulation of the data revealed seven effects of participation on professional practice: Empowerment, growth, connections, inquiry, support, confidence, and change. These effects were culled from participant interviews which described experiences with specific program features including inquiry experiences, leadership development, opportunities to connect, problem-solving strategies, reflection, mentoring, and a capstone project. The data indicate that teacher leaders benefit significantly from the opportunities to connect with other teacher leaders in settings outside their school contexts.