Dissertation
Teacher leadership pursuit in one Iowa school district
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Spring 2023
DOI: 10.25820/etd.007082
Abstract
Teacher leadership has become an increasingly important form of leadership within K-12 schools in the United States. State and district-level policies have been a central driver for the expansion of teacher leadership in the United States, including the Iowa Teacher Leadership and Compensation System (TLC), which provides funding to Iowa K-12 schools. The goals of the TLC are to create leadership opportunities for teachers, which will, in turn, support teacher collaboration and student achievement.
This qualitative case study explored how the TLC was implemented within one Iowa school district and why teachers engaged in teacher leadership roles. Data came from participant interviews, field observations, and documents collected during the 2019-20 school year. Interview participants included 14 teachers—nine of the teachers held teacher leadership roles, three previously held teacher leadership roles, and three administrators in the Esko School District (pseudonym). Self-determination theory served as the theoretical framework for this study as I examined how participants perceived the implementation and outcomes of the TLC program in the Esko School District and their decisions to pursue or not to pursue teacher leadership roles.
Findings revealed that the Esko School District lacked a clear vision and goals for their TLC program, which impeded the initial implementation resulting in ill-defined teacher leadership roles, limited impacts on teacher collaborations, and feelings of frustration among new teacher leaders. Despite these initial challenges, leaders were able to restructure the Esko TLC program and align it with district goals, resulting in improved collaborations among educators, increased leadership capacity, and creating an environment focused on continual improvement. Additionally, the findings indicated that several factors influenced participants’ motivations to engage in teacher leadership including the opportunity to engage in new opportunities for leadership outside of the classroom, professional interests in instructional and curricular-focused work, and the desire to collaborate with colleagues. Although external encouragement from peers and school leaders and additional pay acknowledged the abilities and efforts, these factors played a minimal role in participants' decisions to engage in teacher leadership.
This study contributes to the research on teacher leadership by providing additional insights into the factors that promote or inhibit teacher leadership pursuit. Additionally, this study contributes insights into why these factors influence teachers’ decisions to engage in teacher leadership by using self-determination theory as a theoretical lens, addressing a central critique of teacher leadership research—that teacher leadership research is largely atheoretical. This study's findings also have implications for teacher leadership programs' design, implementation, and support.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Teacher leadership pursuit in one Iowa school district
- Creators
- Matthew J Stier
- Contributors
- Leslie Locke (Advisor)Amy Colbert (Committee Member)Liz Hollingworth (Committee Member)Steven Triplett (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Educational Policy and Leadership Studies
- Date degree season
- Spring 2023
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.007082
- Number of pages
- xiv, 216 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2023 Matthew J Stier
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 04/17/2023
- Date approved
- 06/30/2023
- Description illustrations
- tables
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 174-197).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
- Teacher leadership has become an increasingly important form of leadership within K-12 schools in the United States. Teacher leadership includes non-administrative roles within school such as instructional coaches, mentors, and curricular leaders. These roles are to provide support to teachers and school processes. In Iowa, the Iowa Teacher Leadership and Compensation System (TLC), has encouraged the development of teacher leadership roles by providing funding to Iowa K-12 schools with the goals of supporting teacher collaboration and enhancing student achievement. This research study explored how the TLC was implemented within one Iowa school district and what motivated teachers to engage in teacher leadership roles. Data came from participant interviews, field observations, and documents collected during the 2019-20 school year. Participants included 14 teachers and three administrators in the Esko School District (pseudonym). I learned that a poorly defined plan for Esko’s TLC program initially impeded the success of the program. However, over time, leaders were able to restructure the Esko TLC program and align it with district goals. This resulting in improved collaborations among educators. Additionally, I found that participants’ motivations to engage in teacher leadership including the opportunity to engage in new opportunities for leadership outside of the classroom, professional interests in instructional and curricular-focused work, and the desire to collaborate with colleagues. This study informs future research, policy, and educational leaders.
- Academic Unit
- Educational Policy and Leadership Studies
- Record Identifier
- 9984428942002771
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