Resources on Issues of Teacher Leadership

Article 1: Teacher Leaders and Student Achievement: can the dots be connected?

APA Citation
Calderone, S., Kent, A., & Green, A. (2016). Teacher Leaders and Student Achievement: can the dots be
connected? Revista Eletrônica de Educação, 12.

Review
Calderone, Kent, and Green (2016) explored the effects of teacher leadership on student achievement
in middle school math and science. The participants were 173 eighth grade students and eight
teachers, four of whom were identified as teacher leaders. The experimental groups were comprised
of students instructed by the identified teacher leaders, and the control groups were comprised of
students instructed by teachers not identified as teacher leaders. The study found that teacher
leaders are positively correlated with higher scores among the advanced math and science groups,
while teacher leaders did not significantly impact the scores of the non-advanced math and science
groups. The authors suggested the findings could be due to the affective nature of the classroom
environment. Although this aspect of teacher leadership was not explored in this study, the authors
explain that it is possible that the nature of teacher leaders may be an important link to academic
achievement. This literature is related to CSTP 1 in that it explores how the type of educator can
contribute to the engagement and support of all students in their learning, suggesting that a more
capable teacher leader can have a direct impact on student achievement. As a teacher leader, this
article reminds me that I should continue to put forth my best effort when developing strategies and
skills that could improve my ability to engage and support all of my students, thereby promoting their
individual achievement.

Article 2: Position Paper on Teacher Leadership

APA Citation
National Association of Secondary School Principals. (2018) Teacher Leadership.
https://www.nassp.org/top-issues-in-education/position-statements/teacher-leadership/

Review
The National Association of Secondary School Principals (2018) examined methods to create
sustainable and supportive systems for teacher leaders to collaborate with principals for the success
of their students. Data drew from the 2012 MetLife Survey of the American Teacher and the National
Network State of Teachers of the Year. The findings were that many teachers, while expressing no
interest in becoming a principal - a defined teacher leader role, take on responsibilities of teacher
leaders without a designated title. The report also found that while some states have teacher leader
certification endorsements, these designations are not solely based on the Teacher Leader Model
Standards and vary between states. Furthermore, no state required teachers to have a specific
endorsement in order to serve in a teacher leadership role. The authors suggested that school leaders
develop a school culture that provide meaningful decision-making roles for teachers of all experience
levels. For example, a school could create teacher leadership pathways for effective leaders and build
the leadership capacity of teachers through efforts that are job-embedded, individualized for their
needs, and appropriate for adult learners. This literature is related to CSTP 6 in that it provides clear
and thorough recommendations at the various levels within the educational system for fostering
teacher leaders. As a teacher leader, this report reminds me that I can begin to ease into leadership
roles by selecting opportunities that closely align with my existing responsibilities.

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 Resources on Issues of Teacher Leadership

Compare and Contrast

These two articles suggest that teacher leadership roles are vital and recommend that teacher
leadership be emphasized. However, whereas Calderone, Kent, and Green (2016) recommends that
teacher leaders can have a positive impact on student achievement, the National Association of
Secondary School Principals (2018) shares that the willingness of teachers to take on these types of
leadership roles is limited. As a teacher leader, these articles provide me with a deeper understanding of
the extent by which I can impact the outcomes of my students. This in turn motivates me to further my
efforts to take on leadership roles so that I may contribute positively to my students’ achievement and to
the school community.