Second Stage Teacher Leaders

A recent study published in the Teachers College Record concluded that the teaching norms of egalitarianism / equality, seniority and autonomy, studied over two decades ago, are still influential constructs among teachers today, even as teacher leadership roles have expanded to move forward school reform efforts. In the article "Angling for Access, Bartering for Change: How Second-Stage Teachers Experience Differentiated Roles in Schools" (Donaldson et al., 2008), researchers at Harvard interviewed 20 teachers in their third to tenth years of teaching (called second-stage teachers) who held a variety of leadership roles in their schools. These roles ranged from content-specific coaches to grade-level team leaders to cooperating teachers to mentor coordinators. The roles were compensated by time or money, and participants represented different grade levels and content areas. Extensive interviews with the teachers provided data used for the study.

Here is a summary of their findings:

• The researchers found a distinct difference between teacher leadership roles. Reform roles, such as instructional coaches, were those that changed how or what their teacher colleagues taught. Non-reform roles, such as cooperating teacher or special education coordinator, didn't affect the teaching practice of colleagues.
• Teachers interviewed in reform roles expressed resistance from their colleagues, and felt their colleagues perceived them / their role as: 1) an intrusion of the classroom (autonomy), 2) a much less experienced practitioner than they (seniority), and 3) an unfair promotion for a less senior teacher (egalitarian / equality).
• Depending on the school context and the norm, the teacher leaders dealt with resistance in several different ways.
• Preserved autonomy by reducing the impact of their teacher leadership role: They negotiated with colleagues, mostly in unspoken ways that resulted in teacher leaders scaling back their responsibilities and working only with colleagues from whom they were invited.
• Preserved egalitarian / equality by minimizing their specialized role: Some teacher leaders participated in responsibilities shared by all teachers, such as recess duty, distanced themselves from the principals, and didn't use their leadership title to show they were still at equal standing with their colleagues.
• Seniority: Researchers found teacher leaders had no strategies for minimizing their lack of seniority. They could do little to hide the fact they were either young by age and/or perceived inexperienced by their number of years teaching.

Because of its small sample size of 20, this research can't be generalized to a larger teaching population. However, Donaldson et al. provide lessons learned about the norms of teaching in relationship to teacher leadership and second-stage teachers.

1. The teaching norms of autonomy, egalitarian and seniority continue to emphasize and support a flat career ladder.
2. Second-stage teachers in reform roles of teacher leadership complied and, in some ways, conformed to the norms when they faced resistance from their colleagues.
3. The reform roles were isolated positions with little to no support from a larger system.
4. Teachers in reform roles lacked the know-how and wherewithal to lead change efforts while at the same time respecting and understanding their colleagues' issues with change.