Teaching Experience and Instructional Leadership In Varied School Settings
Open Access
- Author:
- Martin, Matthew
- Graduate Program:
- Educational Leadership
- Degree:
- Doctor of Education
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- July 21, 2020
- Committee Members:
- Marsha Elizabeth Modeste, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Marsha Elizabeth Modeste, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Kai Arthur Schafft, Committee Member
Ronald Robert Musoleno, Committee Member
Karen Eppley, Outside Member
Kevin Kinser, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- teaching experience
instructional leadership
principals
teachers
shared leadership - Abstract:
- The role of the public school principal has evolved over the years, from the position of middle manager, to a political, transformative change agent. Principals shape the school environment for teaching and learning towards vibrant learning communities where faculty and staff collaborate to help every student. The challenge of shaping the environment requires a dynamic leader who first understands teaching and learning, yet also grasps and values relationships with colleagues. The purpose of this study is to examine how the professional career path of school leaders, specifically principals, can impact their daily practice as instructional leaders, while carrying-out the administrative and managerial aspects of their role. The following questions guided this study: (1) What is the relationship between principals' prior teaching experiences and their development and practice as an instructional leader? (2) How does an aspiring principal’s teaching experience impact their pathway into the principalship? (3) In primary and secondary schools in varied settings, what role does the principal have in identifying building-wide instructional goals? This inquiry relies on the methodology of a qualitative case study analysis. Data was collected through interviewing teachers with various levels of experience, observing professional learning sessions and analyzing documents relating to professional development. The conceptual framework stems from the ASA Framework, to which I have applied additional concepts: sponsored mobility, boundary spanners, instructional leadership and shared leadership. Finding from this study suggest that teachers and administrators both value classroom experience as an important quality for instructional leaders. Teachers in particular value instructional leaders to possess classroom experience within the contextual setting that they are supervising. Though teaching experience is an important quality for potential candidates pursuing careers in school administration, the most important factor that helped them to attain administrative positions was sponsorship from mentors within the school in which they worked. In addition, both teachers and administrators who participated in this inquiry seemed to reveal affinity bias when discussing the qualities that they valued for an instructional leader to have. This study contributes to research, and informs policymakers and practitioners by distinguishing the importance of school leaders having specific experiences that impact the ways in which they provide instructional leadership within specific educational contexts.