An examination of perceived teacher leadership and valued teacher qualities in alternative education high school programs
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Teaching in alternative education high school programs means that teachers face unique challenges, which require teachers to possess a specific set of teacher qualities and teacher leadership. This study examined how teacher leadership is practiced in alternative education through four sub-questions: (1) What challenges are unique to teachers in alternative education settings? (2) What skills and attributes are valued by teachers in alternative education settings? (3) How do teachers in an alternative education setting perceive teacher leadership, skills, and attributes to be different from those needed in a traditional high school setting? (4) How do teachers emulate adaptive leadership practices in the alternative education classroom and school setting? Framed by a constructivist paradigm and following a mixed-methods research design, 53 surveys of teachers who had taught in alternative education and 10 interviews of teachers who had taught both in the alternative education and traditional setting were conducted. The findings indicated that the unique challenges that teachers perceived included those associated with the alternative school learner, the alternative school setting, the stigma and misunderstanding of alternative education, a perceived lack of support, and the unique stress teachers have due to working in an alternative education setting. While the alternative learner presents unique challenges in the classroom and instruction, the alternative setting encourages teachers to take on leadership due to the smaller staff size, the focus on credit attainment and interventions, and the constantly changing student population. Because teachers in alternative education face adaptive challenges, adaptive leadership skills are often used both in their classrooms, in their buildings, and in their interactions with others in their district. Teacher qualities that were most valued by alternative education teachers as necessary for their work aligned with the practices for adaptive leadership. Ultimately, teachers perceived that they utilize teacher leadership at a higher level in an alternative education setting as compared to the traditional education setting. These findings suggest that teachers in alternative education spaces need a specific set of teacher qualities and professional learning that differs from those in traditional education.
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Ed. D.