A case study of school district administrators' perceptions of teacher leadership in one northwest Missouri school district

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative, case study was to gain insight of Administrators' perceptions of teacher leadership in one Northwest Missouri school district. While a well-developed base of literature continues to grow on the topic of teacher leadership, it remains largely an academic pursuit hindered by the status quo of the traditional hierarchical leadership structures in most schools. As an entity, education, seems to have made the leap to issues surrounding teacher leadership without first understanding administrators' perceptions of it. Thus, we have a plethora of teacher leadership models. Many of these models have been put forth without ever having examined the underlying understanding of teacher leadership. Missing from an examination of teacher leadership are the perceptions of the very people who are most empowered to change how leadership is enacted in our schools: the administrators. As administrators' jobs continue to increase in complexity, as external mandates continue to dictate internal school issues, and as society continues to demand increased accountability, a new model of leadership needs to be put forth, but for that to happen, we first need to honestly examine existing perceptions of teacher leadership.