Teacher leaders' preparation: Developing knowledge and skills for teacher leadership

Research on Developing the Knowledge and Skills for Teacher Leadership

Teacher leaders often developed the knowledge and skills for their leadership roles through participation in a structured preparation program, such as a professional development program or training institute. What knowledge and which skills these preparation programs target are linked to teacher leader practice in schools and districts to improve classroom instruction. Results from fourteen empirical studies yielded two sets of findings into the knowledge and skills developed for teacher leadership through preparation programs:

• Six studies (Brown et al., 2001; Fortner & Boyd, 1995; Frechtling & Katzenmeyer, 2001; Miller et al., 1999; Russell, 1990; Wallace et al., 1999) examined the relationship between the specific knowledge and skills developed in a preparation program and teacher leader practice. Findings from these studies suggest that what teacher leaders learn in a preparation program is replicated in their practice with teachers.
• Nine studies (Fortner & Boyd, 1995; Freeman et al., 1994; Hofstein et al., 2004; Johanson et al., 1996; Madsen et al., 1991; Madsen & Lanier, 1991; Slater et al., 1998; Venville et al., 1998; Whitsett & Riley, 2003) examined the relationship between a preparation program and changes in teacher leader knowledge and skills. These studies found that programs to develop teacher leader knowledge and skills had a positive impact on participants.

		Subject			Preparation Feature Investigated
Name of Study (Click on the name of each study to read a description of the intervention involving developing the knowledge and skills for teacher leadership.) [PDF 78K]
Teacher Leadership Project 2001: Evaluation report (Brown et al., 2001)	K–12			*	*
Infusing earth systems concepts throughout the curriculum (Fortner & Boyd, 1995)	K–12		*		*	*
Findings from the multi-agency study of teacher enhancement programs (Frechtling & Katzenmeyer, 2001)	K–12		*		*
Evaluation of a summer science institute for elementary teachers (Freeman et al., 1994)	K-5		*		*	*
The professional development of high school chemistry coordinators (Hofstein et al., 2004)	9-12		*		*
The evaluation of the Lead Teacher Project (Johanson et al., 1996)	K-5	*	*		*		*
A new professional role for junior high school science and mathematics teachers (Madsen et al., 1991) Improving mathematics instruction through the role of the support teacher (Madsen & Lanier, 1992)	6-8	*	*		*
Pebbles in the ocean or fountains of change? New insights on professional development: Examining the links—Professional development, teacher leaders, and school change (Miller et al., 1999)	K-5	*	*		*
The dissemination of doing chemistry. Final evaluation (Russell, 1990)	9-12		*		*
A telecommunications project to empower Kansas elementary/middle level teachers as change agents for integrated science and mathematics education (Slater et al., 1998)	K-8	*	*		*
A state-wide change initiative: The Primary Science Teacher-Leader Project (Venville et al., 1998)	K-5		*		*	*
Six leadership models for professional development in science and mathematics (Wallace et al., 1999)	K-5	*	*		*
Defining and applying leadership: Perceptions of teacher leader candidates (Whitsett & Riley, 2003)	K–12			*	*

The MSP-Knowledge Management and Dissemination project conducted an extensive review of the empirical literature on teacher leadership. The review was based on a rigorous process developed by the MSP-KMD project (read a detailed description of the process) that applied standards of evidence to the findings of each study. In the review, fourteen studies were identified that had findings relevant to this topic.

The relationship between the specific knowledge and skills developed in a preparation program and teacher leader practice

The knowledge and skills targeted in preparation programs are frequently connected to the work that teacher leaders will do in schools and districts. Of the nearly thirty studies that were identified in the review of the literature that examined teacher leader preparation programs, few of these studies were designed to investigate the relationship between the specific knowledge and skills developed in a preparation program and teacher leader practice. More frequently, studies were designed to examine the effect of a comprehensive preparation program, yielding findings of value to those interested in replicating that exact program, but with less utility to those interested in understanding which knowledge and skills matter for which teacher leader roles.

In six studies, connections were made between the specific knowledge and skills targeted in a preparation program and their impact on teacher leader practice. These studies found that, generally, teacher leaders did the work that they were prepared to do. Wallace et al. (1999) and Miller et al. (1999), in a pair of related studies, provided the clearest link between aspects of teacher leader preparation and teacher leader practice. These studies found that teacher leaders tended to reproduce in their practice the model of preparation they had received. These studies found that the proportion of time in the preparation programs devoted to subject area content, pedagogy and leadership corresponded with the time that teacher leaders spent in these areas in their work with teachers. Confidence in the validity of these findings is strengthened by descriptions of the methodology used in data analysis and the triangulation of data in analysis in both studies.

Another four studies (Brown et al., 2001; Fortner & Boyd, 1995; Frechtling & Katzenmeyer, 2001; Russell 1990) examined teacher leader activities to disseminate instructional materials, such as a new curriculum or technology, which had been the focus of a teacher leader preparation program. These studies measured the frequency of different forms of dissemination of instructional materials by teacher leaders. Findings from these studies indicated that teacher leaders engaged in "formal" (such as conference presentations or leading workshops) and "informal" (such as casual conversations with teachers) dissemination activities. These findings echo those of Wallace and Miller, that a focus on a particular topic (such as a new curriculum) and type of teacher leader activity (such as dissemination) in a preparation program was manifested in teacher leader practice.

More than twenty additional studies were identified in the empirical literature review that reported on the effect of a comprehensive teacher leader preparation program on teacher leader practice. These studies were not designed to investigate the contribution of discrete elements of these preparation programs. These studies do offer some insight into the type and variety of skills and areas of knowledge targeted in these programs, which have an implied connection to the expected practice of teacher leaders emerging from these programs. Teacher leader preparation programs addressed a selection of topics regarding disciplinary content knowledge, pedagogy, and/or leadership. Disciplinary content knowledge was the most common type of topic addressed in these preparation programs, and was described as present in majority of the programs. Almost all the preparation programs included a combination of topics, with almost half addressing all three. The variety of topics addressed in a preparation program was similar regardless of the grade-level or content focus of the study, suggesting that effective teacher leader practice requires expertise in multiple topics regardless of the grade-level or subject area focus of the teacher leader.

The relationship between a preparation program and changes in teacher leader knowledge and skills

Nine studies (Fortner & Boyd, 1995; Freeman et al., 1994; Hofstein et al, 2004; Johanson et al., 1996; Madsen et al., 1991; Madsen & Lanier, 1991; Slater et al., 1998; Venville et al., 1998; Whitsett & Riley, 2003) were identified that directly measured changes in teacher leader knowledge or skills through participation in a preparation program. All nine of the studies reported positive effects on teacher leader knowledge and skills based on participation in a preparation program.

None of these nine studies were designed to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of particular aspects of these programs in developing teacher leader knowledge. Instead these studies examined the effect of the entire program on participants. As a result, this limits the opportunity for other researchers or designers of teacher leader preparation programs to replicate discrete elements of the studied programs. The majority of these studies reported using instruments that were developed for that study with little information about reliability and validity of those measures, or about the instruments employed. The nature of the teacher leader preparation, in terms of what knowledge was being developed, varied among studies. The programs under investigation were described in varying amount of detail, offering limited assistance in interpreting the links between the preparation program and the effects on teacher leaders' knowledge and skills. While positive effects were reported in these studies, it was generally not possible to determine the effects of particular discrete aspects of these programs; rather, the positive effects that were reported were described as an outcome of experiencing the entire program.

As studies of individual preparation programs, these nine studies provided varying levels of support for the claims of the program's impact on developing teacher leader knowledge. Four studies (Freeman et al., 1994; Hofstein et al., 2004; Slater et al., 1998; Whitsett & Riley, 2003) used a pre-post design to examine changes in teacher leader knowledge or skills, and provided the clearest evidence of impact attributable to the studied program. In these four studies, change in teacher leader knowledge or skills was measured through Likert-type surveys. Three studies (Freeman et al., 1994; Hofstein et al., 2004; Slater et al., 1998) reported a statistically significant increase when comparing participants' pre- and post- program scores and the fourth study (Whitsett & Riley, 2003) found an increase in participant pre-post scores, but did not report the statistical significance. These studies examined different areas of teacher leader knowledge and skills: content knowledge (Freeman et al., 1994; Slater et al., 1998), knowledge of leadership (Hofstein et al., 2004; Whitsett & Riley, 2003), and knowledge of instruction (Hofstein et al., 2004; Slater et al., 1998). The four studies that employed a pre-post design shared some common methodological limitations: little description of the measurement instruments used in the study and the absence of documented reliability and validity of the instruments. As a result, while these four studies provided the clearest statement on the impact of a preparation program on teacher leader knowledge and skills, there are methodological considerations that limit the confidence in these findings.

As a set, these studies offered some support for the claim these preparation programs had a positive effect on teacher leaders' knowledge and skills. However, these studies suffered from similar design and analysis weaknesses that limit the ability of future researchers to build upon their work. This suggests that further research into this area is warranted with more robust research designs that include additional information about instrumentation. In particular, examination of teacher leaders' disciplinary content knowledge is called for, in that only two of the studies reviewed reported findings on this important dimension of teacher leaders' knowledge.

For a bibliography for the research on developing knowledge and skills for teacher leadership, click here. [PDF 14K]

The fourteen studies described above were part of a more inclusive review of research on developing knowledge and skills for teacher leadership. For a summary of research on these practices, click here. [PDF 124K]