Strategies for enhancing teacher leadership

Strategy 4: Identify Barriers
Identify barriers to the development of teacher leaders and find ways to remove them.
Resource 21: Impediments to Teacher Leadership
Barth, R. S. (2001). Teacher leader. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(6), 443–449.
Impediments standing in the way of teacher leadership include the following:
• Full plate. With so many additional responsibilities, the opportunity for school
leadership can be seen as an add-on.
• Time. Teachers sometimes do not have time for leadership activities and if they do have
time they expect to be paid for it.
• Colleagues. Teacher leaders may receive disapproval from fellow teachers and
administrators in the form of passive and active resistance that thwart teacher initiatives
toward school leadership.
• Standardized tests. Teachers are focused on tests and raising student scores rather than
taking on leadership responsibilities.
Resource 22: Knocking Down Barriers to Leadership Success
Johnson, S. M., & Donaldson, M. L.(2007, September). Overcoming the obstacles of leadership.
Educational Leadership, 65(1). http://tinyurl.com/3cxra5
“Teacher leaders need support to overcome stubborn barriers created by the norms of school
culture—autonomy, egalitarianism, and deference to seniority.” This source includes strategies
that second-stage teachers can use to overcome obstacles they may encounter as they move into
teacher leadership roles.
Resource 23: Challenges to Teacher Leadership
York-Barr, J., & Duke, K. (2004). What do we know about teacher leadership? Findings from
two decades of scholarship. Review of Educational Research, 74(3), 255–316.
Long-standing norms of the teaching profession can significantly challenge the prospects of
teacher leadership. For example, collegiality among teachers does not always extend to teacher
leaders because the hierarchical nature of the relationship violates the professional norms of
equality and independence. Similarly, a prevailing norm in the teaching profession is
egalitarianism, which fosters the view that “teachers who step up to leadership roles are stepping
out of line.” Thus, one problem with formal teacher leadership roles is that they create
hierarchies within the teaching ranks and cause conflict among teaching colleagues. Some
teacher-leadership-friendly cultures exist, but they are not widespread. “There is much to be
learned about re-culturing schools so that more adaptive norms for collective learning,
continuous improvement, and teacher leadership take hold.” Resource 24: Strategies for Overcoming Obstacles to Teacher Leadership
Boyd, V., & McGree, K. (1995). Leading change from the classroom: Teachers as leaders.
Issues…About Change, 4(4). Retrieved November 1, 2007, from
http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues44.html
A research study of the work of teacher leaders found that to be effective with their colleagues,
lead teachers had to learn a variety of leadership skills while on the job. The study also found
that “restructuring school communities to incorporate leadership positions for teachers will
require teacher leaders to take certain actions.”