THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER LEADERS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

815 Words2 Pages

It is given that President Obama's 2008 presidential election campaign changed the fabric of American politics. Now, woven into the political loom is the voice of the American public. Obama's grassroots organizing allowed ordinary citizens to lead, to organize, to shape and to be the face of the Obama campaign. Much like these empowered citizens that became campaign leaders; teacher leadership is empowering ordinary teachers to lead in extraordinary ways. They, much like people on the ground floor of the Obama campaign, weave as they go, not yet knowing what the end product might look like. The world had not measured the effectiveness of Obama's campaign strategies before 2008. He built upon known sources of American strength and pride and used them strategically to win an election. Similarly, the formal body of evidence that can conclusively attribute gains in student achievement to the emergence of the Teacher Leader role is yet to be defined. However, as Goodwin points out, the malleable nature of teacher leadership has led to varying definitions of teacher leadership across the nation. Goodwin states, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" (Goodwin, 2013). Although research around teacher leadership is emerging and is not yet conclusive, there are ample data to support many well researched components contained within the body of teacher leadership. These components are directly linked to increases in student achievement. Why the big focus on Teacher Leadership? Contrary to popular belief, teacher leadership is an old idea re-surfacing. Leadership teaching positions dating back to the 80s and early 90s were created to disperse the hierarchy of power within the system. These positions were denounced due to the f... ... middle of paper ... ...K. F. (2003). Teachers’ emotions and teaching: A review of the literature and directions for future research. Educational Psychology Review, 15, 327-358. Labby, S., Lunenburg, , Frederick , C., & Slate , J. (2012). Emotional intelligence and academic success: A conceptual analysis for educational leaders. Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 7(1). Marzano, R. J. (2003). Using data to improve student achievement : Two wrongs and right . Educational Leadership , 60(5), 56-60. Bergman, B. (2012). Put data in the driver's seat. Learning Forward, 33(4), 44-48. Retrieved from http://learningforward.org/docs/jsd-august-2012/bergman334.pdf Squires, D. (2012). Issues and ideas curriculum alignment research suggests that alignment can improve student achievement strategies. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 85(4), 129-135.

Open Document