Unanticipated Tensions in Returning to Classroom Teaching: One Returning Teacher Leader’s Experience

This paper presents a case study of a teacher leader who returned voluntarily to classroom teaching after four years of leadership work at the district and provincial levels. Teacher leaders, with their enhanced skills and knowledge, have the potential to positively influence student and school success as they return to classroom teaching, but little in-depth research into this career transition exists. For the teacher described in this paper, the transition from formal leadership work to classroom teacher brought about unanticipated tensions and stress. Six sources of tension are examined in relation to three inter-related conditions that influence teacher leadership—school culture, roles and responsibilities, and structure (York-Barr and Duke, 2004). The details provided in this paper offer insight into the experience of one teacher leader who returned to classroom teaching and may be helpful in shaping the decisions and practices of other returning teacher leaders and of school and district administrators.

[1]  J. Swanson,et al.  Teacher Leader Stories: The Power of Case Methods , 2011 .

[2]  Melinda M. Mangin,et al.  Peer? Expert? Teacher Leaders Struggle to Gain Trust while Establishing Their Expertise. , 2011 .

[3]  J. Berg,et al.  Boston Shifts Learning into High Gear: Certificate Program Accelerates Student Learning by Building Teacher Capacity. , 2011 .

[4]  Ted A. Zigler,et al.  A Ladder to Leadership: Ohio Steps up to Strengthen Teachers' Collaboration and Coaching Skills. , 2011 .

[5]  David Slavit,et al.  Leading Deep Conversations in Collaborative Inquiry Groups , 2010 .

[6]  Jacqueline Lynch,et al.  Reflections of Elementary School Literacy Coaches on Practice: Roles and Perspectives , 2010 .

[7]  M. Galton,et al.  Distributed Curriculum Leadership in Action: A Hong Kong Case Study , 2010 .

[8]  B. Joyce,et al.  Models of Professional Development: A Celebration of Educators , 2009 .

[9]  Sharan B. Merriam,et al.  Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation , 2009 .

[10]  H. Gunter,et al.  Contesting the orthodoxy of teacher leadership , 2008 .

[11]  W. Firestone,et al.  Administrative support and teacher leadership in schools implementing reform , 2008 .

[12]  Morgaen L. Donaldson,et al.  Angling for Access, Bartering for Change: How Second-Stage Teachers Experience Differentiated Roles in Schools , 2008, Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education.

[13]  Pamela S. Angelle,et al.  School Structure and the Identity of Teacher Leaders: Perspectives of Principals and Teachers , 2007 .

[14]  H. Busher,et al.  Making sense of middle leadership: community, power and practice , 2007 .

[15]  Daniel Muijs,et al.  Teacher Leadership in (In)action , 2007 .

[16]  R. G. Owens.  Organizational Behavior in Education: Adaptive Leadership and School Reform , 2006 .

[17]  Melinda M. Mangin.  Distributed Leadership and the Culture of Schools: Teacher Leaders’ Strategies for Gaining Access to Classrooms , 2005 .

[18]  Ann Lieberman,et al.  Teachers as Leaders , 2005 .

[19]  Jennifer York-Barr,et al.  What Do We Know About Teacher Leadership? Findings From Two Decades of Scholarship , 2004 .

[20]  Daniel Heller.  Teachers Wanted: Attracting and Retaining Good Teachers , 2004 .

[21]  Kirk Anderson.  The Nature of Teacher Leadership in Schools as Reciprocal Influences Between Teacher Leaders and Principals , 2004 .

[22]  D. Muijs,et al.  Teacher Leadership—Improvement through Empowerment? , 2003 .

[23]  F. Crowther,et al.  Developing Teacher Leaders: How Teacher Leadership Enhances School Success , 2002 .

[24]  Michèle J. Schmidt.  Role Theory, Emotions, and Identity in the Department Headship of Secondary Schooling. , 2000 .

[25]  Thomas R. Guskey,et al.  Evaluating professional development , 1999 .

[26]  Elizabeth A. Powers,et al.  Coaching without a Coach. , 2012 .

[27]  Barnett Berry,et al.  Teacher Leadership: Leading the Way to Effective Teaching and Learning. , 2010 .

[28]  Sarah E. Fiarman.  Teachers leading teachers: The experiences of Peer Assistance and Review Consulting Teachers , 2009 .

[29]  Mark A. Smylie.  Understanding and Preventing Teacher Burnout: Teacher Stress in a Time of Reform , 1999 .