Taking the lead: How teacher and principal leadership matter in a local high school reform.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Consistent with the aims of an Ed.D. in educational leadership, this doctoral dissertation was designed for three purposes. First, it demonstrates the potential for applied educational research to strengthen school leadership and reform; the dissertation reports a process of leadership development and curriculum reform that had its roots in existing research in high school reform, teacher leadership, and the organization of teachers' work.
Second, the dissertation records an inquiry into the nature and effects of this high school reform, with special emphasis on the development of teacher leadership roles over a six-year period. In particular, the inquiry contributes to understanding how school-wide teacher leadership is influenced or shaped by subject department concepts of teacher leadership. The third purpose was to collect evidence for a required internal evaluation of the reform.
The dissertation is organized in five chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the dissertation, focusing on its twin aims: (1) to demonstrate the contributions of teacher leadership to high school reform; and, (2) to illuminate how research, both applying it and conducting it, can serve as a resource for school leaders. Chapter 2 chronicles the building of the leadership team. Chapter 3 examines the significance of the school's subject departments for new forms of leadership. Chapter 4 links the work of teacher leaders to the problem of curricular change in the school. Chapter 5 summarizes the curricular and organization products of the teacher leaders' work. Chapter 6 summarizes the lessons from this experience and what it might mean for other high schools—and high school leaders—bent on school reform.
This study provides evidence that high schools can change, if only slowly, and the change can be managed on a school-wide, systematic basis without the traditional compartmentalization that results from adding programs. In effect, the dissertation shows how educational leaders might stimulate and support reform both by applying research and by conducting research linked to an agenda of school improvement. The study concludes that teachers can effectively lead, subject departments can constructively contribute to reform, and high school principals can make a difference.