Leadership is a construct that stretches across every aspect of life. Within the educational system, the majority of decisions about schools are made by upper administration at both the state and district level. High-stakes testing, unfunded educational mandates, and tight budgets have been guiding administrators to make extensive, critical, and impactful decisions in districts, at times, without input from essential stakeholders such as teachers. McCombs and Miller (2009) described results in the following way, “what began as an effort to create a culture of achievement for all has resulted instead in a culture in which achievement has been subverted, leaving teacher and school leaders weary and demoralized” (p. 13). This type of culture …show more content…
However, little is known about how the program influences teacher capacity for leadership in their buildings. Given the importance of teacher leadership in implementing change (Ferris-Berg, 2014), a greater understanding is needed of teacher perceptions of factors that influence their willingness to step into the 'teacher-leader' role. The Getzels-Guba Social Systems Model will be used to explore how teacher leaders perceive their role within the educational system.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore the interrelationship of the participation in the OKMath/OKSci Leadership program and the teacher’s capacity for leadership, utilizing the theoretical framework of the Getzels-Guba Social Systems Model. This study will focus on math and science teachers that have participated in the OKMath/OKSci Leadership program and interviews will be conducted at various locations throughout the state of Oklahoma.
Research
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Creswell (2013) also refers to individuals with this view as social constructivists and defines this perspective as the “belief that individuals seek understanding of the world in which they live and work” (Creswell, 2013, p. 8). Crotty (1998) defined this perspective as “the view that all knowledge, and therefore all meaningful reality as such, is contingent upon human practices, being constructed in and out of interaction between human beings and their world, developed and transmitted within an essentially social context” (p. 42). In this study, teachers will share ideas, beliefs, perceptions, and experiences about the human practices within the educational world in regards to teacher