“SOMEONE ELSE SAW SOMETHING IN ME”: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF TEACHER LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOLS
Abstract
With many changes in K-12 education in recent years, especially in the aftermath of the COVID19 pandemic, schools are in need of new solutions to challenges. Teacher leadership may provide an underutilized resource in addressing the myriad issues facing schools. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of teacher leaders in Catholic high schools in the Pacific Northwest. The participants in this study all serve as teacher leaders in one of four different Catholic high schools and participate in the Teacher Leadership Development program designed for K-12 educators in Catholic schools. Two semi-structured interviews with each of the seven participants, as well as a close observation of an in-person Teacher Leadership workshop, revealed that there are both opportunities and obstacles related to teacher leadership development and capacity. Participants shared appreciation for supportive administrators, as well as the collaboration and sense of community they were experiencing in the Teacher Leadership Development program. However, they also expressed a lack of clarity and alignment regarding the Teacher Leadership Development program goals for high school participants and their opportunities for leadership within their own school settings. The participants had a strong desire to get involved, but were not always sure how to apply their learning from the Teacher Leadership Development program within their own schools. The voices of these teacher leaders also revealed that their leadership is both formal and informal, suggesting a level of complexity that is difficult to quantify. The implications for supporting continued teacher leadership development and optimizing this resource are discussed.