Experiencing Teacher Leadership: Perceptions and Insights from First-Year Teacher Leaders

Experiencing Teacher Leadership is unique in the sense that it chronicles the experiences of five novice teacher leaders as they navigate their new roles as teacher leaders in their respective schools. Teacher leadership is a not a new term in most educational circles, but many educators are still unclear about the benefits of using teachers as leaders let alone what it looks like in action. This book takes a deep dive into the experiences, good and bad, as five teacher leaders move in, move through, and move out of their first year as leaders in their respective buildings. In order to do truly appreciate and understand their experiences, qualitative research methods, mainly interviews and observations, were used to obtain valuable information from a first person perspective. It is imperative that the (voice) of actual teacher leaders is heard and documented for anyone who is interested in learning more about school leadership that falls somewhere in between the classroom and the administration. Quite possibly, the most beneficial feature for the reader is to discover what these teacher leaders learned along the way. Transitioning from the classroom to a leadership role is difficult for many, and the first year in this new role is certainly the most challenging. This book highlights the challenges, but most importantly, offers practical guidance to prepare for and overcome some of the impediments first-year teacher leaders face.

Dr. Michael Coquyt is currently teaching in the graduate and doctoral programs at Minnesota State University, Moorhead. Most of his coursework centers on teacher leadership and educational leadership.