Knitting the right sweater: Institutionalization of teacher leaders in the school fabric

The creation of teacher leadership positions in schools is a product of both the criticism of top-down reforms and a belief that teacher leadership is essential for school improvement. One such leadership role frees an expert teacher from classroom responsibilities to act as a full-time mentor for colleagues, as in the Literacy Coordinator role studied here. The proliferation of these positions calls for a systematic investigation of the assumptions behind them and their implementation as a tool for school improvement.;In this study, the inquiry into understanding the process of the implementation of the Literacy Coordinator position is framed as a sociological study of institutionalization. Drawing on classical sociological theory, this study explores the mechanisms that support or impede the institutionalization of the Literacy Coordinator position in the social structure of a school. In the process, the study deepens understandings of the process of organizational change in schools.;This exploration is based on deep case studies in two Chicago Public Schools that have implemented the Literacy Coordinator position. Interviews with a wide range of school actors, data from the shadowing of Coordinators, and classroom observations, situate the introduction of the position within the school history and context. Time analysis and network analysis data provide a snapshot of the character of the position and its location in the social structure of the school.;The resulting case studies expand understandings of the roles of teacher leaders explored in educational literature and those of the process of institutionalization in sociological literature. Situating the case studies in context, the role and its development are described in interaction with the multi-layered school environment. Common understandings of the institutionalization process from sociological literature are expanded to take into account the complexity of the interaction between values and the layered environment. Similarly, situating teacher leadership roles in the context of the complex school environment pushes accepted understandings of the manner in which these roles can be used as an effective tool for school improvement.