Distributed Leadership in Context: Teacher Leaders’ Contributions to Novice Teacher Induction

Abstract

Research has affirmed the importance of principals and mentors in supporting novice teachers; however, little is known about how teacher leaders contribute to this work. We employed a mixed methods design to examine teacher leaders’ contributions to induction by surveying principals, teachers, and other staff ( n = 246) and interviewing teacher leaders ( n = 8). We analyzed data using rank-order and constant comparative analyses. Teacher induction tasks were distributed across teacher leaders, principals, mentor teachers, and other positions. Teacher leaders primarily contributed to professional development and promoting collaboration. They mediated support from colleagues by advancing principal-initiated structures for collaboration, referring novice teachers to experienced teachers, requesting principal support, and recommending induction program improvements. Findings have implications for how leader preparation programs and central office supervisors prepare and support principals and teacher leaders with communicating responsibilities, monitoring workloads, and coordinating distributed leadership for school improvement, particularly in the context of supporting novice teachers.