Leadership as Teaching: Mapping the Thinking of Administrators and Teachers

Leadership as Teaching: Mapping the Thinking of Administrators and Teachers

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Steele-Pierce, Mary Ellen
Language:English
Published: Antioch University / OhioLINK 2006
Subjects:
Leadership
Concept Mapping
Educational Administration
Teachers' Thinking
Cognitive Map
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1165860089
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-antioch11658600892021-08-03T05:27:07Z Leadership as Teaching: Mapping the Thinking of Administrators and Teachers Steele-Pierce, Mary Ellen Leadership Concept Mapping Educational Administration Teachers' Thinking Cognitive Map Leading and teaching both involve processes that permit others to transform their thinking. Yet there has been little systematic, empirical research to connect the two. This exploratory study examines K-12 educational leadership asking: What are the similarities and differences in the ways school administrators think about "leading" compared to the ways teachers think about "teaching"? This mixed methods study offers an examination of whether administrators think about their work in terms of "the vital teaching role of leadership" (Burns, 1978, p. 425) by creating and comparing three sets of concept maps, one for teachers and administrators and one for each of the two groups disaggregated. Two participant samples provided the data. Focus group members generated 100 statements, and card sorting participants rated and categorized the concepts. Concept mapping (Trochim, 2005) produced maps with geographic clusters that revealed patterns of thinking. Clusters fell into two geographic segments: Personal and Extra-Personal. The concept of holding environment (Kegan, 1982, 1994; Heifetz, 1994) and its components, challenge and support, provided a construct for the maps' interpretations. Disaggregating the rating data and statistical analyses revealed areas of similarity and differences suggesting: 1) administrators and teachers strongly value the Personal (Support) aspects of their work; 2) both rate the Extra-Personal cluster "Create some tension" lower than other aspects of their work; 3) administrators rate the Extra-Personal (Challenge) aspects of their work higher than teachers; and 4) administrators rate the Extra-Personal clusters "Political awareness" and "Using evidence and data" significantly higher than teachers. Disaggregating the data to create separate maps for administrators and teachers reveals a dimension, the Intra-Personal, that appears only on the administrators' map. Disaggregated data show that administrators rate the concept cluster "Challenge the Status Quo" least important of all other areas of their work. These findings can inform the work of school change agents and administrator development programs. Research recommendations include creating maps of business or political leaders' thinking using the 100 teaching concepts, and developing cognitive maps of individual administrators using think-aloud interviews during sorting and rating procedures. The electronic version of the dissertation is accessible at the OhioLINK ETD center http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/. 2006-12-11 English text Antioch University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1165860089 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1165860089 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Leadership
Concept Mapping
Educational Administration
Teachers' Thinking
Cognitive Map
spellingShingle Leadership
Concept Mapping
Educational Administration
Teachers' Thinking
Cognitive Map
Steele-Pierce, Mary Ellen
Leadership as Teaching: Mapping the Thinking of Administrators and Teachers
author Steele-Pierce, Mary Ellen
author_facet Steele-Pierce, Mary Ellen
author_sort Steele-Pierce, Mary Ellen
title Leadership as Teaching: Mapping the Thinking of Administrators and Teachers
title_short Leadership as Teaching: Mapping the Thinking of Administrators and Teachers
title_full Leadership as Teaching: Mapping the Thinking of Administrators and Teachers
title_fullStr Leadership as Teaching: Mapping the Thinking of Administrators and Teachers
title_full_unstemmed Leadership as Teaching: Mapping the Thinking of Administrators and Teachers
title_sort leadership as teaching: mapping the thinking of administrators and teachers
publisher Antioch University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2006
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1165860089
work_keys_str_mv AT steelepiercemaryellen leadershipasteachingmappingthethinkingofadministratorsandteachers
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