Effective teacher leadership : a quantitative study of the relationship between school structures and effective teacher leaders

The purpose of this quantitative study was to inves tigate the relationship between certain types of school structures and the effectiv ness of teacher leaders. The study focused on teachers who lead from within their clas srooms, as opposed to those who have left the classroom to take on different responsibil ities. The types of school structures investigated were determined through an analysis of nine previously conducted qualitative studies. Through this analysis, specifi c structural components in three categories: (a) role clarity, (b) physical structur es, and (c) organizational structures were identified. The structural components identified through analys is of these qualitative studies were utilized to develop the SSTLQ (School Structur es and Teacher Leadership Questionnaire). The questionnaire was completed by 158 teachers from various grade ranges who were enrolled in a professional developm ent program for teacher leaders in a Midwestern state. Data from the survey was analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient to determine the relationship between specific school structures and teacher leader effectiveness, as measured by the teacher leader’s impact on instructional change and student achievement. A forward multiple regression analysis was also utilized to