Superintendents' Perceptions of Teacher Leadership in Selected Districts.

This paper documents the results of a mixed method study of superintendents who participated in a survey while attending an annual meeting in 2009. The superintendents (N= 25) were from a variety of states, and they were educational leaders in rural, suburban and urban school districts. While small in number, the results of this study re ect the information that is known about teacher leadership, namely, that teachers are primarily performing traditional roles that include various leadership assignments such as school, department or grade level positions. While noting the bene ts of teacher leadership, superintendents reported concerns for teacher unions and school culture as the primary challenges to the implementation of teacher leadership.