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Abstract
This article presents findings from a multi-year, qualitative study of K-12 science teacher fellows involved in a grant-funded professional development program. This research hones in on Year 2 where we examine the actions our fellows have taken in their districts as science teacher leaders and their sense of agency. The following main themes emerged in the data: how science teacher leaders see personal/ organizational change as a process; the importance of differentiated mentoring and support; the fellows' acceptance of roadblocks as part of the growth process; and finally, the value of reflection as a means to sustain leadership efforts beyond the fellowship. We explore the implications for professional development programs in districts, and in particular, those that address the need to cultivate teacher leadership.
Introduction
The pressures ofthe PARCC [Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers] on my participating teachers seem to be becoming much more real. Although they would never say it and have been nothing but accommodating . . . getting them to devote serious time toward science is the last thing on their mind. However, I believe they want to teach science better and more but are put under pressure from administration and others to produce test scores. The second grade teacher that I had asked to participate spoke to me and apologized that she has not been able to meet with me or work on the science at all in her class. Of course getting her to teach science is not the goal of what I am trying to do . . . getting her to teach science better is the goal. (Montclair State University Wipro SEF Fellow)
Teacher leadership happens amid a complex context ofpolicy, content, students, peers, and administrators, and its enactment remains far messier than the literature has revealed. Despite a call by York-Barr and Duke (2004) for more theory-driven, empirical research, teacher leadership remains a largely undertheorized field (Wenner & Campbell, 2017), and there is still a need to understand the supports necessary to enact teacher leadership. For one, most professional development programs do little to support teacher leadership or to prepare teachers to spread their innovative practices beyond their own classrooms. Teachers are often driven by district and policy agendas and led...