Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to examine teacher leaders' perceptions of their influence on their colleagues' decisions to make changes in their instructional practices. The study was intended to assist school and district administrators to create systems to support teacher leadership as these teachers guide their colleagues into innovative practices aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Methodology. Using a grounded theory approach, the researcher conducted this study in 3 secondary schools in the Los Angeles County with similarities, such as demographics, achievement levels, and state recognition awards. Four individual face-to-face interviews were conducted with teacher leaders in formal leadership roles, such as department chairs, teachers on special assignment, and/or instructional coaches. Additionally, 4 faceto- face focus group interviews were conducted with teachers who worked directly with the identified teacher leaders. Findings. There were several themes that emerged; however, the one that stands out the most is that participants affirmed that the strategies and activities that effective teacher leaders used to influence and support their colleagues' decisions to make changes to their instructional practices revolved around curriculum and instruction. Conclusions. The data and findings from this study concluded that teacher leaders need the support from site and district administrators to be effective at influencing colleagues in making changes to their instructional practices. The support requested by teacher leaders is that they be given the opportunities to collaborate with their colleagues to plan curriculum, model lessons, debrief on their practices with colleagues, and analyze student work and data as well as to provide them with further training in leadership strategies. Recommendations. Further research in the following areas is advised: a similar study could be conducted at schools that are not recognized as California Distinguished Schools, another study could be conducted at elementary schools to determine if there is a difference between secondary and elementary teacher leaders, future research could explore methods to persuade informal teacher leaders to take formal leadership roles, and finally, a similar study of teacher leaders' perceptions on how principals influence them to make changes to their instructional practices could be conducted. This information will enlighten principals on their practices as instructional leaders.