Examining Teacher Leadership in the United States: How do BIPOC Teachers and White Teachers in Urban Environments Experience Shared Leadership?

Abstract

This study, using data from the American Teacher Panel survey given by the RAND corporation in 2017, examined teachers’ experiences with teacher leadership (TL) in the United States. Geographic features like urbanicity and teacher demographic characteristics were used to predict different components of TL. Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) teachers reported lower levels of principal leadership quality, teacher influence, and shared decision-making; however, they reported higher teacher agency than their white colleagues. Similarly, teachers in schools with populations that were majority low-income and BIPOC reported lower levels of principal leadership quality, teacher influence, and shared decision-making.