TITLE:
Partnership in Teacher Excellence Program: Teacher Leaders Reflect on Their Master’s Degrees
AUTHORS:
Nathan Bond
KEYWORDS:
Teacher Leadership Preparation, University and District Collaboration, Graduate Degree
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Leadership,
Vol.14 No.1,
February
10,
2025
ABSTRACT: Teacher leaders can foster professional growth among colleagues, increase student learning, and improve schools. Unfortunately, teacher leaders often do not receive formal training to lead. To remedy this problem, school districts and universities have partnered to develop master’s degrees in teacher leadership. This qualitative multiple case study examined five elementary teachers and five secondary teachers who graduated from such a master’s degree program. The study found that teacher leaders in the master’s degree program acquired new knowledge, felt more confident to pursue teacher leadership roles, developed professional relationships with colleagues, and valued the support provided by the district and the university.