Accountability, Control, and Teachers’ Work in American Schools

Theorizing school leadership as a profession: a qualitative exploration of the work of school leaders

“…those in the field determine and hold each other accountable for upholding professional standards of expertise and practice) (Weiner, 2020). Yet while research abounds considering whether and to what degree teaching is a profession (Ingersoll and Collins, 2018; Sachs, 2016), as well as how it has been impacted by the rise of neoliberal policies (e.g. Anderson and Cohen, 2018), we could find no parallel literature outside our own that had investigated such issues for school leadership.…”

“…As a result, outside actors now often have a say over the definition of expertise and the services offered by the profession (Burau and Andersen, 2014). Education scholars debate whether teaching is a mature profession (Sachs, 2016) or a semi-profession, holding some elements while falling short in others (Etzioni, 1969;Ingersoll and Collins, 2018). This research has focused on teachers and their work.…”

“…Decades of research have explored the difference between occupations and professions. Ingersoll and Collins (2018, p. 200) suggest a profession has “rigorous training and licensing requirements, favorable working conditions, an active professional organization or association, substantial workplace authority, relatively high compensation, and high prestige.” Freidson (2001) emphasizes the special position professions hold which differentiates them from occupations. Expertise plays a central role in distinguishing professions from occupations and serves as a gate-keeping mechanism; in education, credentialing rather than technical know-how often determines expertise (Hargreaves, 2000).…”

“…Such framing assumes school leaders are indeed part of a profession. And yet, while research abounds regarding teaching as a profession (Ingersoll and Collins, 2018;Sachs, 2016;Torres and Weiner, 2018), no parallel literature exists about school leaders. Such information is critical to ensure educators receive the appropriate professional development and support (Sachs, 2016) and move the field forward and thus motivated the authors to ask how principals view their work and whether it can be seen as part of a discrete profession.…”

A Thirty State Analysis of Teacher Supervision and Evaluation Systems in the ESSA Era

“…Embedded within technorational approaches within the field of teacher evaluation is an underlying and faulty assumption that negative feedback for adult learners will lead to increased motivation to improve practice (Drago-Severson, 2009). In teacher evaluation systems, this assumption is applied in practice that requires evaluators (usually principals) to identify weaknesses that will lead to instructional improvement, which in turn will increase student achievement scores (Ingersoll & Collins, 2019). The continued existence of popular evaluation systems (e.g.…”