CREATING TEACHER LEADERSHIP ROLES

A comparative case study revealed divergent emerging judgments of a te acher career ladder in two schools. Educators in the two sites strongl y disagreed over the relative salutary impact of the new tasks and res ponsibilities on instruction and student learning. In an earlier analy sis, the use of work structure and group-level frameworks fell short i n providing a full explanation for site-specific differences in teache rs' individual perceptions of the career ladder reform. Therefore, a d eductive analysis of the cases was conducted applying role theory cons tructs. It revealed individual-group dynamics embedded in group concep tions of role. Conclusions support the assertions that interpretations drawn from the immediate environment have profound impacts on ''objec tive'' tasks associated with work characteristics and their outcomes a nd emphasize the ambiguity of innovation in established organizations.