An Integral Analysis of One Urban School System's Efforts to Support Student-Centered Teaching

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the case of one urban public school district's efforts to provide coherent support for student-centered teaching across all the high schools, through the role of the Learning Leader. The Learning Leader designation replaced the previous Department Head or Curriculum Leader role. The implementation of this change of designation created numerous challenges due to various interpretations of the role. The district's efforts to provide professional development for the Learning Leaders was also caught up in the context of conflicting interpretations of the role of the Learning Leader. This chapter provides an analysis of the implementation of this change, including the use of the Integral Model (Wilber, 2006) to examine the interviews with high school Learning Leaders and principals, and the Professional Development program offered by the district. A number of recommendations are provided for enhancing the role of the Learning Leaders to optimize their work with teachers.