Reconstructing the Teacher-Administrator Relationship to Achieve Systemic Change

Abstract

The transition from hierarchical to collegial relationships between teachers and administrators is examined within the context of a school district that implemented a new model of teacher supervision and evaluation. This new model called for teachers to assume responsibility and accountability for their individual professional growth, and it called for administrators to facilitate and coach teachers to become self-directed and self-evaluating. This transition required teachers and administrators to reconstruct meanings about the teacher-administrator relationship. Meanings constructed by teachers and administrators are examined, along with the interpretive process through which individual and shared meanings developed. Several implications for research and practice are provided.