Date of Award

Spring 2-5-2024

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Cherie Gaines

Second Advisor

Dr. Keith Carpenter

Third Advisor

Dr. Lindsey Cochran

Abstract

The number of formal teacher leadership roles, notably as instructional coaches and Professional Learning Community leaders, continued to increase. Rural school districts needed to improve their ability to create these roles. Additionally, researchers indicated many teachers preferred to avoid working with formal teacher leaders. The purpose of this basic, interpretive, qualitative study was to examine informal teacher leadership within the confines of social networks in rural schools and the influence of informal teacher leadership on the self-efficacy of other teachers when implementing instructional strategies. I utilized a questionnaire and snowball sampling, which led to 10 participants to gain insight into teacher efficacy in rural schools. I used open and axial coding to analyze my findings. The results of this study yielded four findings. First, teachers reported working with teacher leaders to be comfortable and collaborative. Second, teachers preferred working with leaders they perceived as having a level of expertise. Third, teachers viewed working with informal teacher leaders as an opportunity for flexibility. Finally, teachers viewed working with informal leaders as creating a network and an exchange of equals.

Keywords

Social Networks, Self-Efficacy, Informal Teacher Leadership, Rural Schools

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