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1. Impacting elementary STEM teacher leadership identities

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.18313  

   Quaisley, Kelsey; Funk, Rachel; Pai, Leilani; Ahrens, Sally; Smith, Wendy M; Thomas, Amanda (September 2024, School Science and Mathematics)

   Abstract Learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects starting at a young age helps prepare students for a variety of careers both inside and outside of the sciences. Yet, addressing integrated STEM in an elementary school setting can be challenging. Teacher leadership is one way to address this challenge. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive case study is to understand how participation in the NebraskaSTEM Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship project impacted elementary STEM teacher leadership identities. Our findings suggest participation in the project contributed to different layers of teacher leadership identity (as a STEM learner, as a STEM teacher, and as a STEM teacher leader). These findings suggest professional development should be tailored to address empowering specific layers of STEM teacher leaders' professional identity. Other teacher leadership development projects may want to consider how to structure their projects to empower teachers based on the identities and experiences of those teachers. 

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2. Cultivating space for teacher leadership: Two cases of negotiating and developing identities across systems

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.18331  

   Bolyard, Johnna; Campbell, Matthew P; Freeland, Sean; Petrone, Christina Glance (October 2025, School Science and Mathematics)

   Abstract Teacher leadership research often focuses on individuals in formal leadership roles, including administrative roles outside of the classroom, attending to their knowledge, skills, and dispositions, and their impact on instructional improvement. An emerging view of teacher leaders focuses on individuals who take on responsibility for instructional improvement in a school or district absent a particular title‐often while maintaining a primary responsibility as classroom teacher‐and the role that systems play in supporting or constraining teachers' agency and voice in improvement. In this paper, we draw on a networked ecological perspective on teachers' positioning in school systems as well as a dialogical view of identity to present two cases of teacher leaders navigating multiple systems‐school, district, and other collaborations and professional spaces‐as teacher leaders, negotiating their own conceptions of teacher leadership and their identities as teacher leaders. Through these cases, we offer considerations of how professional spaces in and out of schools and districts can potentially influence evolving perspectives on teacher leadership. We also offer consideration of how identity is key to understanding teacher leader practice and development, as well as attending to influences of various systems on teacher leadership, including particular cultural contexts such as rural schools and communities. 

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3. Developing STEM teacher leaders for urban contexts: accelerating STEM learning opportunities for Black and Brown youth

   https://doi.org/10.1108/SUP-02-2025-0007  

   Jett, Christopher C; King, Natalie S (December 2025, School-University Partnerships)

   PurposeThis article discusses a Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) between an urban research university, two local school districts, and community-based science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) organizations designed to develop and retain 26 STEM teacher leaders. More specifically, it delves into the experiences of five exemplary secondary mathematics and science teachers who have assumed prominent leadership roles. Design/methodology/approachUsing the case study methodological approach, this article explores the following research question: In what ways are STEM teachers positioned to take up leadership roles within urban schools, districts, and communities? FindingsThe findings reveal that the five participants leveraged previous experiences as inspiration to lead within the field of education, assumed various roles beyond STEM teaching for holistic child development, and recognized the importance of mentorship and peer support in their journeys toward leadership. Originality/valueThis article provides information about a program to prepare STEM teacher leaders in urban contexts. A value is its asset-based framing of urban schools and Black and Brown students. Recommendations for practice and implications for future work are shared to support STEM teacher leaders so that they can thrive in urban contexts. 

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4. Developing and Sustaining Elementary STEM Teacher Leadership Identities

   Napolitano, K V; Gunning, A M; Marrero, M E; Nitecki, E (December 2023, Global education review)

   Growing emphasis on elementary STEM education has pushed elementary teachers to face curriculum changes that focus on standards with which they are largely unfamiliar (Smith, 2020; Trygstad et al., 2013). As a result, elementary students are not always exposed to STEM subjects or integration and miss out on opportunities to access and enjoy the hands-on, inquiry-driven activities that accompany them. This deficit disproportionally impacts high-need, urban districts that serve Black and Brown children and families, thus perpetuating inequities in STEM education and careers (Tate et al., 2012). To address these issues, we designed a Fellowship program that strengthened K-12 STEM teacher leadership in local, high-need, schools. In this paper, we take a closer look at how five elementary teachers took on STEM teacher leader identities and then sustained and strengthened those even as program supports reduced. We asked: How do elementary teachers develop and sustain STEM and leadership identities through participation in a Master Teacher Fellowship? Using positional identity and selfefficacy lenses, we interpreted focus group interviews, coursework, reflections, and Fellowship meeting notes. Findings suggest that elementary teachers developed their identities gradually—first, as they recognized themselves as STEM teachers; next, as they recognized themselves as STEM leaders; and then, as others recognized them as STEM teacher leaders and positioned them to enact change in their schools and to support their colleagues. Implications for teacher educators shed light on how elementary teachers can be best supported in increasing STEM learning for their students across grade levels to effect school change. 

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5. The Reformation of Identity: What Is Present after a Science Teacher Leadership Program.

   Reeder, Andrea; Rushton, Gregory T (December 2024, International Journal of Teacher Leadership)

   Wenner, Julianne (Ed.)

   This qualitative study investigates the development of science teacher leaders during and after professional development. It examines the impactful experiences during a teacher leadership program that allowed them to explore their leadership identity and how this identity manifests in their schools’ post-program. The participants are 14 chemistry and physics teacher leaders from schools in the Southeastern U.S. who attended a five-year Noyce teacher leadership program. They are emergent leaders who entered the program with limited leadership exposure or expertise. Social learning theory provides the lens to examine during and post-program interviews with science teacher leaders. Three themes emerge from the interviews: 1) Redefining leadership, 2) Responsibility for others, and 3) Collaborative community that developed the science teacher leadership identity during and after the program. The findings from this study have theoretical and practical implications for teacher leaders, schools, and leadership development programs. 

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