Examining the practice of elementary mathematics specialists through narratives: implications for professional learning and development

This study analysed elementary mathematics specialists’ stories of work to examine how these disciplinary-specific teacher leaders engage in their practice. This paper examines the ways in which elementary mathematics specialists conceptualise their leadership roles and the impact of their work on other school stakeholders. Using narrative inquiry, we conducted semi-structured interviews in order to capture participant stories that described specific tasks, actions, context, intent and reflections. Findings suggest that the ways participants articulated their agenda, enacted their agency and positioned themselves and others provide a lens for viewing the range of ways they approached their work as elementary mathematics specialists and ultimately resulting in the categorisation of participants into two profiles based on similarities and differences in these themes. While all participants described challenges and successes, their stories differed in how they engaged in leadership practice and how they engaged others in leadership. We argue that, while having deep knowledge of mathematics content and pedagogy is crucial to elementary mathematics specialist work, to maximise the impact of these disciplinary teacher leaders, the exploration of teacher leadership knowledge, practices, and tools must be a crucial aspect of elementary mathematics specialist preparation and professional development.