Contested Ground: The Basis of Teacher Leadership in Two Restructuring High Schools

In an analysis of evolving teacher leadership in 2 restructuring high schools, the image of "contested ground" illuminates the ways in which traditions of subject specialism shape assumptions about the exercise of leadership among secondary teachers. The analysis is prefaced by a brief account of the legacy of subject specialism and the pervasive but variable precedent of the department head. Case study data permit comparisons of traditional department head roles with "restructured" leadership roles that span subject boundaries. Subject expertise proves a powerful warrant for teacher leadership and a basis for professional community even in the context of interdisciplinary structures. Claims to subject expertise also supply a resource on which secondary teachers rely in mediating institutional and collective controls on their teaching. The study challenges simplistic stereotypes of the "subject-centered" high school teacher but also demonstrates the power that subject affiliation retains as high schools restructure.