Keeping Great Teachers in the Classroom: A Phenomenological Study of Teacher Career Advancement through Hybrid Administrator Roles

Abstract

Many teachers are leaving K-12 classrooms for administrative leadership positions in order to advance their careers. The need for alternative methods of teacher career advancement opportunities led to this study that examined hybrid administrator roles as they are currently being employed in independent schools in the Northeastern United States. The questions of how teachers understand the impact of teacher career advancement opportunities and how teacher career advancement affects the balancing of classroom instruction and administrator roles within a school were addressed in this study. A qualitative phenomenological design was used to understand the lived experiences of the participants. The target population for this study included hybrid administrators, administrators who also have teaching responsibilities, and administrators who make decisions about staffing hybrid administrator positions. Participants were chosen through convenience sampling using the snowball sampling technique. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed using a modified Vann Kamm method, and led to the four themes of: opportunity for teacher growth, systematic change through shared decision making, lack of clarity complicates role, and limited roles and opportunity. Three recommendations for action were presented along with their implications. The findings from this study can help benefit independent schools and small school districts, which have flexibility in their staffing as well as keep highly engaged teachers in the classroom while also growing their overall school leadership capacity.