News & Events

On February 13, Dr. Sylvia Bagley (Director of Instructional Leadership at MSMC) and Dr. Kimmie Tang (formerly MSMC’s Director of Special Education) presented their research on the leadership qualities and roles of Education Specialist teacher leaders at the annual Association of Teacher Educators Conference in San Antonio, Texas. In their presentation, Dr. Bagley and Dr. Tang argued that strategically nurturing teacher leadership within Special Education should be an essential component of the "new wave" of teacher training and professional development for Education Specialists, given that they are frequently expected to take on teacher leadership roles at their school sites. Dr. Bagley and Dr. Tang’s presentation was based on a pilot study they conducted during the 2010-2011 school year with 17 ESTLs (Education Special Teacher Leaders) in the Southern California area. In this study, they sought to understand how teacher leadership within Special Education correlates with the new Model Teacher Leader Standards, how Educational Specialists define and perceive teacher leadership within their field, and how Education Specialists can become more effective as teacher leaders.