The Role of Teacher Leaders in Sustaining School Culture During Principal Transitions: A Case Study

This qualitative case study explored the lived experiences of eight teacher leaders at a public high school navigating rapid principal turnover, with five principals in 36 months. It sought to understand their perceived roles in maintaining school stability, focusing on how they countered adverse effects on culture, morale, and achievement. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with eight teacher leaders. After the interviews were transcribed and codes identified, four themes emerged. The findings were aligned with the frameworks of this study: Eco-leadership, Distributed Leadership, and Teacher Leadership. Findings indicated that teacher leaders actively attempted to mitigate the adverse effects of principal turnover and maintain school culture, teacher morale, and student achievement through: aligning with each new principal in order to encourage other teachers to also align, engaging in bottom-up leadership by advocating for teachers, serving as memory keepers to preserve institutional knowledge, and serving as the social glue by building relationships and socially supporting teachers. This research illustrates eco-leadership principles by highlighting how distributed and emergent leadership, embodied by teacher leaders, maintained the school's ecosystem's balance and resilience during periods of high principal turnover. This study offers qualitative data for scholars that expands eco-leadership understanding in education, demonstrating teacher leader influence during principal turnover. It serves to empower teachers by illustrating the value of their leadership roles in maintaining school stability and provides practical strategies for navigating leadership transitions. It emphasizes the need for educational leaders to cultivate distributed leadership and support teacher leaders to mitigate disruptions caused by principal turnover.