Gritty optimism is the belief that students can become more of who they are created to be based on evidence and experience. To achieve flourishing, eudaimonia, the goal education since Aristotle, educators must exhibit gritty optimism in the form of collective leadership and collective efficacy to support flourishing schools. In this study, we used school climate and teacher retention as components of flourishing. We conducted a path analysis with data from 22 schools to determine the relationship between collective leadership, collective efficacy, school climate, and teacher retention. Additional data from site visits that included focus groups and interviews triangulates our findings that collective leadership is a strong predictor of improved school climate and enhanced teacher retention.
CarterE. W. (2021). Dimensions of belonging for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In JonesJ. L.GallusK. L. (Eds.), Belonging and resilience in individuals with developmental disabilities: Emerging issues in family and individual resilience. Springer.
Darling-HammondL.Cook-HarveyC. M. (2018). Educating the whole child: Improving school climate to support student success. Learning Policy Institute.
6.
DayC.GuQ.SammonsP. (2016). The impact of leadership on student outcomes. Educational Administration Quarterly, 52(2), 221–258. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X15616863
7.
DeWittP. M. (2017). Collaborative leadership: Six influences that matter most. Corwin Press.
DweckC. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Ballantine Books.
10.
EckertJ. (2018). Leading together: Teachers and administrators improving student outcomes. Corwin Press.
11.
EckertJ. (2019). Collective leadership development: Emerging themes from urban, suburban, and rural high schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 55(3), 477–509. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X18799435
12.
EckertJ.MorganG. B.PadgettR. N. (2022). Collective leadership: Developing a tool to assess educator readiness and efficacy. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 40(4), 533–548. https://doi.org/10.1177/07342829211072284
13.
EckertJ.MorganG.DaughtreyA. (2023). Collective school leadership and collective teacher efficacy through turbulence. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 23(4), 773–791. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2023.2239894
14.
EdmondsonA. C. (2018). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley.
15.
FowlerF. J. (2014). Survey research methods. Sage.
GibbonsS.ScrutinioV.TelhajS. (2021). Teacher turnover: Effects, mechanisms and organisational responses. Labour Economics, 73, Article 102079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102079
18.
GilbertD. (2007). Stumbling on happiness. Vintage Books.
19.
GoddardR. D.HoyW. K.HoyA. W. (2000). Collective teacher efficacy: Its meaning, measure, and impact on student achievement. American Education Research Journal, 37(2), 479–507.
20.
HaidtJ. (2006). The happiness hypothesis: Finding modern truth in ancient wisdom. Basic Books.
21.
HaidtJ. (2024). The anxious generation: How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness. Penguin.
22.
HammondZ. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain. Corwin.
23.
HanushekE. A. (2009). Teacher deselection. In GoldhaberD.HannawayJ. (Eds.), Creating a new teaching profession. Urban Institute Press.
24.
HattieJ. (2015). What works best in education: The politics of collaborative expertise. Pearson.
HugginsK. S.KlarH. W.AndreoliP. M. (2021). Facilitating leadership coach capacity for school leadership development: The intersection of structured community and experiential learning. Educational Administration Quarterly, 57(1), 82–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X20915948
27.
HugginsK. S.KlarH. W.HammondsH. L.BuskeyF. C. (2016). Supporting leadership development: An examination of high school principals’ efforts to develop leaders’ personal capacities. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 11(2), 200–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775116658636
28.
KlarH. W.HugginsK. S.HammondsH. L.BuskeyF. C. (2016). Fostering the capacity for distributed leadership: A post-heroic approach to leading school improvement. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 19(2), 111–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2015.1005028
29.
KraftM. A.LyonM. A. (2024). The rise and fall of the teaching profession: Prestige, interest, preparation, and satisfaction over the last half century (No. Ed Working Paper: 22-679). Brown University.
30.
LeeM. T.JohnsonB. R.VanderWeeleT. J. (2023). Understanding flourishing: Developing a global community of practice. Baylor University.
MacBeathJ.DempsterN. (Eds.). (2009). Connecting leadership and learning: Principles for practice. Routledge.
34.
MaierS. F.SeligmanM. E. (2016). Learned helplessness at fifty: Insights from neuroscience. Psychological Review, 123(4), 349–367. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000033
35.
MargolisJ.HugginsK. S. (2012). Distributed but undefined: New teacher leader roles to change schools. Journal of School Leadership, 22(5), 953–981. https://doi.org/10.1177/105268461202200506
36.
MurphyJ. (2005). Connecting teacher leadership and school improvement. Corwin Press.
WennerJ. A.CampbellT. (2017). The theoretical and empirical basis of teacher leadership: A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 87(1), 134–171. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654316653478
53.
YinR. (2014). Case study research: Design and method (5th ed.). Sage.
54.
York-BarrJ.DukeD. (2004). What do we know about teacher leadership? Findings from two decades of scholarship. Review of Educational Research, 74(3), 255–316.
