SNAKES OR LADDERS? - An Examination of the Experiences of Two Teacher Leaders Returning to Classroom Teaching - Elizabeth Munroe

Oct 15, 2026

Investigates how two teacher leaders experience returning to classroom teaching, using Owens’s (2004) social constructivist theory of role definition. The study frames career transitions through the metaphor of Snakes and Ladders, distinguishing positive movement up the career ladder from potentially negative “going back” language. By contrasting Susan’s stress-laden return and Debbie’s joy-filled transition, the analysis highlights how familiarity with the school and role definition shape perceptions of the move.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The Potential Contribution of Teacher Leaders

SNAKES OR LADDERS? AN EXAMINATION OF THE EXPERIENCES OF TWO TEACHER LEADERS RETURNING TO CLASSROOM TEACHING* Elizabeth Munroe, St. Francis Xavier University Teachers who have held leadership roles at the school, district, or provincial level have the potential to contribute to student and school success when they return to classroom teaching. The contrasting experiences of two teacher leaders who returned voluntarily to classroom teaching are analyzed using Owens’s (2004) social constructivist theory of role definition. These case studies offer insight into a teacher career transition that has been considered infrequently in current research. As such, they may inform the decisions of district personnel, school administrators, and returning teacher leaders so that such transitions feel less like sliding down a snake and more like climbing a ladder. Introduction In the game of Snakes and Ladders, the goal is to reach the top, the one hundredth square. Starting at the first square, a player rolls the dice. If she is lucky enough to land on the base of a ladder, she can climb up and skip many numbers. But, if the player lands on a snake’s head, she must slide down to the snake’s tail, thus regressing back through the numbers. Because the goal of the game is to reach the hundredth square, moving up ladders is positive and sliding down snakes is negative. * The author would like to acknowledge the support for this research through a University Council Research grant from St. Francis Xavier University. In terms ofa professional career, climbing the ladder is similarly widely accepted as positive. Most steps up the career ladder bring increased salary, responsibility, respect, and selfaffirmation. For teachers, going up the ladder may mean moving from classroom to school-based teacher leader or administrator, or to district or provincial leadership roles. Educators converse about such career moves using phrases such as “taking a new position as . . . ,” “accepting the challenge to . . . ,” or “moving on to . . . ,” and most see the steps up the ladder in a positive light. When an expert teacher first moves into leadership, colleagues may comment about “taking the best teachers out of the classroom,” but usually such a move is seen as a ladder. What terminology is used when a teacher leader who has worked in a formal leadership position takes a classroom teaching position again? Most frequently, the teacher leader is going “back” to the classroom. Is that career move similar to landing on a snake? Are there underlying tones of negativity in the phrase “going back to the classroom”? And, if that is the case, why? Recently, I have sought to understand the experiences of five Canadian teacher leaders during their first year of returning to classroom teaching. For some of these teacher leaders, their return to the classroom was involuntary and, yes, their return seemed somewhat like sliding down a snake. For two of the educators, Susan and Debbie (pseudonyms), the career shift was completely voluntary—they returned to classroom teaching because they missed working with children. Did a voluntary return result in a more positive transition? Certainly both these teachers described considerable joy and satisfaction in working with students and being part ofa school staff once again. However, Susan experienced specific sources of stress that at times made her feel as if she were sliding down a snake (Munroe, in press) . Debbie had a far more positive experience, and the transition felt like climbing a ladder. The stories of Susan and Debbie are examined here, with particular reference to their familiarity with the school they were returning to and how their roles were defined there. Those differences seem pivotal to their contrasting experiences. The Potential Contribution of Teacher Leaders Before writing specifically about Susan’s and Debbie’s experiences, I consider what has been written about the potentia

FAQs

What metaphor structures the paper’s view of teacher career transitions?

The paper uses Snakes and Ladders to compare moving up the career ladder with returning to classroom teaching, treating positive movement like climbing ladders and negative regression like sliding down snakes.

How do Susan and Debbie’s returns to classroom teaching differ?

Susan experienced specific stressors that made her feel like sliding down a snake, while Debbie’s return felt like climbing a ladder, accompanied by joy and satisfaction with students and staff roles.

What theoretical lens is used to analyze the teacher leaders’ experiences?

The cases are analyzed using Owens’s (2004) social constructivist theory of role definition to examine how roles are defined and experienced during the transition.

Oct 15, 2026

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