The Effect of Teacher Cognitive and Behavioral Agility on Student Achievement

The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers who use thinking and
leading actions have higher student achievement as measured by the teacher’s Value
Added Measure (VAM) score. A quantitative non-experimental design investigated the
relationships between teacher cognitive and behavioral agility and student achievement.
Cognitive agility, measured through the Strategic Thinking Questionnaire for Teachers
(STQT ), refers to the leader’s ability to use their repertoire of thinking skills. Behavioral
agility, measured with the Strategic Leadership Questionnaire for Teachers (SLQT ),
denotes the leader’s ability to use a wide array of leader influencing actions. Teachers
were surveyed and the data were analyzed through correlation and multiple regressions to
determine the relationship among the variables.
Although the cognitive and behavioral agility was not correlated with a teacher’s
VAM score, the results indicate that teachers do perceive themselves as leaders in their
classrooms. Educational leadership certification, higher degrees, and years experience of a teacher did moderate the relationship between local VAM and both cognitive and
behavioral agility. The sub-scales of systems thinking and transforming of the survey
instruments also were significant to the results. Theoretically, this study contributes to the
teacher leadership literature, focusing on the classroom teacher and their effect on student
achievement. Practically, with educational accountability changing the landscape, school
districts should train teachers to engage in leadership skills, reward teachers for earning a
Master’s degree in leadership, and work to retain high quality teachers who are leaders
within their classroom. Greater student achievement could be the result.