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A starting point for realising connections between leadership and professional learning is to focus specifically on teachers and their conceptions of leadership. Typically, leadership is understood...

Teacher leadership has held a place in leadership theory since the 1980s. In this chapter previous research and scholarly reviews about teacher leadership are highlighted in order to explain its distinctive features and why it still needs to be seen as a viable and attractive form of leadership. The key message throughout this chapter is the need for a different way of thinking about leadership work to enhance student learning and to view this as collective rather than the individual work of a particular leader. Case study research highlights some of the conditions that influence teacher leadership work and how issues have been addressed. Discussion is focussed on who counts as a teacher leader, where multiple categories of leadership work are revealed to show the breadth of teacher leadership. This breadth, is noted whilst being inclusive of multiple participants, at the same time lacks precision. A point taken through this chapter is the notion that leadership is about influence, not personal power over others. In this way leadership is described as a fluid space inclusive of multiple leaders to engage in leadership practices where the intent is for leadership to be distributed widely and always connected to students and their learning. It is further noted that teacher leadership is largely dependent on what those in formal positions allow and constrain by accountability and compliance agendas. This leaves little room for teachers to engage in leadership work because compliance requires a formal role which they do not possess.

Notions of career and career trajectories are explored in this chapter with a focus on early career teachers. Reference is made to three research studies and the school variations in how early career teachers are supported post-registration and how this affects attrition and retention and, ultimately, the next generation of leaders. A career continuum is offered to contrast between upward career advancement to positional roles and a focus on practice-focused improvements. This contrast is used to reveal different ways of interpreting what leadership and being a leader mean. Teacher leadership is associated with a practice focus, indicating a space for teachers to see professional learning as an opportunity to lead others. The longitudinal study entitled “Teachers of Promise (TOPs): Aspirations and Realities” is introduced and subsequently developed through this and other chapters as illustrative material depicting the voices and experiences of early career teachers. This particular study has captured the sources of job satisfaction, challenges, and opportunities for early career teachers with mention of support for teachers’ extended roles and responsibilities, including leadership. Vignettes of three teachers demonstrate the importance of schools being nurturing environments for early career teachers to deepen their professional expertise.

This chapter extends the learning orientation of teachers who engage in leadership work because of their strong moral purpose to make a difference to students. An illustrative vignette captures this intent to show the appeal of a practice focus for leadership work. Adult learning theory is used to emphasise the importance of paying attention to the processes which help teachers to learn, recognising that professional learning requires more than content knowledge. Being a learner first, and a leader second, is how the pathway to leadership is portrayed. Issues of how and when leadership awareness and learning should begin are discussed as well as what that leadership learning might entail. Four examples of system provisions for leadership learning in different country settings illustrate how multiple partners can support teacher leadership learning. The chapter rounds off with a discussion about the role of self-assessment in leadership learning, in particular the use of an online tool trialled in 12 countries to acknowledge leadership learning needs. In this way possible benefits for individuals are signalled when structured opportunities are available for them to identify their existing leadership competencies and those they are still to develop.

The focus of this chapter is why teacher leadership is of interest to researchers and practitioners despite its lack of a clear definition. It is claimed that if notions of leader and leadership are solely attributed to those holding formal roles or positions then this is a problem. The view is advanced that informal interactions with colleagues matter and these are seen as offering opportunities for extending spheres of influence. That such interactions are typically not deemed as leadership work seems to be because those sharing their influence have no particular leadership title. This chapter signals the need for a conceptual separation of the terms leader and leadership so as to make room for formal and informal leadership. It is asserted that how teachers use and share their professional knowledge with colleagues is what matters. This is seen as collective rather than individual work, to which all may contribute, regardless of whether they hold a designated role or title. Essentially it is the shared commitment to the moral purpose of the school which is of prime concern. This accounts for a preference for the term “leadership” over “leader” recognising that teachers, interchangeably, can be leaders and learners who work for the needs of students rather than for personal gain or status.

This chapter is framed around teacher interview data specifically exploring teachers’ understandings of the terms “teacher leader” and “teacher leadership”. The return to a small number of the Teachers of Promise study participants for these interviews provides an opportunity to check their views with research and scholarly writing on teacher leadership. The interview discussion begins by asking whether the teachers think teacher leadership exists and, if it does, what it looks like, and then about its opportunities, challenges, and constraints. Seven matters surface from the interview data. These include the continuing perception that leadership occurs through a named positional role; reluctance amongst teachers to be leaders; a realisation that leadership involves personal risk taking, courage, and supportive colleagues; the invisibility of teachers’ classroom leadership, leadership as collective activity amongst peers being activated because of the moral obligation to enhance students’ learning, the ability of teacher leaders to provide clear evidence of their impact on students and colleagues’ work, and how teacher leaders see their work as remaining connected to classrooms.

In this chapter an earlier definition of teacher leadership is extended to reflect the importance of continuous professional learning and how this becomes the impetus for teacher leadership as spheres of influence are realised. A vignette describing a teacher with a practice focus, albeit inside a designated leadership role, extends the earlier intent of teacher leadership with a learning orientation. The potential of networks beyond individual schools for teachers without formal leadership roles is featured to explore issues of practice alongside other teachers. It is argued that wider networks can compensate for teachers working in environments which are not conducive to professional learning. Indicators of schools with collaborative learning cultures are presented, particularly what it takes to form trusting relationships where teachers are able to learn alongside their colleagues without fear of repercussions. Two program examples illustrate the potential of learning networks. The first is the HertsCam Network from England. The second is the IDEAS program from Australia. These examples show the possibilities when schools focus on building the leadership capacity of teachers as recognition of the importance of their input in the development of school-wide pedagogy. The terminology of learning relationships is then taken into a discussion of mentoring and coaching to explore how issues of practice can become topics for joint reflection and inquiry, all the while recognising that such learning relationships require professional learning too.

The focus for this chapter is understanding why it is that some teachers view leadership work as separate from an individual’s position, role, and status. The chapter begins with three vignettes illustrating pathways to teacher leadership which emphasise conceptions of leadership tied to positional roles. These vignettes demonstrate how teachers’ lives, aspirations, and realities are shaped and constrained by who they are as individuals, the people who surround them, and the school environments in which they work. This realisation is important for understanding why leadership is associated with a named position for some while for others it is possible without such an appointment. A discussion about readiness for leadership work and how acting professionally draws teachers to a different form of leadership, namely a learning orientation, is described in terms of teacher leadership activity. This links to the appeal of teachers engaging in a reciprocal process of learning through leading, in order to make sense of their own teaching knowledge and practices whilst helping others. The chapter ends with an emerging definition of teacher leadership which is based on research work with the Teachers of Promise study and an analysis of the teacher leadership literature.

The final chapter affirms advocacy for teacher leadership and a concern that conceptions of leadership practices, when limited to describing those in formal positions, fail to acknowledge teacher leadership as a recognised form of leadership. A return is made to the original purposes of the book, which were to clarify who counts as a teacher leader and to offer a definition encompassing the scope of teacher leadership work and what it would take for schools, education systems, and individuals to value teacher leadership and increase its visibility and appeal. Key messages in response to each of the chapters’ focus questions are presented along with an extended explanation of teacher leader and teacher leadership to show teacher leadership as interconnected activity aligned to five principles of adult learning. The chapter ends with suggested next steps for leadership learning programs at the education system level, for school-level actions, and for individual teachers as our current and future leaders. It is asserted that it is more helpful to talk about teacher leadership rather than teacher leader because the improvement of student learning and achievement is work which requires more than one individual’s input. However, at the same time it has been found difficult to completely dismiss the term “teacher leader” because that would suggest there is no place for individual teachers as teacher leaders. Teacher leadership represents a form of leadership which can embrace individuals as well as groups of teachers. Leadership when it is viewed as collective work sends a message that learning together as professionals helps students and their achievement. This is precisely why it is necessary to advocate for teacher leadership as a viable form of leadership for and by teachers.

In this chapter we consider two main aspects of how the PALL Program contributed to a better understanding of supporting the professional learning of leaders and of teachers. In the first instance we consider how the PALL Program supported leaders to better understand reading and how to support teachers to do this well. Consideration is given to the learning that occurred from the PALL modules themselves, where principals’ content knowledge about reading and how to teach it well was addressed. The learning that occurred during the modules was further supported and extended by, on the one hand, the use of literacy leadership mentors who provided ongoing contact and support to principals in the periods between the modules and, on the other, the professional learning communities established, sometimes initiated by the mentors, but in other cases, developed naturally by the participants themselves. Finally the case study action research was used as a means of providing feedback to those schools that were involved. The chapter also considers how principals used the knowledge from PALL to support teachers in their ability to assess student learning in reading and make decisions based on that assessment and ultimately to take responsibility for and leadership in the reading program themselves.

The Teachers of Promise study has followed the work histories of 57 primary and secondary teachers who had been identified at the beginning of their third year of teaching as having the potential to make a significant contribution to the profession. Using data from surveys and interviews, this paper reports on what sustained or inhibited their initial commitment to and enthusiasm for ‘making a difference’, six years later, both in the classroom and in broader school leadership roles. Satisfaction with their day-to-day experiences in their schools was a particularly strong driver of teachers’ career decisions over time. Thirty-four teachers responded to survey items that were used to identify three different groups of teachers: a group of 10 primary school teachers with the highest levels of job satisfaction who were ‘fulfilling their promise’; a group of 21 primary and secondary teachers who were ‘persevering and coping’; and three teachers who were ‘detached and disengaged’. The group with the highest le...

Retaining early career teachers and enticing promising teachers to become teacher leaders are issues of international interest not only because large numbers of teachers will retire from the profession over the next five to 10 years but also because the strongest teachers are the teachers most likely to leave the profession during their early years in the profession. This article explores the promise two formal teacher leadership roles – the consulting teacher role in Maryland, USA, and the specialist classroom teacher in New Zealand – have for extending and enhancing the work and career engagement of early career teachers. The article also focuses on one early career teacher, Ruby, who, having assumed the role of specialist classroom teacher, shaped it so she could connect teacher leadership and teacher professional learning in ways likely to enhance her own and her colleagues’ pedagogical practice and thereby raise student achievement.

In this chapter, we highlight the critical connection of teacher leadership with improved pedagogy and quality learning. Illustrations from Australian and New Zealand case studies are used to reveal a variety of ways in which teachers can create opportunities and structures to support professional talk centred on observation of one another’s teaching, shared reflections and planning of next steps. Traditional notions of leader and leadership are presented to show how they no longer serve schools well. Instead we emphasise the need to foster communities of teacher leaders who can inspire those around them to make a difference in the lives of their students. In attempting to clarify what we mean by teacher leadership, we argue that new forms of leadership are now needed which value professional learning not as the transmission of knowledge from experts but as a discovery and co-construction of knowledge which teachers develop alongside one another as learners and operate within a professional learning community. We argue that investing in teachers as learning leaders needs to be intentional so that promising teachers are supported in their professional learning and see leadership with and alongside their colleagues as attractive and satisfying options.