This article explores the challenge of education reform and presents an alternative to dominant approaches. In doing so, it draws on the work of three projects: first, the "Advancing Education Quality and Inclusion" initiative; second, the APREME (Advancing the Participation and Representation of Ethnic Minorities in Education) project which followed it; and third, the International Teacher Leadership project with which these two projects had strong links. The article discusses the large-scale survey of parents and school principals across 10 countries in South East Europe and the follow-up case studies in five of these countries. The focus then shifts to the practical intervention which was based on the idea of non-positional teacher leadership. Reports of all three projects are analysed to support a particular view of education reform led by teachers' own development initiatives. (Contains 1 figure.)