This non-experimental quantitative research study examined K-12 rural Alabama teachers' perceptions of teacher leadership, focusing on the four factors of the Teacher Leadership Inventory and the potential differences in perceptions based on teachers' gender, educational degree, years of experience, and job position. I used a survey research…

This study evaluates the perceived purpose, alignment, and effectiveness of the structures and processes intended to develop teacher leaders at a suburban school in north Alabama. This teacher leader development program has three distinct, yet equally important, groups of stakeholders impacting its performance and outcome: 1) teacher leaders, 2)…

Mathematics specialists support the teaching and learning of K-12 mathematics and attend to school-based responsibilities and needs. This study examined the shifts in responsibilities of mathematics specialists during the COVID-19 pandemic to better-understand their current and potential future influence on mathematics teaching. An online survey…

This paper posits innovative leadership preparation at one University that established collaborative, shared coursework between instructional and teacher leadership. This re/visioned model focuses on cultural proficiency, distributed leadership, and examination of socially just practices fostering more democratic and inclusive practices. The…

Teacher leaders represent change agents within a school and they have formal and informal roles to improve teaching and learning. This study focuses on one of the formal roles of teacher leadership which is instructional coaching. There is a thin body of research which focuses on instructional coaching; therefore, this study will contribute to an…

The study examined a multi-tiered approach for facilitating learning and examining perceptions about culturally responsive pedagogy in teacher preparation and teacher leadership programs. The study aligned with a learning unit we designed to (1) increase understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy and (2) investigate perceptions of cultural…

A state department of education (SDE) served by the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) at SEDL requested information regarding state use of schoolwide, large-scale professional learning communities (PLCs). Specifically, the SDE staff wanted to know the following with respect to PLC work in other states: (1) Are PLCs state-mandated through…

For over four decades, the concept of teacher leadership has been debated nationally and internationally with a view of establishing its role in student learning and achievements in schools. Over this period, a sizeable amount of literature has been written with regards to teacher and school administration leadership. However, studies remain…

The move toward teacher leadership is one answer to the dilemma of school leadership. The task of school leadership has become too complex and demanding for one person. Nurturing teacher leaders helps districts strengthen school leadership, aids in teacher retention, and sustains school reform. This need for more teacher involvement in leadership…

Teachers have the greatest school-based effect on the achievement of any child in their classrooms, but highly effective principals can positively affect the achievement of every student in their schools. The difference between a highly effective principal and an average one is equal to two-to-seven months of extra learning per year for each child…

Teacher leaders are teachers who aspire to stretch beyond their classrooms to engage in leadership roles that take many shapes and forms, both "informal" and "formal". These teachers view the school as a whole, see the "big picture" and focus on how they can help improve aspects of the school to result in increases in…

Viewing teachers as leaders requires a paradigm shift about the concept of leadership in a school system. The Teachers as Leaders program of the Mountain Brook, Alabama Schools represents that shift and is empowering teachers to utilize their leadership skills and contribute to the system as it fulfills its mission to offer education to its…

The teaching of mathematics, which arguably is so abstract as to transcend place and community and even culture (according at least to a Platonic view of mathematics), will seem to some observers particularly ill-suited to instruction in place- or community- or culture-based approaches. Nevertheless, current thinking in mathematics education,…

The authors argue that leadership networks when comprised of regional stakeholders including university faculty, school system administrators, and teacher leaders can begin to work together towards common reform goals. (Contains 1 figure.)