Effective middle leading of mathematics is a complex task as it requires a focus on improving learning outcomes for students. This study gathered information about the activities of middle leaders of mathematics using a survey of primary and secondary mathematics leaders. Both primary and secondary mathematics leaders more often focussed on…

Increasingly, educational systems are appreciating the importance of middle leaders leading educational improvement in schools. Schools depend on middle leaders to lead site-based educational development in areas including curriculum development, teacher professional learning and student learning improvement. Middle leaders are in a unique but…

This article recounts my experience of developing as a teacher leader in Philadelphia. When I worked at a traditional high school, a hierarchical leadership structure frustrated my attempts to foster teacher leadership among colleagues. By building networks of teachers outside my own school, I found the relationships and opportunities that helped…

Teacher development does not stop when a degree is earned--at that point, it has barely taken flight. Real teacher growth happens when meaningful time and safe and authentic space are given to discussing and refining practice under the guidance of a pedagogically and contextually experienced mentor. Here, one teacher leader recounts her purposeful…

This article shares the results of a case study that explored Annie's socially situated identity as a secondary English Language Arts teacher-mentor over 5 years at an urban school. Annie's identities as a teacher-mentor occupied the space of the hyphen--sometimes a teacher, sometimes a mentor, sometimes both. Using discourse analysis, we describe…

This latest installment in a series on teacher leadership describes how a learning cycle framework can provide a useful structure to support teacher leaders as they plan and facilitate powerful teacher-led professional learning. Teacher leaders have the potential to use learning cycles to strengthen teacher professional learning, making it more…

Background: For decades, public education, particularly in urban communities, has failed to ensure students of color are able to experience sustained academic success. As a result, campuses within these communities often find themselves vacillating between impending school improvement reforms and short-lived school improvements, only to return to…

Many of us have multiple stories that would be appropriate to tell given the theme of this Special Issue. I am compelled to tell a story about my work with teachers, teacher leaders, and other allies on the Navajo Nation. The Diné Institute for Navajo Nation Educators (DINÉ) was started by teacher leaders who envisioned a collaborative…

Teachers' feedback seeking is considered as important for their professional learning. This study aims to investigate which school leaders are sought out for informal feedback by teachers and what leadership characteristics might influence this choice in secondary schools in Flanders, Belgium. Data from 436 teachers of 14 secondary schools are…

Definitions of teacher leadership versus teacher professionalism can be fraught with ambiguity, making it difficult to identify when teacher leadership is emerging. A study of teachers' perceptions reveals some key attributes of teacher leaders.

Mentoring, as one of the formal teacher leadership roles, creates a space for teachers to display their leadership potential as it indirectly brings value to the school community (Ensher & Murphy, 2006). The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine mentor teachers' perceptions whether they transfer their evolving mentoring skills…

Purpose: The purpose was to investigate the relationship between servant leadership and teachers' organizational citizenship behavior with mediating role of psychological empowerment. Research Methods: This study was an applied and correlation research method based on structural equation modeling. 281 teachers of Zahedan city were studied by…

A core role of the K-12 school leader is to support and nurture the growth of others. That growth is commonly thought to be at the student level. However, school leaders must also focus on the growth of their teachers. School leaders are adjusting to a world where technology has crept into many aspects of the profession. And sometimes, technology…

This longitudinal study aims to create in-depth knowledge about the phenomena of middle-leadership and career in school by identifying (1) driving forces for seeking and maintaining middle-leading positions, (2) opportunities and difficulties in maintaining the middle-leading role over time, and (3) underlying thoughts of career disclosed in the…

This article reports on the methodological approach taken in a doctoral study that explores what it means to be struggling as a teacher. Participants were established and experienced teachers and leaders in the secondary school system in England. A particular form of collage -- where materials are placed rather than stuck -- was used within the…