This paper is drawn from a mixed methods study, which examined the leadership practices of teachers in the Level Three Classroom Teachers program in Western Australia. Three archetypal characters, the Torch Bearer, Weary Juggler, and Heckler, are used to represent the diverse leadership experiences of these "expert" teachers and the…

In order to bring the benefits of new education approaches, strategies, and tools to classrooms around the world, we need champions of innovation to blaze the path and serve as role models of creativity and exploration. Teachers are uniquely positioned to serve in this critical role.

During a period of massive upheaval to the higher education sector, the traditional academic role has undergone considerable change. One element of these changes has been the broad introduction of Education-Focused (EF) or equivalent academic positions, which focus on educational excellence, with a requirement for high quality teaching and…

The authors of this paper are academic developers in an Australian university. In this paper, we discuss the outcomes of a small pilot study about value tensions; completed to inform a larger research project about the possibilities of making collaborative collegiality an explicit aim of a curriculum review. After interviewing four course leaders,…

This article provides an overview of what is considered best practice in professional development in English language teaching by researchers and professional bodies. It then presents a research project investigating how satisfied English language teachers are with their own PD. The qualitative study involved a background survey of 92 teachers and…

Historically, the professional structure of higher education has provided restricted employment, career, and leadership opportunities for women. This is exacerbated where there is an intersection between gender and race, culture, religion, or age. Women continue to be underrepresented in senior leadership positions across a range of disciplines,…

Traditionally, student leadership has been seen as the prerogative of senior students. Very little research has been conducted on how schools nurture and develop leadership skills in students in the middle years of schooling. This article provides an overview of student leadership in six secondary schools with a particular focus on student…

This research examines the intellectual leadership behaviours of senior academics at professoriate level, and the influences of institutional support practices, climate and communication in universities as main organizational features on these behaviours. To explore relations among research variables, qualitative data were collected by interviews…

School mathematics leaders play a significant role in leading improvement in mathematics education in schools. An online survey was administered to obtain an overview of the current nature of the role of the school mathematics leader. Responses were received from 56 primary school mathematics leaders from Victorian government schools. Findings…

School leaders employ various school-based actions to influence students' subject enrolments at senior secondary levels (Years 11 and 12), which in turn affect students' entrance into tertiary courses and career choices. In the context of reported declines in the proportion of students opting to study higher-level mathematics, this qualitative…

This paper explores the lives of three New South Wales Aboriginal women, mothers, artists and academics. It will identify the women's success in academia as demonstrated by their pathways to education, employment, job satisfaction, commitment and leadership experiences. In addition, the challenges they have faced, together with balancing family…

The paper brings together for the first time a sequence of six studies, from the one university faculty, on middle leaders from Australia, Chile and Singapore. All studies followed a consistent approach using multiple-perspective interviews. Middle leaders were seen to be key personnel in improving teaching and learning, and when they have…

The need to identify and suitably prepare teachers to undertake school leadership roles especially as principals is now well documented in the literature. Similarly documented is the general concern about the lack of suitable applicants willing to consider the role. This study raised the question of what might be learnt when a…

The Teachers First initiative is a grass-roots cluster-model approach for bringing together primary and secondary teachers and school principals: to analyse student performance data; design and practice activities and assessment tools; and promote teaching practices that address students' learning difficulties in mathematics. The balance of both…

In response to the demands of the "21st century learner", classroom environments are increasingly moving away from traditional models of a single-teacher isolated in their classroom. There is an advent of 'non-traditional' environments that challenge long-held practices in teaching. To support these changes there is a pressing need to…