For decades teacher leadership has been widely promoted by policy makers and education leaders as a prime strategy for improving the educational enterprise. As practitioners of exemplary teaching, as innovators of pedagogy and curriculum, and as promoters of high-quality instruction for all students, teacher leaders are uniquely positioned to…

This article reports findings from a multi-year study of teachers' conceptual change coincident with the development of instructional expertise among teachers involved in educational reform efforts in schools in Santiago, Chile. Conceptual change in teachers is important because recent research indicates that students of teachers who function at…

This longitudinal study examines the effects of a collaborative evaluation process on mathematics instruction and student outcomes in an elementary school serving a low-resource community. Thirty-two elementary teachers participated in a 3-year collaborative evaluation professional development process that contributed to improved mathematics…

In 1998, Washington State had 51,512 classroom teachers, but only 29 of them were National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs). By 2009, the number of NBCTs in Washington had grown to 3,975--5th in the nation in total numbers, and 2nd in the nation in new teachers certifying that year. The state's successful strategy for increasing the number of…

A few years ago, the authors began to consider how to foster more intentional teacher leadership development among all clinical teachers who mentor teacher candidates in their Professional Development Schools. A Professional Development School (PDS) is an in-depth school-university partnership designed to bring about the simultaneous renewal of…

The purpose of this study was to explore the link between elementary principal work and teacher professional development in a setting of school change. It was a study of principals' purposeful behaviors and efforts as their school communities experienced curricular change or reform measures. It was not known to what extent the role of the…

School reformers hope that converting comprehensive high schools into collections of small schools will produce results similar to those realized in freestanding small schools. This comparative case study revisits two "conversions" as they complete the grant funding that supported the reform, in order to explore the extent to which…

Six high-performing/high-poverty schools provide insights into what it takes to make a dramatic turnaround. School leaders had to make tough calls--and many of those decisions were about how to use resources. The budget in a high-performing, high-poverty school is a moral document, reflective of the school's beliefs about the conditions necessary…

This article, first, examines how Egyptian teachers and senior teachers (formal leaders) define leadership and whether the length of their teaching experience has an effect on their views. Second, it explores their perspectives on the relationship between teacher leadership and decision making. The research sample is a mixed group of 20 Egyptian…

In many schools across America, teachers enter their classrooms each morning only to close the door and teach with little to no peer interaction. Working closely with several schools, the Center for Teaching Quality sought to address this culture of isolation, as well as to reduce the attrition rate among teachers, by initiating professional…

An argument is made that teacher leadership at both the system and school level is an important part of the science systemic process intended in science education reform. This article describes the design of such a professional development program, the challenges addressed, and the impact on teacher leaders.

The expectation for schools to continually improve outcomes for students underscores the importance of tapping teacher leaders' contributions in school improvement and renewal efforts. As National Board (NB) certification has become a common feature of state and district policies to improve teaching and learning, it is worthwhile to explore how…

In spring 2012, after a year of intensive data analysis and planning, the colleges participating in Completion by Design announced strategies for creating clear, structured routes through college for more students, often referred to as accelerated, structured pathways to completion. These strategies contain elements unique to each college, but all…

K-12 school reform movements over the past twenty-five years have grown in urgency as numerous schools in South Carolina and across the nation have failed to meet student needs. The urgency for reform was spurred by, "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform," a report released by the National Commission on Excellence in…

Teacher leadership is quite simply what teachers do for the good of children inside and beyond their classrooms. It is critical today to successfully reform schools and the profession. Inside the classroom, teacher leaders advocate for best practices and model expert teaching. Teacher leaders contribute to their professional community to improve…