This study elaborates the many ways that teachers lead work with colleagues to improve teaching and learning, and their understanding of their work as leadership. Through qualitative case studies of seven Maine schools and a review of the literature, the authors developed a conceptual model, Spheres of Teacher Leadership Action for Learning. They…

Background/Context: Many strategies to improve failing urban schools rest on efforts to improve leadership within the school. Effective school-based leadership depends not only on the activities of the principal, but also on teachers' efforts to address school-wide challenges. Research has shown that the principal is pivotal in such ventures,…

The classroom teacher with a vision and a desire to enact that vision has been identified in the research literature as a key player in school reform. The literature suggests that teacher advocacy for school improvement may be shaped by the context in which they work, and that differences between their vision and the reality of their context can…

When one of the authors saw the job description for an elementary school mathematics coach on a state Department of Education website, she recognized it as an opportunity to have her dream job. She knew that making the transition from the classroom to a math teacher leader would afford her the opportunity to have an even greater impact on student…

Emphasis on improving student learning has brought increased attention to the execution of schoolwide instructional reforms in general and the use of data by teacher teams in particular as an expected element of a school's instructional reform strategy. With this in mind, the purpose of this article is to focus important attention on the work…

Twenty years ago, a report by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) changed the national discussion about what must be done to improve America's schools so that all students experience success. The Commission drew attention to the overlooked fact that the most important school variable affecting student achievement is…

Beginning in the latter part of the 20th century, and especially since the advent of No Child Left Behind, the roles and responsibilities of the elementary school principal have undergone significant expansion. While the primary function of the principal at one time may have been to serve as the manager of the physical plant of the school and as…

This paper attempts to identify leadership practices and qualities of school teachers as they engaged in effecting change initiated by a curriculum reform in Hong Kong. Based on interview data of teachers from nine schools, this paper shows how teacher leadership manifested itself in schools. Three approaches to teacher leadership were identified,…

Developing leaders and leadership are key factors to improve learning and teaching in higher education. Despite the abundance of literature concerning developing formal leadership, fewer studies have been conducted with academics in non-formal leadership roles that focus on how they develop their leadership in learning and teaching. Publication…

In 2012, Touchstone Education opened its first school, Merit Preparatory Charter School of Newark ("Merit Prep Newark"), in New Jersey, with 84 sixth-graders, 90 percent of whom are low-income, with most entering Merit Prep several years behind grade level. In reading and science, Merit Prep Newark has shown strong early results in its…

Across the education field, there is unusual consensus that strong teacher leaders are key to improving our nation's schools. Unfortunately, clear expectations for what teacher leaders should do, and strategies to prepare them to do it, are few and far between. One recent survey found that while 86 percent of schools have teacher leader roles,…

This book offers clear guidance for facilitating curriculum improvement at the building level. It includes real-life scenarios that principals encounter, accompanied by strategies to help schools sustain focus on student learning and continuous organizational development. It is aimed at current and prospective administrators looking to update or…

"Great teachers and school leaders hold the key to America's children getting a first-rate education, but we do a spotty job of preparing them." Citing these words of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Vivien Stewart plunges into a fascinating account of how top-performing countries are developing strong school leaders. While…

The leadership-for-learning project described in this article is supported by a grant from the Wallace Foundation and implemented through a partnership of faculty in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and faculty at two other universities in the state, the Department of Public…

This article examines how, in the context of the increasing deprofessionalization of the teaching professional both nationally and internationally, teachers have attempted to reshape the notion of "professionalism" in a post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, where teachers function within a top-down, bureaucratic education system. The article employs…