This literature review describes ways of thinking about sharing school leadership and to examine the possible link between shared leadership and student achievement. This review examines four different approaches to school leadership that involve more than a single individual. These four were selected because they were most widely represented in…

This article explores the emerging discourse about teacher leadership in the UK. It draws upon the international literature in exploring a classification of forms of teacher leadership and discusses issues concerned with the policy context. It considers some theoretical perspectives on distributed leadership before going on to examine in detail a…

Teacher leadership has been shackled by archaic definitions of leadership and timeworn assumptions about who can lead. Such ideas have situated leadership in the hands of a few formal leaders. Teachers have not seen themselves reflected in these prevailing notions, nor invited into the process. This article argues that a new definition of…

The concept of the principal as the sole instructional leader of a school is quickly changing. Substantial evidence from schools with successful instructional programs indicate this responsibility has been spread among many staff members. Teachers who have been trained in the functions of leadership, instruction, and student learning are becoming…

Discusses the changing role of teacher leadership, which extends beyond the classroom, suggesting it is no longer viable for one person to act as the school-level authority and recommending a reconceptualization of teachers' professionalism which acknowledges that teachers can provide intellectual leadership in identifying and solving schoolwide…

The increasing complexity of the principal's job makes distributing leadership (among teachers, coaches, and literacy specialists) a survival tactic and a sound organizational strategy. Distributive leadership benefits principals who generally lack time to commit to particular initiatives and the content/instructional expertise to implement…

How do principals get teachers past isolation to create a top school? Principals must create a web of leadership, a nonhierarchical structure of authority and control. While they remain at the center, they are supported only when they learn to delegate. Teachers learn to take on leadership roles, creating a more vested interest and lessening the…

In recent years, school improvement initiatives have been the focus of political agendas, professional conferences, and publication topics. While a plethora of school improvement resources and techniques exist, most explanations regarding how to employ school improvement strategies in differing contexts is extremely vague at best, and non-existent…

Become a successful literacy leader and improve the vision of literacy in the classroom, school, and community. This book's six proven strategies will help the reader do the "peoplework" at the heart of successful leadership: Creating and communicating a vision; Modeling that vision; Experimenting with new ideas and taking risks; Nurturing…

This book presents information from a 5-year research project on teacher leadership which offers evidence that the answer to school vitality lies largely in the redefinition of traditional leadership in education and in the elevation of the perception, status, and role of classroom teachers. The research involved interviews with teachers and…

Discusses differences between university departments that focus on teacher leadership and educational administration, respectively. Both use the literature on leadership to inform theory, but the translation into practice is very different. An overview of how this dual track is institutionalized conceptually and practically is provided. (Contains…

UCLA's laboratory school is experimenting with the teacher-leader role as a way to provide ongoing learning opportunities for teachers. Teacher leaders serve as in-house experts who provide information, modeling, and assistance to other teachers. Choosing appropriate leader roles and teachers with credible leadership skills helps. (MLH)

A study used survey data from an achieved sample of 1,818 elementary teachers and 6,490 students in a large Canadian school district to explore teacher and principal leadership influences on student engagement with school. Principal-leadership effects were weak but significant; teacher-leadership effects proved insignificant. (Contains 59…

In this article, we describe the implementation of a teacher leader program at the University of Northern Iowa designed specifically to address the needs of a nearby urban school district (i.e., to increase their school leadership, to complement district-wide initiatives in assessing and improving instruction, and to close the minority-achievement…

This article presents the seven-faceted design for districts to engage and develop aspiring school leaders. These are: (1) Growing teacher leaders: Whose job is it anyway?; (2) A resource rich in leadership opportunities: Where is there more work to be done than in a school?; (3) Beware of silos; (4) We're all in this together; (5) Staff…