Applying O'Meara, Campbell, and Terosky's (2011) faculty agency framework, this qualitative case study examined full-time, non-tenure-track faculty (FTNTTF) members' perceptions of their agency at an elite public research university. Participants experienced greater agency over time and in the classroom, but felt their agency was constrained by…

The contextual, purpose-driven challenges facing schools and school systems across the world call for creative and innovative responses to revitalize school practices. The process of revitalization will require new thinking, new mindsets within an adaptive school culture and new leadership roles (formal and informal). Often the perception of…

To improve teaching and learning outcomes, teachers and head teachers need whole-system support to build professionalism and enhance their practice. Roles at the middle tier of education systems, or those professionals working between the school and central level, offer unique capacities to facilitate collaboration, broker knowledge, scale…

Hybrid teacher leadership (HTL)--that is, teachers whose official schedule includes both teaching K-12 students and leading teachers in some capacity--seemed poised to evolve as a more systemic enterprise at the turn of the century; however, implementation has been surprisingly sporadic. In this article, we explore Washington (a state long known…

Internationally, there is increasing emphasis on teacher leadership of professional development. This provides opportunities for teachers to initiate and facilitate professional learning activities beyond their own schools. There is a need for theoretical tools to analyse their leadership activity and how to support it. Constructs from complexity…

Teacher leadership lies at the heart of school improvement. Leadership development among beginning teachers, however, is often neglected. This paper examines the role of principal-teacher interactions in the leadership development of a group of beginning teachers. Using a case study design, interviews were conducted and documentary evidence was…

This article presents findings from a multi-year, qualitative study of K-12 science teacher fellows involved in a grant-funded professional development program. This research hones in on Year 2 where we examine the actions our fellows have taken in their districts as science teacher leaders and their sense of agency. The following main themes…

A range of different constructs are used to describe and define the way that leadership operates in education settings. This range can be presented as binary categories of leadership, in which either one, or the other form of leadership is preferred, but not both. An example of this is the contrast made between solo and distributed leadership. A…

Since 2000, "New Leaders" have prepared outstanding principals to transform America's underserved schools and communities. Yet the role has become vastly more complex and demanding--and principals, no matter how heroic, cannot do it all alone. Great leaders, by definition, bring out the best in their people to create exceptional teams.…

Purpose: In recent years the benefits of distributed leadership have often assumed the status of an unchallengeable orthodoxy. There is a general acceptance that leadership is best when it is dispersed. In reality this is often little more than a form of "licensed leadership" in which those working in subordinate roles can only exercise…

Throughout this study a number of factors regarding the experience of principals and their strategies and processes from the perspective of helping teachers adopt more effective teaching practices, will be examined. The result should be a fresh and more complete picture of the principals' processes and helping teachers adopt more effective…

Professional learning communities in the early childhood education sector have been under-researched. The focus on collaborative learning, collective enquiry and shared leadership of such communities makes them worthy of study in order to establish their relevance to the sector. One of the foci of this research involving case studies of different…

Strategic planning is crucial in facilitating sustainable development of schools. It enables schools to survive and cope with changes and challenges from government policies and market forces. There is broad agreement that all stakeholders need to be part of school strategic planning. In response to the lack of evidence suggesting stakeholders'…

This paper examines middle leadership of the heads of English, maths and science departments in four international secondary schools in Malaysia. It focuses on their roles, responsibilities, role relationships, instructional engagement and leadership involvement within the theoretical framework of instructional, distributed and teacher leadership.…

Teachers who have held leadership roles at the school, district, or provincial level have the potential to contribute to student and school success when they return to classroom teaching. The contrasting experiences of two teacher leaders who returned voluntarily to classroom teaching are analyzed using Owens's (2004) social constructivist theory…