Teacher leadership represents a powerful approach to assert the true professionalism that educators have long been seeking. Opportunities abound for teachers to contribute to school reform by demonstrating their leadership skills. This article considers strategies to rebuild the portrait of teachers and thereby encourage strong professional…

Effective leadership is recognized internationally as a crucial factor in successful learning. It is vital that leadership talent is nurtured and developed within Scottish education. In this article, the author discusses how leaders are developed in the Scottish education system. She also discusses the characteristics that define the emerging…

Teachers often resist the label of "leader" and the hierarchical structures that the idea of leader conjures, yet they continue to engage in leadership enactment. This article describes an alternative conception of teacher leadership--"practical leadership"--embodied by leadership enactment through local deliberation and action. This notion is…

This article provides a critical analysis of the teacher leadership literature. It considers teacher leadership within the context of contemporary leadership theory, focusing particularly upon distributed leadership. The article explores different interpretations and definitions of the term "teacher leadership" and considers the implications for…

Teacher leadership is an idea whose time has come. True teacher leadership is exercised spontaneously and may be demonstrated by any teacher in the school. Allowing teachers leadership responsibility can transform a school. School leaders, including staff developers, can help support the development of teacher leaders by practicing the ideas…

The literature on teacher leadership suggests that the notion has developed over time and some have argued that this development comprises three stages or "waves" that progressively delink the idea from the formal organizational hierarchy. The third wave emphasizes that teacher leadership is a process rather than a positional concept and notes…

This article deals with the use of Problem-Based Learning. The emphasis on high stakes testing, classroom size, diversity, school violence, and much more impact public education and professional preparation programs relative to teacher education. Issues are presented dealing with Accrediting Commissions and Professional Organizations, and the use…

Teacher leadership is a concept that is gaining increasing interest from both practitioners and researchers. This article presents findings from three case studies in the UK that can be characterized as exhibiting developed, emergent and restricted teacher leadership. Differences and similarities between the schools were examined, leading us to…

This paper presents the results of a study conducted to understand what took place in Project Math, a special program developed by teachers who were trained in the Accelerated Schools Project in a Southern school. The Accelerated Schools Project is a comprehensive model of school reform, designed to improve school experiences and achievement for…

Teacher leadership development programs require careful design if they are to meet the challenges of today's science and mathematics education reform initiatives. This chapter describes the design of one such program using a design framework developed to plan and analyze effective professional development programs. The program, the California…

Since its inception in 1982, the California Mathematics Project (CMP) has sought to develop the mathematics skills and leadership capabilities of K-12 teachers through intensive summer institutes and a variety of academic year programs sponsored by regional CMP sites. This chapter focuses on ways in which one of the fifteen regional CMP sites, the…

The implementation of new standards in science and mathematics education necessitates an intensive and comprehensive professional development of science and mathematics teachers. Israel, which currently is in the process of reforming school science and mathematics, constructed a continuous lifelong framework for such professional development. This…

The involvement of teachers in the school reform debate has spurred an unprecedented focus on the need for teacher leadership. During the past decade, teachers have asserted their own version of leadership (differing from administrative or managerial versions) and embraced essential aspects of genuine professions. Emerging models in Rochester, New…

Examines the expectation for teachers to participate in school leadership and, based on results of a recent study, draws conclusions and makes recommendations regarding the kinds of professional development that would engender competent and effective involvement of teachers in the leadership of schools. Considers the extent to which preparation in…

Describes a visit with an educational leader, Louise Rosenblatt. Notes that Rosenblatt is a teacher, and from her teaching, both in the classroom and in other forums, she has led educators to think about teaching, and about what is valuable. Notes that for secondary teachers, the National Council of Teachers of English's Secondary Section offers a…