Teacher leadership is an important concept in our understanding of Leadership for Learning and is the focus of David Frost's article  Teacher Leadership and Educational Innovation. Of particular interest to this course  is  the piece of text within the section on The Process of Innovation .  This starts at the top of page 207, with the quote by David Hargreaves, and finishes on page 255, with the vignette about Ana, a Zagreb teacher leader.

There is a broad consensus amongst scholars of leadership that it can be defined as exerting influence in particular directions (Yukl, 1994). I think i is helpful to unpack this as having three essential components: first the clarification and expression of values, second the expression of a vision or, in other words, the imagining a more desirable state of affairs, and third, strategic action to initiate change. Defining leadership in this way makes it an inclusive concept, that is to say that leadership can be seen to be a human capacity that can be exercised by anyone. In the context of education, this could mean students, teachers, school principals, parents and so on.

Here Frost argues that leadership  is an inclusive concept that is  'a human capacity that can be exercised by anyone. In the context of education, this could mean students, teachers, school principals, parents and so on.'

He says that:

'The idea of teacher leadership is often associated with that of ‘distributed leadership’ (Gronn, 2000; Spillane, Halverson & Diamond, 2006), but in any case, the way it is conceptualised varies around the world. For some it is about giving some teachers special roles and responsibilities perhaps attached to increases in salary and linked to a career ladder. This view of distributed leadership is one that is reflected for example in the OCED report called ‘Improving School Leadership’ which encourages distributing leadership (Pont, Nusche & Moorman, 2008), but I am concerned that the way it is expressed in that report will encourage the replication of a structural approach which can lead to a sharing of the burden of administration through the creation of ‘middle management’ without necessarily enhancing anyone’s capacity for leadership. This approach misses the opportunity to mobilise the leadership that all teachers can exercise regardless of special roles and responsibilities. In the HertsCam Network in the UK we have worked for some time with a more inclusive definition represented in Figure 4 below.

 

 

Figure 4: Defining teacher leadership

Teacher leadership


 

  •  Teachers, with or without positions of responsibility

 

  •  taking the initiative to improve practice

 

  •  acting strategically with colleagues to embed change

 

  •  gathering and using evidence in collaborative processes

 

  •  contributing to the creation and dissemination of professional knowledge'

Last modified: Friday, 9 November 2012, 3:49 PM