Leadership for Learning: What It Means for Teachers

Abstract

In this chapter, we highlight the critical connection of teacher leadership with improved pedagogy and quality learning. Illustrations from Australian and New Zealand case studies are used to reveal a variety of ways in which teachers can create opportunities and structures to support professional talk centred on observation of one another’s teaching, shared reflections and planning of next steps. Traditional notions of leader and leadership are presented to show how they no longer serve schools well. Instead we emphasise the need to foster communities of teacher leaders who can inspire those around them to make a difference in the lives of their students. In attempting to clarify what we mean by teacher leadership, we argue that new forms of leadership are now needed which value professional learning not as the transmission of knowledge from experts but as a discovery and co-construction of knowledge which teachers develop alongside one another as learners and operate within a professional learning community. We argue that investing in teachers as learning leaders needs to be intentional so that promising teachers are supported in their professional learning and see leadership with and alongside their colleagues as attractive and satisfying options.