Teacher Leadership: The Imperative of Pedagogical Enquiry

As countries work towards the reform of education systems, the focus has increasingly turned towards the multiple forms of leadership activity in schools. This concept is receiving more and more attention in scholarship not only in relation to school management and administration but also in relation to a broad range of activities within education praxis. In recent times, the idea of distributed models of leadership is gaining ever more ground as a response to the growing complexity of school leadership. One key dimension of a distributed approach to school leadership is the nurturing of teacher leadership in schools. The potential here to significantly impact on the outcome of schooling may well be the thread that could provide the combined focus or common ground to the field of school development. It is argued here that teacher leadership is the critical element in any successful professional learning community. By opening their classroom practices to their peers, teacher leaders help to de-privatise teaching which in turn is viewed as an indispensable first step in the process of school development. "When given opportunities to lead, teachers can influence school reform efforts. Waking this sleeping giant of teacher leadership has unlimited potential in making a real difference in the pace and depth of school change"