Teachers as leaders

“Teachers are leaders when they function in professional communities to affect student learning;
contribute to school improvement; inspire excellence in practice; and empower stakeholders to
participate in educational improvement” (Childs-Bowen, Moller, & Scrivner, 2000, p. 28). enhancing teacher leadership can help schools and districts reach the following goals:
• Improve teacher quality. Teacher expertise is at “the foundation for increasing teacher
quality and advancements in teaching and learning;” this expertise becomes more widely
available “when accomplished teachers model instructional practices, encourage sharing
of best practices, mentor new teachers, and collaborate with teaching colleagues” (YorkBarr, & Duke, 2004). Teacher leaders’ expertise about teaching and learning is needed to
lead instructional improvement and increase teacher quality.
One way a principal can improve teacher quality is to support staff development needs.
Teacher leaders can help principals support professional development by identifying
teacher development needs, offering professional learning experience, developing and
delivering opportunities, and evaluating the outcomes of staff development.
• Improve student learning. The improvement of student learning requires every leader in
the school to focus on that outcome. For example, instructional teacher leadership
positions have been created to increase students’ academic achievement by first improving teachers’ instruction. Further, teachers who model learning for students can help to create a community of learners. Teacher leadership leads to teacher growth and learning, and when teachers learn, their students learn. Effective and efficient collaborative decision-making processes need to be in place to tap and infuse this expertise across the faculty.
• Ensure that education reform efforts work. The influence of teacher leadership is important to education reform. Teacher leaders can help “guide fellow teachers as well as the school at large toward higher standards of achievement and individual responsibility for school reform” (Childs-Bowen et al., 2000). With the addition of the No Child Left Behind Act, the emphasis on educational improvement at all grade levels has provided “further incentive for teachers to be involved in teacher leadership” (Birky, Shelton, & Headley, 2006). In order to implement curricular and instructional reforms at the classroom level, a commitment from the teachers who lead at that level is essential. Reform possibilities reside in the hands of teachers; they are on the front lines and know the classroom issues, the culture of the school, and the types of support they need to do their jobs.
• Recruit, retain, motivate, and reward accomplished teachers. One major reason for the new interest in teacher leadership is the desire to recruit, retain, motivate, and reward accomplished teachers. “Acknowledging their expertise and contributions and providing
opportunities for growth and influence can support these objectives” (York-Barr & Duke,
2004). Teachers want to work in schools that are designed for them to be successful and
in which they have influence on key decisions that affect instruction and student success.
For example, Hirsch (2006) found in his study of teacher recruitment and retention in Alabama that “empowerment and leadership opportunities were important factors in whether teachers said they [would] work in certain schools.” In addition, the opportunity to influence teaching and learning for adults and children through greater involvement in school leadership offers appeal to many accomplished teachers. Teachers find opportunities for continuous learning as they expand the ways in which they contribute throughout their careers. “Teachers who lead help to shape their own schools and, thereby, their own destinies as educators” (Barth, 2001).
• Provide opportunities for professional growth. A clear effect of teacher leadership is
the growth and learning for the teachers themselves. When teachers actively pursue leadership opportunities, their lives are enriched and energized, and their knowledge and skills in teaching increase dramatically, leading to increased confidence and a stronger commitment to teaching. Professional growth also occurs as the result of collaboration with peers, assisting other teachers, working with administrators, and being exposed to new ideas. In fact, studies show that leading and learning are interrelated, that “teacher leaders grow in their understandings of instructional, professional, and organizational practice as they lead” (York-Barr & Duke, 2004).
• Extend principal capacity. Teacher leadership provides the additional person power needed to run the organizational operations of the school, which are too complex for principals to run alone. Indeed, teacher leaders are a source of reliable, useful, and professional help for the principal. “When teachers lead, principals extend their own capacity” (Barth, 2001).
In addition, instructional teacher leadership can reduce the principal’s workload. Teacher
leaders are able to assume some of the principal’s many responsibilities, including those
of instructional leader.
• Create a more democratic school environment. When teacher leaders take on important schoolwide responsibilities and are centrally involved in school decision making, they are able to transform their school into a democracy. Students benefit from observing and experiencing democratic, participatory forms of government. They also benefit from higher teacher morale because their teachers are involved in democratic decision making and school leadership