Teacher leadership is a term used in K-12 schools for classroom educators who simultaneously take on administrative roles outside of their classrooms to assist in functions of the larger school system. Teacher leadership tasks may include but are not limited to: managing teaching, learning, and resource allocation. Teachers who engage in leadership roles are generally experienced and respected in their field which can both empower them and increase collaboration among peers.
In these types of school environments, teachers are able to make decisions based on the work they do directly with students. When a school system places the decision-making on the teachers, the action is happening one level closer to the people who are most closely impacted by the decisions (generally the students and the teachers), rather than two or more levels above at the principal, superintendent, or school board level.
The extent to which teacher leaders adopt additional roles varies in degree and description:
Administration leadership (traditional school leadership/educational leadership): Administrative staff carries out the majority of the leadership duties.
Teacher networks (professional learning community/professional community/networked improvement communities/community of practice/distributed leadership):
All teachers collectively take on decision-making roles about curriculum and school climate. This practice is facilitated by and supported by an administrative leader.
Teacher leaders (instructional leadership/instructional coaches): Some teachers take on individual leadership roles that directly impact educational practices under the leadership of a school administrator.
Teacher co-ops (teacher-powered schools/teacher-led schools/worker cooperative/professional partnerships/teacherpreneurs): All teachers collectively take on leadership and administrative tasks that would traditionally be done by a principal or administrative team
Research supportive of the philosophy
The National Education Association (NEA) (2011) describes teacher leaders as, "experienced professionals who have earned the respect of their students and colleagues and have gained a set of skills that enable them to work effectively and collaboratively with colleagues. They work closely with principals who have been trained to develop and implement effective mechanisms of support for teachers and teacher leaders."
Teacher leaders are teachers who, "want to remain closely connected to the classroom and students, but are willing to assume new responsibilities that afford them leadership opportunities in or outside the classroom while still teaching full or part-time."
In his book, Kolderie (2014) cites Hubbs in describing the benefits of decentralizing the authority in schools: "You just can’t beat a decentralized system. It gets closest to the level where the action really is. Education should have an advantage in moving into it, because your locations and your people are already physically dispersed."
Another potential benefit of decentralizing authority is as Spillane et al. describe: "The interactions among two or more leaders in carrying out a particular task may amount to more than the sum of those leaders’ practice."
The NEA (2011) reported that, "Research indicates that in order to increase the likelihood that Gen "Y" teachers remain in the profession, they need opportunities to participate in decision making at the school and district level; a positive and supportive school culture which fosters teamwork and effective lines of communication; professional opportunities that include collaboration and technology; in-depth feedback and support from administrators and colleagues; time set aside for regular collaboration; and fair pay and a differentiated pay structure which includes rewarding outstanding performance, acquiring new knowledge and skills, and assuming new roles and responsibilities (Behrstock & Clifford, 2009)."
Kolderie (2014) emphasizes, "If teachers can control what matters for student success teachers will accept accountability for student success."
Teacherpowered.org is a resource for this kind of work, and they note that teachers, "feel increased passion for the job and have greater ability to make the dramatic changes in schools that they determine are needed to truly improve student learning and the teaching profession."