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Leadership for Learning: What It Means for Teachers

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Book cover International Handbook of Leadership for Learning

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE,volume 25))

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.

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Notes

  1. 1.

     See Andrews et al. (2011), Andrews and Crowther (2003, 2006), Andrews and Lewis (2000, 2007), Chesterton and Duignan (2004), Cuttance (2001), and Crowther et al. (2002, 2009).

  2. 2.

     Innovative Design for Enhancing Achievement in Schools.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Educational Studies and Human Development, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, 8044, New Zealand

    Susan Lovett

  2. University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

    Dorothy Andrews

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  1. Susan Lovett
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  2. Dorothy Andrews
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Correspondence to Susan Lovett .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , School of Education, University of Glasgow, Eldon Street 11, Glasgow, G3 6NH, United Kingdom

    Tony Townsend

  2. , Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Hills Road 184, Cambridge, CB2 8PQ, United Kingdom

    John MacBeath

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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

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Lovett, S., Andrews, D. (2011). Leadership for Learning: What It Means for Teachers. In: Townsend, T., MacBeath, J. (eds) International Handbook of Leadership for Learning. Springer International Handbooks of Education, vol 25. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1350-5_40

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