Teacher Leadership in Teacher Development for School Improvement and Student Achievement

The impact of teacher leadership on teacher development and on their career trajectory is gaining much recognition. Studies on teacher leadership in addressing the complex changes in schools with its attending challenges are gaining momentum. This is reflected by a smorgasbord of empirical work on teacher leadership as a means of informing better governance and decision-making. There is consensus among researchers to redress the belief that principals are the key factor in school improvement and student achievement as principal leadership practices are only one side of the coin. Principal leadership—no matter how sophisticated—relies on teacher quality and how well principals work with them. Teacher quality is a direct factor in school improvement and student achievement. This chapter aims to contribute to the understanding of how teachers can develop their professional skills and impact on the development of learning and teaching in schools through their leadership practices—both formal and informal. This chapter has three broad aims: (1) to introduce teacher leadership; (2) to inform its impact on their profession and their professional skills; and (3) to assess its efficacy and challenges in educational systems which are hierarchical and bureaucratic.