Teacher leaders must focus on developing a wide range of competencies
April 29 2010 by 
Joellen Killion
When someone says school leader, most people think of principals or assistant principals. But we know that schools are also filled with teacher leaders, who are responsible for guiding instructional improvement to increase student learning. Most teacher leaders enter their roles as volunteers with little or no preparation. In many cases, they become successful by emulating leaders they have known and appreciated, and depend on what they have learned as leaders of their classrooms.?
Some district leaders and principals understand the significant contribution teacher leaders make to improving school culture, teaching, and student learning. In those schools, teacher leaders have opportunities to develop leadership competencies, some of which they developed over their careers, such as those associated with curriculum, assessment, and instruction. However, some competencies teacher leaders need are not common to classroom instruction. Teacher leaders develop those areas of expertise through practice or through professional learning that focuses on teacher leadership.
Three, in particular, are important to consider.
Efficacy: Teacher leaders have a strong belief in their own efficacy. They know they make a difference; seek the learning that will help them improve continuously; feel confident in their actions; have a strong sense of empowerment to take action; and believe others share their sense of self-efficacy. Strong efficacy prevents blaming and fault finding, encourages action even in the face of adversity, and ensures commitment to overcoming barriers.
Collective responsibility: Closely related to efficacy is a strong sense of collective responsibility. Teacher leaders recognize that no one person is capable of transforming schools. They believe every adult within a school has a role and responsibility to ensure student success. They work collaboratively with their peers to set short- and long-terms goals, define specific actions to accomplish those goals, engage in learning to expand and refine their practice, and evaluate the impact of their work on student learning.
Equity: Teacher leaders are committed to success for all students and adults. They recognize that success depends on the success of each learner within a school and work to identify and overcome practices that include inherent bias, preferential treatment, unfair practices, and inadequate opportunities for the learning. Teacher leaders actively pursue ways to develop and support classroom, school, and community interventions that address underserved students, and they hold a deep belief that the nation's future depends on a well-educated citizenry.
Attitudes are more challenging to develop in leaders than knowledge and skills. Successful leaders demonstrate strong alignment between what they say, and what they do.
Joellen Killion is NSDC's deputy executive director.
Posted in Joellen Killion | 
Apr 30, 2010 at 8:41 AM
Administrators who recognize the reality of collegial networks and the advantages of collaborative leadership, recruit or assign teachers to leadership roles by appointing them as team leaders, department chairs, and curriculum developers. These assignments are, of course, valuable and most often productive. Under such formal arrangements, however, teachers tend to serve as much as "representatives" as they do as "leaders." Teachers can also lead, and lead effectively, as informal leaders.
Informal teacher-leaders are teachers first; most do not desire an administrative job. Instead, they emerge from among their teaching colleagues as they see an opportunity for improvement or notice a need. Such leadership does not happen by chance or by invitation. It happens only when they commit to their vision and plan for (rather than hope for) successes.
These teachers arent leaders because they have been assigned a role or position; rather, they earn their leadership through their work with their students, their colleagues, the school, and community. Such informal teacher-leaders hold a vision, share it with others, and focus their energy and the energy of others toward the achievement of that vision. In the process, they change the culture of the school. And because they are doing something they believe in when what they are doing sits well with their set of values and is relevant to their lives they do it better; they do it with passion.
I write more about informal teacher-leaders in the article linked here ... http://teachers.net/gazette/OCT08/portner/
May 12, 2010 at 2:28 PM
One competency that teacher leaders possess makes all the others possible: they reflect on their teaching. By doing so, they identify strengths and weaknesses in their teaching to help them reach every kind of student.
Good teacher leaders model this practice in many ways for all those around them. They use journaling, critical friends groups, lesson study, action research, professional conversation groups, and other modalities to probe the art and science of teaching. They go beyond the narrow data that standardized test scores provide and dig deeply so they can know how their students are learning, what works, and why.
Part of teacher reflection is knowing what sustains oneself in this very hard and complex work. Programs like Courage to Teach, which gathers teachers to explore the inner and outer growth of a teacher, show exceptional results for teachers who lead.
May 15, 2010 at 10:24 AM
I am so moved by your comments. In our district, we have (among others) a clear and compelling belief statement: "Sustained success comes from shared leadership and continuous improvement." Through our "Coaching for Quality Academy," our teacher leader/coaching teams at each campus have become beacons for the powerful and positive influence of effective collaboration and advocacy for engagement-focused schools for ALL students. It's a journey but teacher leaders are our pioneers and hold the torch for what we can become!
Dec 13, 2010 at 1:45 AM
There are interesting,I really liked your blog article.