Teacher Leadership Roles

2.6. Roles of Teacher Leaders

Different roles have been recommended for teacher leaders that further explain the typical nature of the leadership activity. Each school context establishes teachers’ chances for leadership roles. Teacher leadership roles may be formal or informal, differ from one school to another and in terms of time too. In support of this idea Liberman (1992:161) claimed that, “teacher leadership roles are proliferating in greater range than many thought possible”.

Katzenmeyer and Moller (2001:12-13) conceive teacher leadership as having three main faces: leadership of students or other teachers: facilitator, coach, mentor, trainers, curriculum specialist, creating new methods, leading study groups; leadership of operational

Formal teacher leaders fill such roles as department chair, master teacher, or instructional coach. These persons typically apply for their positions and are selected through a selection process. Ideally, they also take training for their new responsibilities. In many cases, these teacher leaders manage curriculum projects, facilitate teacher study groups, provide workshops, and order materials. They may also evaluate other teachers, in which case their colleagues are likely to regard them as quasi administrators. Informal teacher leaders, in contrast, emerge impulsively and naturally from the teacher ranks. Instead of being chosen, they take the initiative to address a problem or institute a new program. They have no positional authority; their influence stems from the admiration they command from their colleagues through their know-how and

The concept of teacher leadership in the first wave was teachers assuming formal positions, such as department chair, site committee member, or union representative, positions largely focused on increasing the efficiency of school management. Activities included scheduling, assigning classes, coordinating distinct events, and serving as a communication link between administrators and teachers. In this wave, conceptions of teacher-leaders concentrated on keeping things running well (Silva et al.,