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 NATIONAL FORUM OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION JOURNALVOLUME 27, NUMBER 2, 2010-2011
ANALYSIS OF TEACHER LEADERSHIPAS A TEACHER DEVELOPMENT MODEL:AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REFORM ANDIMPROVED PRACTICE
Lisa D. HobsonPrairie View A&M UniversityLynn MossWichita, Kansas
ABSTRACT
In this article, we discuss how teacher leadership can be used to enhance the learningdevelopment opportunities for teachers and structured to address theprofessional development needs of teachers. Additionally, we exploredchallenges and barriers to implementing teacher leadership models andprovide strategies for effective use of the model. Teacher leaders provideinstructional leadership support for building and district administrators.Examination of the effective usage of teacher leaders can helpadministrators achieve instructional goals. The purpose of this review of research was to examine the literature on the use of teacher leadership as amodel for teacher development.
Introduction
he typical one shot workshop has been ineffective inaddressing the needs of teachers in school buildings. Typically,the workshop model has been ill-equipped at addressing longterm goals and objectives in schools (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking,1999). At times, the workshop agenda has been ill-aligned with theactual needs of the school, particularly when offered at the districtlevel. To counteract the limited impact of traditional professionaldevelopment models, educators have participated in devising modelswhere they can be participants in the in-service education planning
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 NATIONAL FORUM OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION JOURNAL
 process. One approach that has been conceptualized to providedevelopment of teachers is the teacher leadership model. Teacher leadership can be employed as a site-based management tool for enhancing the professional development and continuous learningexperiences of teachers.Traditional methods of teacher leadership have pertained to theteacher obtaining an administrative position, teacher becominginvolved in an activist movement, and teacher affiliating with and participating in union activities. Teacher leadership has now become afocus for professional development based on the premise that teachersshould be involved in the selection, planning, organizing, and hostingof professional development in schools (Taskforce on Teacher Leadership of the Institute for Educational Leadership, 2001).Rather it [Teacher leadership] is about mobilizing the stilllargely untapped attributes of teachers to strengthen student performance at ground level and working toward realcollaboration, a locally tailored kind of shared leadership, inthe daily life of the school. Teachers must be an essential partof that leadership, never more so than when issues of instructional leadership are at stake. (Taskforce on Teacher Leadership of the Institute for Educational Leadership, 2001, p.4)Teacher leadership is being used in schools as a means of sustaining teacher learning about their practices in a manner that isorganized, structured, and consistent. The purpose of this review of this research was to examine the literature on the use of teacher leadership as a model for teacher development.
Exploring Teacher Leadership;Definitions, Premises, and Model
 
Lisa D. Hobson & Lynn Moss
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Teacher leadership is the transformation of teaching andlearning to connect key stakeholders in the development of thelearning community. Crowther, Kaagan, Ferguson, and Hann (2002)state, “Teacher leadership facilitates principled action to achievewhole-school success. It applies the distinctive power of teaching toshape meaning for children, youth, and adults” (p. 10). This definitionimplies that teacher leadership involves the proactive involvement of teachers in impacting, enhancing, and preparing the greater community through the focus on education. Knapp, Copland, andTalbert (2003) suggested practices to advance powerful and equitableschool learning. One area of focus is identifying and creating a focuson learning. Also, schools should establish and link communities thatvalue learning and build external stakeholder partnerships to supportlearning. Leadership should be shared and performed in strategic waysand synergizing efforts should be employed for making learningconnections. These practices serve as foundations for teacher leadership.For the emphasis shared leadership, it must be exercised fromdifferent positions in not only the local building level, but also thedistrict level (Knapp, Copland, & Talbert, 2003). In whatever capacityand however an employee touches the educational system, thatindividual should support student, professional, and system learning.This effort must provide reinforcement of the various stakeholders inthe classroom. These authors advise that leadership should bedistributed and mobilized across the various levels in a school system particularly in those areas that directly impact student learning.Teacher leadership can be manifested and practiced in a varietyof ways dependent upon the model employed in schools. Models of teacher leadership include: the lead teacher model, the multipleleadership roles model, and the every-teacher-a-leader model (Gordon,2004).The lead teacher model occurs through grade level teamleadership or subject area team leadership. Additional capacities are
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