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Abstract:
Purpose
The study aimed to explore the practice of teacher leadership for learning in three schools and to understand how
teachers exercised influence beyond classrooms to facilitate student learning. The purposes were to indicate the
teachers who played major roles in leading learning and to analyze the beliefs and behaviors of their leadership practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used qualitative multiple case study as the approach. With reputational criteria, teacher leaders and
award-winning professional learning communities in three schools were selected. Twenty-five interviews and important
documents were conducted andcollected for analysis.
Findings
1. Teachers who play important roles in leading learning can be categorized into three types. 2. The conceptions of
leadership held by learning-centered teacher leaders are to diffuse their ideas of teaching and learning and to insist
on students’ benefits. As to the conceptions of learning, these teacher leaders appreciate learner-centered perspectives,
recognize their vital roles in facilitating learning, and are active learners themselves. 3. Learning-centered leadership
behaviors displayed by case school teacher leaders focus on facilitating the building of learning vision, promoting
teachers’ professional learning, broadening and deepening the development of learning programs, and nurturing
supportive culture and structure for learning. 4. The analysis of teacher leadership for learning should connect
leadership behaviors with teachers’ beliefs of leadership and learning to comprehend different meanings of similar
teacherleadership behaviors.
Originality/value
There are no qualitative studies on teachers’ leadership practice of leadership for learning in Taiwan. Furthermore,
the study connects teacher leaders’ conceptions of leadership and learning with leadership behaviors, which was
scarcely done in the past. The analysis and findings not only broaden the knowledge of teacher leadership and
leadership for learning studies but also propose important suggestions for facilitating teacher leadership for learning.
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APA:
Chen, W.-Y. (2016). THE power beyond classrooms: Leadership practice of teacher leadership for learning. Contemporary Educational Research Quarterly, 24(3), 65-98.
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