The Power of Teacher Leaders

Book excerpt: "Now in its second edition, The Power of Teacher Leaders, co-published by Routledge and Kappa Delta Pi, serves as a resource for understanding the varied ways that teacher leaders foster positive change in their schools, profession, and communities. By definition, teacher leaders are teachers who stay in the classroom, maintaining their commitment to teaching students while assuming informal and formal leadership positions beyond the classroom. It is that commitment to teaching and their desire to improve student learning that motivate them to become teacher leaders. Written by researchers and teacher leaders, each chapter describes a particular way that teachers are leading, connects to the relevant scholarly literature, and assesses the impact of the teacher leaders on students and communities. The second edition features new chapters on less common and unresearched teacher leadership roles, informal teacher leadership, and teacher leaders as social justice advocates. This edited collection shows how teacher leaders play an important role in the improvement of student learning, teacher professional development, and school and community climate"--