Teacher Leadership as Distributed Leadership: Heresy, fantasy or possibility?

Abstract

This article focuses on the issue of teacher leadership and explores various interpretations and definitions within the literature. It examines the relationship between teacher leadership and distributed leadership, focusing particularly upon the idea of activity theory. The article suggests that there are some important connections and overlaps between distributed leadership and teacher leadership. The article also discusses the possible sources of resistance to the idea of teachers as leaders in schools and explores how distributing leadership to teachers may contribute to building professional learning communities within and between schools.