Teacher Leadership in the Context of Whole School Reform

Abstract

This article presents findings from a qualitative case study that examined the role of teacher leaders amid whole school reform. Findings suggest that leadership is ambiguous: a contested notion between principal and teacher(s) and among teachers as well. This ambiguity was manifest on the conceptual and operational levels and significantly affected the ways teachers operated as leaders. The article also describes the role and implications of whole school reform as a mediating factor in teachers’ work as leaders.