The Alberta Teachers’ Association

The research on school effectiveness and improvement shows that leadership plays a key role in ensuring the vitality and growth of schools. Increasingly, the focus on leadership is shifting to improvement of instruction.

Whose job is it to ensure high-quality instruction in schools? While principals have historically been charged with the legal responsibility for ensuring instructional improvement, research strongly suggests that significant improvement occurs when teachers take direct responsibility for improving instructional practice in schools. The evolution of teacher leadership is gaining significant attention. The Alberta Teachers’ Association is shining a spotlight on this trend by hosting the Leadership in Learning Conference, "Embracing the Future: Leadership for School Renewal," at the Fantasyland Hotel, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, on March 6 and 7, 2006.

The latest leadership trend in the literature is for teachers to have increased involvement in instructional leadership at the school level. This trend naturally grows out of the professional learning communities’ model that requires teachers to work in collaborative teams to enhance their instructional practices and student learning. Teachers’ curricular and pedagogical expertise is a valuable resource in a learning community. In addition to the obvious benefits of improved instruction, developing teacher leadership capacity will provide the school organization with a broader base of leadership skills and participation. This increased involvement of teachers will ease the burden on the school principal while supporting the development of teachers who might be interested in school administration later in their careers.

The concept of teacher leadership has become increasingly embedded in the language and practice of educational improvement. It suggests that teachers rightly and importantly hold a central position in the ways that schools operate and in the core functions of teaching and learning. A growing number of Alberta school leaders are paying attention to data showing that expert teachers hold the key to student achievement; however, many teachers do not recognize that a broader role of teacher leadership is open and available to those who wish to assume the responsibilities.

To learn more about developing teacher leaders, plan to attend the ATA’s Leadership in Learning Conference. Joseph Murphy, professor of education at Peabody College of Education, Vanderbuilt University, Tennessee, and author of Connecting Teacher Leadership and School Improvement (2005), will present a half-day workshop, followed by 26 breakout sessions presented by Alberta schools and school jurisdictions focusing on their successful school improvement initiatives. The second day of the conference will feature Stephen Kaagan from Michigan State University. Kaagan will address "Developing Teacher Leadership." David Bouchard, an award-winning Canadian author and former teacher and principal, will discuss "Literacy across the Curriculum."

For more information and to print a registration form, visit the ATA’s website (www.teachers.ab.ca).