Teacher Leadership: Though Much is Known, More Remains to be Understood.

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Title: Teacher Leadership: Though Much is Known, More Remains to be Understood.
Authors: Nawab, Ali1 (AUTHOR) ali.nawab@iba-suk.edu.pk, Sikander, Sadaf1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of School Leadership. Jul2026, Vol. 36 Issue 4, p422-443. 22p.
Subject Terms: *Teacher leadership, *School improvement programs, *Education research, *Teaching methods, *Academic achievement, Hypothesis
Abstract: With the realization that school improvement efforts are less likely to be successful if managed single-handedly by a school principal, there is a growing tendency to involve teachers in teacher leadership roles. As research has steadily converged on teacher leadership, we have quite sufficient knowledge on its conceptualization, the way it is practiced in different contexts and the factors influencing the enactment of this emerging concept. However, do we have a consensus on who are teacher leaders, how teacher leadership can be promoted and what factors support teacher leadership across the globe? This paper reviews the existing literature on teacher leadership to document what we know and what we still need to know in relation to this concept. Using the search strings, namely, "conceptualization of teacher leadership", "teacher leadership development" and "teacher leadership practice", literature is drawn from Scopus, Emerald Insight, Taylor & Francis and Wiley Online Library databases restricted to the time period from 2012 to 2022. Although teacher leadership has evolved and developed over a period of almost four decades, as this review shows, there are still significant questions that remain unanswered. The paper argues that we still lack not only a uniform conceptualization of teacher leadership but also convincing evidence to show a model of teacher leadership to be more effective in terms of its impact on instructional practices and student learning. The existing knowledge on how teacher leadership can be developed is also limited. Since teacher leadership is a dire need of the current day, we should address the knowledge gap to confidently use this model in any context to reap its benefits especially in relation to student learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of School Leadership is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Teacher Leadership: Though Much is Known, More Remains to be Understood.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nawab%2C+Ali%22">Nawab, Ali</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> ali.nawab@iba-suk.edu.pk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sikander%2C+Sadaf%22">Sikander, Sadaf</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+School+Leadership%22">Journal of School Leadership</searchLink>. Jul2026, Vol. 36 Issue 4, p422-443. 22p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+leadership%22">Teacher leadership</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+improvement+programs%22">School improvement programs</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Education+research%22">Education research</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teaching+methods%22">Teaching methods</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+achievement%22">Academic achievement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hypothesis%22">Hypothesis</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: With the realization that school improvement efforts are less likely to be successful if managed single-handedly by a school principal, there is a growing tendency to involve teachers in teacher leadership roles. As research has steadily converged on teacher leadership, we have quite sufficient knowledge on its conceptualization, the way it is practiced in different contexts and the factors influencing the enactment of this emerging concept. However, do we have a consensus on who are teacher leaders, how teacher leadership can be promoted and what factors support teacher leadership across the globe? This paper reviews the existing literature on teacher leadership to document what we know and what we still need to know in relation to this concept. Using the search strings, namely, "conceptualization of teacher leadership", "teacher leadership development" and "teacher leadership practice", literature is drawn from Scopus, Emerald Insight, Taylor & Francis and Wiley Online Library databases restricted to the time period from 2012 to 2022. Although teacher leadership has evolved and developed over a period of almost four decades, as this review shows, there are still significant questions that remain unanswered. The paper argues that we still lack not only a uniform conceptualization of teacher leadership but also convincing evidence to show a model of teacher leadership to be more effective in terms of its impact on instructional practices and student learning. The existing knowledge on how teacher leadership can be developed is also limited. Since teacher leadership is a dire need of the current day, we should address the knowledge gap to confidently use this model in any context to reap its benefits especially in relation to student learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of School Leadership is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1177/10526846261424548
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Teacher leadership
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School improvement programs
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Education research
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      – SubjectFull: Teaching methods
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      – SubjectFull: Academic achievement
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      – TitleFull: Teacher Leadership: Though Much is Known, More Remains to be Understood.
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              M: 07
              Text: Jul2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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