Teacher leadership collaborative: boundary-crossing spaces for teacher empowerment

Abstract

ABSTRACT The cultivation of teacher leaders is key to addressing the intersecting and complex challenges the field of education faces. Over the past two years, we have participated in a group we call the Teacher Leadership Collaborative (TLC). The TLC is a community of educators - from preservice to highly experienced - committed to equity-oriented teaching and interested in creating change in their schools and communities. Rooted in a framework for teacher leadership that emphasises teacher inquiry, an expanded notion of teachers’ role, and an emphasis on social justice, the TLC has provided a generative setting for educators across the career span to process their experiences, name their challenges, and identify ways to enact equity-oriented change. Drawing on empirical data this article highlights the importance of expressions of craft conscience, boundary crossing and the elevation of teacher voice. The TLC is unique in its membership of cross-career educators from a variety of content areas and grade levels and demonstrates the possibilities of leadership for learning through reciprocal mentorship. To illustrate these findings we include embedded unit case examples - written by participating teachers that detail how participation in the TLC has empowered them and supported their development as educational leaders.