Distributed pedagogical leadership practice for sustainable pedagogical improvement: A literature review (2010–2023)

Leadership from a distributed pedagogical perspective involves engaging multiple professionals in implementing shared responsibilities. In educational organizations, leadership responsibility structures have changed, with researchers advancing a more decentralized leadership system for sustainable pedagogical improvement. These global changes in education systems have informed the demand for sustainable quality teaching, the desire for 21st-century learning skills, and rapid progress in education. As a result, traditional individual ‘heroic leadership’ is no longer tenable in any learning environment that intends to achieve quality pedagogical outcomes. Therefore, this narrative review paper aims to examine the essence of distributing pedagogical leadership responsibilities among multiple professionals to understand how the concept is perceived in diverse educational contexts and settings. This study reviewed relevant empirical research studies conducted to investigate the concept of distributed pedagogical leadership in Finland, Norway and Singapore. The findings revealed some gaps that informed our understanding of the concept and recommended further research studies.