Effective professional development leads “to a long-term gain in teachers’ knowledge” (Gigante & Firestone, 2008, p. 311), which in turn makes a considerable impact on the classroom and the teacher. Danielson (2006) illustrated this thought by stating, “professional development is the corner-stone of improving practice and is essential to teacher growth, expertise, and skill development” (p. 15).
When teachers unite and embrace true collaboration alongside teacher leaders then extensive improvement to the school will be likely to occur. Angelle and Teague (2014) note when addressing what school improvement looks like under strong collaboration with teacher leadership, there is a, “ clear and strong relationship between collective efficacy and the extent of teacher leadership” (p. 7). If teacher leaders can find a way to bring their colleagues on board, they will be able to see change begin and teachers in the school will begin to see the value in not staying isolated.
Implications of Empowering Teachers as Leaders
Teachers have a unique perspective regarding improvement of the educational system. They can be a vital part of reform efforts when encouraged to step into the leadership role, as their sole focus is student learning (Sinha, et al., 2012). Teacher leaders can use the central focus of student learning and mold reforms from the inside out, which can have major implications in the field of education. By researching this topic, it can open the door to future