Book Review: Improving Schools Through Teacher Leadership

In this book the authors successfully draw upon their involvement in a variety of research projects, with a particular focus on two projects (the Gatsby Teacher Effectiveness Study and a General Teaching Council/National Union of Teachers study on teacher leadership) being used to suggest links between teacher leadership and school improvement. Harris and Muijs highlight the current interest—and not insubstantial investment—in the ways in which school leadership can generate and sustain school improvement. They note the previous concentration on the headteacher as the main agent for change, and whilst not seeking to sideline the importance of the head’s role they pursue the notion that the classroom teacher should now be seen as the locus of effective school leadership. This book is therefore about the ‘potential and potency’ (p. 7) of teacher (and support staff) leadership in helping to achieve better schools. A strong emphasis is placed on the building of professional learning communities, as well as networks of teachers, that can work to improve their own practice. The authors are quick to establish that in their view this type of leadership will be fluid and emergent, rather than fixed—a situation where the distinction between ‘leaders’ and ‘followers’ is blurred. Effective leadership is therefore seen as being distributed as part of the responsibilities of the classroom teacher. These concepts are not new, as Harris and Muijs themselves acknowledge, but if adopted by schools they will result in new divisions of labour. In essence, they conclude that ‘teacher leadership challenges many current assumptions about the nature of leadership, the community within which it occurs and the relationships between power, authority and influence’ (p. 26). The book is logically structured in four parts: the first part deals with the theoretical and conceptual background to teacher leadership; the second with how teacher leadership is enhanced and developed in schools; the third focuses on empirical evidence for a link between teacher leadership, school and teacher effectiveness, and improvement; and the last on future directions for teacher leadership. The underlying message within this book is that ‘top down’ leadership, large scale education reforms, and governmental led initiatives do not achieve lasting school improvement; particularly when coupled with the constant pressure on schools to raise standards, meet targets and respond to inspections. The changes that result from ‘traditional’ management approaches are often unsustainable, costly and short term—in effect they are ‘quick fixes’. The authors also highlight that ‘what works’ in one school may not in another, reminding us of the importance of taking account of each school’s culture and context when attempting to achieve sustainable school improvement. The way forward is to establish a new teacher professionalism, giving teachers more autonomy and self-direction while also encouraging them to engage in greater collaboration and networking with their colleagues. The emphasis here is on cultural, rather than structural, change. Evidence from research conducted in the US, Canada and Australia is used to support these claims. The forces that restrict teacher leadership are also clearly outlined. It is acknowledged Book Reviews