A Cross-Cultural Consideration of Teacher Leaders' Narratives of Power, Agency and School Culture

“A Cross-Cultural Consideration of Teacher Leaders’ Narratives of Power, Agency, and School Culture provides rich insights of the ways in which teachers lead in England, Jamaica and the United States. This book fills a void in the literature on teacher leadership, bringing the essential role of teachers as they use their power to enhance students’ educational experience and shape school cultures for positive learning outcomes. Utilizing powerful stories about teachers’ leadership across these three countries, Blair, Roofe, and Timmins show why teachers are the single most important aspect in students’ educational attainment. This book is a must read for teachers, principals, parents, education officers, and those seeking to understand teachers’ leadership across cultures.”

“Having had the privilege of working with many educational leaders in several countries, I have long realized that the issues are not dissimilar in nature and complexity. The text then is a helpful resource as it offers insights into the experiences of teacher leaders as shaped by their cultural realities.”

Dr. Maurice D. Smith, JP, CPFEd, International Educational Consultant

“Blair, Roofe, and Timmins offer a powerful cross-cultural analysis of teacher leadership, school culture, and politics, and an exploration of the associated challenges faced within the US, England, and Jamaica—in part through teacher interviews within these three countries. The authors offer an assessment of the limitations—and the promise—of teacher leadership in these politically, historically, and educationally different contexts wherein consistently the teaching profession is underappreciated. This groundbreaking volume is essential because we need an understanding of—and full implementation of—teacher leadership in order to bring about meaningful shared leadership and significant school improvement. This is crucial reading also because the teaching/learning process at its essence is represented most significantly in the relationship between the teacher and the student—wherein the rubber meets the road.”

Kofi Lomotey, Bardo Distinguished Professor, Western Carolina University

“If you want to understand teachers’ work in the 21st century, and why we don’t have the school workplaces that teachers desire, then this is the book for you. Veteran teacher-educators Blair, Roofe, and Timmins have crafted a stirring book for, about, and in defense of teachers that every parent, politician, and policy-maker must read as well as teachers and administrators. Their cross-cultural look at teachers’ work in England, Jamaica, and the United States is brutally honest and incredibly hopeful about teachers as leaders in schools. With more than 60 combined years of experience teaching, supervising, and learning in school systems, they make a strong and compelling case for the transformation of schools as workplaces that position teachers as leaders who can use their power and agency for joyous, trusting, and equitable school cultures.”

Hilton Kelly, Immediate Past President of the American Educational Studies Association, Chair of Educational Studies Department at Davidson College

Foreword
Paul Miller

Introduction
Eleanor J. Blair, Carmel Roofe, and Susan Timmins

Section One: Teacher Leadership in England
1. Education in England
Susan Timmins
2. The Study of Teacher Leaders in England and Their Work
Susan Timmins
3. Reflections
Susan Timmins

Section Two: Teacher Leadership in Jamaica
4. Critical Perspectives on Teacher Leadership in Jamaica
Carmel Roofe
5. The Empirical Study of Teacher Leaders in Jamaica
Carmel Roofe
6. Reflections, Implications and Conclusions
Carmel Roofe

Section Three: Teacher Leadership in the United States
7. Teacher Leadership in the United States: You Can’t Get There from Here
Eleanor J. Blair
8. Teacher Leadership Today: Teachers Talk About Their Work
Eleanor J. Blair
9. Teacher Leadership for 21st-Century Schools: An Old Wine in a New Bottle?
Eleanor J, Blair

Section Four: Cross-Cultural Considerations and Stories of Teacher Leaders’ Work
10. Cross-Cultural Conversations About Teacher Leadership: Reflections on Trends That Transcend Culture
Carmel Roofe, Eleanor J. Blair, and Susan Timmins

Eleanor J. Blair

Eleanor J. Blair (Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville) is an Associate Professor at Western Carolina University (WCU). She is the editor of five education texts. Her work utilizes qualitative methodologies and critical pedagogical frameworks to explore teaching, learning and leading in cross-cultural contexts as well as the intersection between popular culture and schools.

Carmel Roofe

Carmel Roofe (Ph.D. and Masters of Philosophy, University of the West Indies, Mona) is a teacher educator and a senior lecturer in Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education at the University of the West Indies, Mona. She is the co-founder of the Caribbean Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies and a Research Fellow at the University of Huddersfield. Her research work emphasizes the use of qualitative methodologies to explore issues related to teaching and learning across cultural spaces.

Susan Timmins

Susan Timmins is a senior lecturer at the University of Huddersfield, which is located in West Yorkshire, England, where she teaches the initial teacher training course. Susan’s research interests are far ranging in areas of leadership and management, computer science education and teacher education.