The ways in which classroom teachers can make leadership contributions to their schools are evolving in increasingly diverse ways across the education community world-wide. The use of award-bearing, salary-linked CPD as a means of impacting on that process is already evident in the USA, Mexico, Chile and England and has opened up fresh areas of debate. In Scotland, following a major review of teachers’ salaries and conditions of service in 2000, a professional development continuum was developed setting Standards which have to be met, from Initial Teacher Education level to that required for Headship of a school. As part of that continuum since 2003 the Standard for Chartered Teacher (2002) has enabled teachers in Scotland with six or more years experience to access CPD which yields incremental salary increases as accredited modules are achieved. These increments are not performance related but rather incentives for professional development. The Standard offers explicit guidance about what may be expected of those who have met it with specific references to how they may lead: school development; the professional development of colleagues; the development of teaching and learning. The Chartered Teacher development in Scotland resonates very clearly with a range of current conceptualisations of how and why teachers may find leadership roles in schools. The development of such roles has, at root, the hope that they will have a major influence on the improvement of students’ learning experience in schools, (Smylie & Denny 1990) and that this will generate increased achievement for all (Yorke-Barr & Duke 2004). Fullan (2002) and Hargreaves (2003) argue powerfully that transformation in the learning cultures of schools is rooted in effective leadership and emphasise the centrality of improving students’ learning in any such transformation. Fullan’s focus on developing conditions which value learning as an individual and collective good, chimes equally clearly with the conceptual framework underpinning the Chartered Teacher development as does Hargreaves’s contention that only distributed and shared leadership is likely to be a sustainable model for delivering these aspirations. In the Scottish context, Connelly and McMahon (2007) have already suggested that Chartered Teachers are beginning to appreciate the ways in which they were deriving professional benefit from their experiences but which acknowledged a weak evidence base for any impact beyond their own classrooms. While there had been clear expectations that such an impact would be evident, that is unlikely to occur without the support and nurturance of teachers who assume leadership in their schools (Liebermann and Miller 2005). This paper describes a mixed quantitative and qualitative research study designed to determine the degree to which experienced classroom teachers in Scotland are finding leadership roles in schools as a result of having undertaken these award-bearing CPD courses. The study seeks to establish the various factors which promote, support or deter involvement in leadership roles, the nature of such roles and the impact they may be having on schools. In addition, the study probes conflicts between teacher aspirations and expectations and the differing interpretations put on possible roles by school managers. The paper provides a detailed analysis of the ways in which this evolving model is supporting teachers as leaders with a view to assisting practitioners and researchers to focus on worthwhile areas of development and further enquiry. The findings indicate both positive and negative teacher experiences and may have potential relevance for practising teachers, school managers and researchers as this particular model, already attracting interest world-wide, evolves in Scotland. References below.

The research focuses on 70 teachers in 70 schools who have enrolled on or have completed the programmes of study to meet the requirements of the Standard for Chartered Teacher (2002). A survey, comprising open and closed questions, is being conducted with 70 teachers, mainly based in primary (where the majority of Chartered Teachers are located) but also including representation from other sectors. The survey explores teachers' experiences around involvement in: roles beyond their own classroom; roles that involve leadership; processes within school which facilitate these activities; reactions to and impact of such involvement. The demographic nature of the sample is expected to be consistent with enrolment in the programme across Scotland which draws from the whole of Scotland. Semi-structured interviews are being conducted with a subset of the teacher cohort to interrogate further some of the key themes emerging from the questionnaire. Semi-structured interviews are being conducted with a subset of up to 6 Headteachers in schools who have Chartered Teachers on the staff. They are being asked to comment on: reasons why Chartered Teachers are/are not finding leadership roles in their schools; the kinds of leadership roles they envisage for them; the means by which they manage the allocation of such roles; the impact that any such involvement may have.

The study is intended to discover whether or not “Chartered Teachers” in Scotland have sought or been allocated leadership roles in schools, the extent, range and impact of such roles and the factors which influence how those roles are determined. The conflicts and tensions between teacher expectations and school managers’ perceptions of their emerging roles are expected to figure significantly in the findings. Consequently, the study seeks to advance thinking in this important and evolving field.