This paper focuses on the development of teacher professionality in Macedonia. It arises from a recent initiative by ‘Step by Step’ and NGO which aims to develop ‘learning communities’ in which all parties (teachers, students and school management) have an equal voice, trust one another, share a common vision and rely on personal agency for creating a positive change in the school. The project is an extension of the US AID funded ‘Readers are Leaders’ project and draws on earlier work within the International Teacher Leadership project (Frost, 2011). A team of coordinators and Teacher Champions will provide support and guidance to help establish or invigorate existing learning communities so that a constructive dialogue about quality practice and the teaching profession in general can be facilitated. In this process the teachers will define and conduct individual development projects that will target students’ literacy and numeracy capabilities. However, the ultimate goal of these activities is to scaffold the creation of a culture of lifelong learning in the schools, which will become a self-sustained system that safeguards teachers’ professionalism, fosters self-efficacy and agency. The paper will include a discussion about the effectiveness of such strategies for nurturing extended professionalism (Hoyle, 2008). Data drawn from the monitoring process and teachers’ development projects will be analysed following the initial development phase (6 months) in order to judge the extent to which the initiative has the potential to scaffold the creation of a culture of lifelong learning in the schools and develop a self-sustained system that safeguards teachers’ professionalism, fosters self-efficacy and agency.

Frost, D. (2011) Supporting teacher leadership in 15 countries: the International Teacher Leadership project, Phase 1 - A report, Cambridge: Leadership for Learning Hoyle, E. (2008) Changing Conceptions of Teaching as a Profession: Personal Reflections. In Johnson D. & MacLean R. (Eds.) Teaching: Professionalisation, Development and Leadership. Springer.