This paper argues that the most effective approach to catalyzing teacher leadership toward school improvement is to nest such efforts within a larger, more coherent approach that cultivates professional learning towards systems improvements. Rooted in an approach that understands adult learning within the context of ecological systems theory (Broffenbrenner, 1979) and complexity theory (Opfer & Pedder, 2011), this paper will present a conceptual model that describes the interplay of research evidence, educator practice, and school and systems policy. In order to ultimately improve the learning experiences and outcomes for students, a coherent approach must be employed that distributes leadership across students, teachers, and administrators and also takes into consideration learning conditions for teachers and students alongside the quality of teaching and professional practice. It is at this same nexus that teacher leadership can be intentionally fostered by offering guided experiences in action research/teacher inquiry to document experiments that seek to improve teaching and learning practice as well as explicit leadership development training and apprenticeship in facilitation and coaching techniques. The conceptual model will be illustrated through the use of two case studies in the creation of professional learning systems. One case study focuses on the creation of a statewide teacher leader fellowship for 40 elementary and secondary school teachers across 22 school districts in the state of Florida. The other case study examines the creation of a statewide professional learning system for early learning educators that offers them access to research-based coursework alongside opportunities for systematic reflection through communities of practice and/or site-based coaching. Each of these case studies will illustrate the conceptual framework and the importance of each “leg of the stool”: research, practice, and policy. Without the intentional alignment of all three, school and systems improvement efforts will be hamstrung in their efforts and limited in their impact. This conceptual model can prove useful both to practitioners who might use it to guide the design and implementation of professional learning systems as well as researchers who might use it to analyze their own efforts to understand and evaluate the implementation and impact of professional learning systems.

Broffenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Opfer, V. D., & Pedder, D. (2011). Conceptualizing teacher professional learning. Review of Educational Research, 81(3), 376–407.