Teachers' professional learning is connected to and dependent on different leading practices. In a previous study, we explored such practices and identified how principals’ leading, teacher leaders’ leading and external development leaders’ leading formed a web of leading (Nehez et al. 2022). In this presentation, we take the perspective of a development leader as a middle leader and explore the interplay between development leaders and teacher leaders in a professional development program, where the leading and learning practices of development leaders and teacher leaders meet. The current study is informed by the theory of practice architectures (TPA) (Kemmis et al. 2014, Mahon et al. 2017) and the theory of ecologies of practices (Kemmis et al. 2014). In line with TPA we regard development leaders’ leading as a site and time specific social practice composed of sayings, doings and relatings hanging together in a distinctive project, which in this study is defined as leading professional learning. The study is conducted in a Swedish school organization where professional learning for teachers is conducted in cooperation between development leaders at an over-arching organizational level, principals, and teacher leaders. The data is collected from a professional development program where 33 teacher leaders participated. It includes the planning of and reflections on the program. The analysis consists of: 1) identification and categorization of the development leaders’ sayings, doings and relatings when leading the program, 2) documentation of the interplay in narratives, and 3) thematic analysis of the narratives to understand what characterized the development leaders’ leading for professional learning. The findings show how the development leaders’ leading practice hangs together with the teacher leaders’ learning and leading practices through four types of responsiveness: 1) responsiveness to ideas of successful leading, 2) responsiveness to experiences and observations of leading practices, 3) responsiveness to teacher leaders’ understanding and 4) responsiveness to own leading practices. Through these, a formative aspect of leading unfolds, where the connection between leading and learning appears. Due to the findings, the web of leading (Nehez et al. 2022) can be further developed. The dimension of learning comes forward as an essential part of the web. To be able to lead responsively, specific arrangements need to be in place. With such arrangements it becomes possible to act responsively and relate to information that is relevant for leading professional learning. Such arrangements form learning leading in the web of leading for professional learning.

Kemmis, S., Wilkinson, J., Edwards-Groves, C., Hardy, I., Grootenboer, P. & Bristol, L. (2014). Changing Practices, Changing Education. Springer. Mahon, K., Kemmis, S., Francisco, S., & Lloyd, A. (2017). Introduction: Practice theory and the theory of practice architectures. In: K. Mahon, S. Francisco, and S. Kemmis, eds. Exploring education and professional practice: Through the lens of practice architectures, (pp.1-30). Springer. Nehez, J., Sülau, V., and Olin, A., 2022. A web of leading for professional learning: Leadership from a decentring perspective, Journal of educational administration and history, 55 (1), 23-38.