Denna uppsats innehåller fyra huvuddelar. Den första delen ämnar att presentera delar av det svenska och irländska skolsystemet med förklaringar av nivåer, ålder och nuvarande läroplan och kursplaner.Den andra delen visar resultat av en undersökning gjord av de styrande organen inom utbildningsområdet in varje land. Ansvarsområden för departement, organisationer och verk presenteras tillsammans med motioner och reforminitiativ.Den tredje delen ger en presentation och en diskussion av relevant litteratur som relaterar till skolpolitiken i Sverige och på Irland. Nyckelorden i denna del är: skolutveckling, skolförbättring och lärarledarskap.I den fjärde delen av uppsatsen presenterar jag resultatet av en studie med lärare i Sverige och Irland. Tio lärare, fem från vart land, som jobbar på grundskola och gymnasium, har svarat på frågor angående deras jobb och deras lands skolpolitik. Deras svar har sedan jämförts med andra och tredje delen av uppsatsen samt med varandras nationaliteter. Slutligen ger en femte del en summering, sammanfattning och reflektion av arbetet i sin helhet. / This essay consists of four main parts. The first part aims to present some of the Swedish and Irish school systems giving explanations for different schools, levels, years and current school curricula and syllabuses. The second part shows the result of a research of the governing organs within the education system in each country. Responsibilities of departments, associations and councils are presented together with school policies and attempts for reform.The third part gives a presentation and a discussion on the relevant literature relating to the main school policies in Sweden and Ireland. The key words for this part are school development, school improvement and teacher leadership.In the fourth part of this essay I present the result of a conducted study with school teachers in Sweden and Ireland. Ten teachers, five from each country, working in primary and secondary schools, have answered questions concerning their job and their country’s school policy. Their answers have been compared and contrasted in relation to part two and three in the essay, and also in relation to their nationalities.Finally a fifth part will summarise, conclude and reflect the essay as a whole.

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The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the perceptions of distributed leadership held by 15 administrators of special education and 15 special education teacher leaders invited to perform a Q-sort, rank ordering 40 statements representing distributed leadership attributes. The research questions that guided this investigation included: 1) Are there any clusters of participants who ranked the leadership statements similarly and differently; 2) Are the clusters related to demographic or personal characteristics associated with the participants; 3) Were there similarities as to how the items were ranked by the participants among the clusters; 4) Are there themes depicting the clusters based on the statement rankings; and 5) To what extent is there a relationship between the cluster composition, demographic and district variables? Results revealed two factors of participants who sorted their cards similarly, the priority given to each statement representing distributed leadership traits, and the preferred attributes associated with each factor. Each factor was further examined to determine how the demographics of the participants contributed to the similar sorts. This study demonstrates the importance of special education leaders developing an understanding of both the organization's purpose as well as the staff members' needs, personalities, strengths, and skill sets. As special education leaders move across the continuum of distributed leadership, their leadership practices transition from distributing leadership tasks from a top-down model to creating a truly collaborative environment embedded into the organization as it becomes action oriented through continuous improvements in programming and instruction with students with special needs. This research will contribute to expanding the understanding of distributed leadership practices in the field of special education. Future research should be devoted to better understanding the relationship between special education and distributed leadership, and the influence special education leadership has on an organization's culture, student programming, and student achievement in relationship to state accountability measures.

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The role of teacher leaders in schools is becoming more prevalent as educators examine ways to insure systemic change. It is based on the assumption that education will improve when those closest to the situation are included and encouraged to not only participate in the decision-making process, but also to initiate change. The purpose of this study was to describe the principals' support of teacher leaders in elementary schools in one school system. This study collected data from all public elementary school principals in a large suburban school district in Virginia and from selected elementary level teachers in order to answer the following four research questions: 1. Do elementary principals and/or teachers perceive they support the development of teacher leaders? 2. Do elementary principals and/or teachers perceive teacher leaders serve as a vehicle for shared decision-making? 3. Do elementary principals and/or teachers perceive teacher leaders as instrumental in expanding the focus of shared decision-making to include instructional decisions? 4. Do teachers and/or principals receive preparation at the college/university level to assume teacher leadership positions or as principals to guide teachers to assume leadership positions? The findings of this study indicated that elementary principals and teacher leaders perceive there is support for teacher leaders in their school. There is also agreement that teachers should participate in shared decision-making structures. There is disagreement between the two groups as to the level of participation in such areas as finances, personnel and implementation of new school programs. Finally, the principals do not believe that course work at the university/college level assisted them in promoting and supporting teacher leadership in their school. / Ed. D.

The teachers' lounge was once the only oasis of camaraderie among teachers engaged in the rigors of public education. Today, fellowship among teachers looks quite different and is no longer relegated to the teachers' lounge. Indeed, in a successful school it is pervasive, and so are the teachers who become leaders of their fellow colleagues and play a significant role in school improvement and renewal. Operating in a variety of roles and possessed of personal and professional traits that have earned them the respect of their colleagues, principals, and district leaders, these teacher leaders have enriched the instructional landscape and the cultures of their schools. However, the research suggests that, in general, teacher leaders themselves have received little, if any, formal training for their jobs as leaders among their peers. As principals rely more on the expertise of these teachers, as the complexities of public education continue to multiply, and as the demographics of the teaching profession change, an obligation exists to investigate the professional development needs of teacher leaders. Teacher leaders must be skilled in building trusting, respectful relationships, a professional fellowship, among their peers if they wish for them to follow their lead down the path to self-improvement, student achievement, and school excellence. A mission of this importance deserves the best teacher leaders that training can produce. An examination of the necessary knowledge, skills, and dispositions and how teacher leaders develop them will help school districts provide specialized training for them. / Ed. D.

I detta examensarbete har en modell av ett ekonomilärarledarskap utvecklats utifrån ett hypotetiskt resonemang som bygger på tidigare forskning om ekonomiundervisning på gymnasienivå samt tidigare forskning om motiverande lärarledarskap. Modellens ekonomilärarledarskap består av två delar: 1. ledarskapskompetenser som är instruerande, prestationsorienterat, stödjande och deltagande, 2. didaktisk kompetens i kombination med ämneskompetens i vilken läraren planerarar och genomför ekonomiundervisning som kan innehålla a. fallbeskrivningar och konkreta exempel från företag samt b. datorstöd t.ex. Office- och bokföringsprogram. När ekonomiläraren planerar och genomför sin undervisning utifrån ekonomilärarledarskapet får de motiverade elever som lär sig företagsekonomi. Syftet med arbetet har varit att: pröva ”Modellen av ett motiverande ekonomilärarledarskap” som en hypotes mot en företagsekonomisk empiri för att få svar på om ekonomilärare undervisar på det sätt som beskrivs i modellen av ett ekonomilärarledarskap Arbetet utgår ifrån två frågeställningar: 1. Hur påverkar mekanismer i skolan ekonomilärarens möjligheter till ett lärarledarskap och vilka konsekvenser får det för undervisningen av ämnet företagsekonomi? 2. Hur uppfattar ekonomilärare att de genom sitt ledarskap kan motivera elever till lärande av företagsekonomi och vilka utmaningar möter läraren i sitt ledarskap? De teori som använts för att utveckla och genomföra arbetet är: Utbildningsmotivation och elevers lärande, lärarens ledarskap samt tidigare forskning om autentisk företagsekonomiundervisning. Empiristudien har genomförts som en intervjustudie med fyra ekonomilärare vid två gymnasiefriskolor i sydvästra Skåne. Intervjuerna genomfördes i mars 2020 med två kvinnliga och två manliga ekonomilärare i 40-60 årsåldern. Två av respondenterna hade arbetat två år, en nio år och en tjugotre år som ekonomilärare. Studiens resultat är att: De svar som respondenterna gav vid intervjuerna ger stöd åt modellen men det finns exempel som visar att en del av stödet är svagt speciellt när det gäller lärarens prestationshöjande ledarskapsagerande eftersom det endast finns ett didaktiskt exempel på detta. Respondenternas utsagor ger ett visst stöd för att säga att ekonomielärarna använder lärarledarskap på det sätt som modellen föreslår, men eftersom studiens empiri består av svar från endast fyra respondenter behövs mer forskning för att kunna anta modellen som en hypotes.

Abstract The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the development of urban elementary teacher leaders as captured in narrative data and analyzed through the theoretical lenses of role identity, distributed leadership, teacher leadership and urban teacher leadership. The narratives of five teacher leaders provided rich descriptions that made it possible to: (a) examine possible mechanisms for encouraging leadership assertion choices; (b) identify support practices for encouraging leadership within future teachers in the urban context; and (c) provide insight for building leadership roles in the school environment for those who coordinate professional development activities. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and post-interview reflections over the course of three months. All of the participants in the study worked in urban settings for the duration of the study and were employed by the same school system in the southeastern United States. Narrative analysis, analysis of narratives and a cross-case analysis strategies were used to reveal participants’ perceptions of individual roles, their journeys of leadership development, and the influences of their experiences in urban contexts on their leadership choices. Recommendations were made to enhance preparation, mentoring, and professional development of potential and current urban teacher leaders.

In an effort to address diverse needs in K-12 education, policymakers have proposed initiatives to increase the leadership opportunities for classroom teachers. Although teachers have undertaken leadership roles in schools throughout history, the notion of teacher leadership spurred by policy is in the emergent stages. As educators and leaders in various roles implement teacher leadership policy, learning must ensue at both an individual and collective level to adapt schools to a new model of leadership. This study examined how district-level teacher leader coordinators in one Iowa region came to understand their role as leaders. A case study approach illuminated the experience of these individuals as Iowa teacher leadership policy was initially implemented. Data were collected through the use of interviews, observations, and document reviews. Participants included district-level teacher leader coordinators and regional leaders supporting teacher leadership to gain insights from multiple levels of policy implementation. The findings of this study identified themes for sensemaking and leading within the teacher leader coordinator’s role. The study revealed that coordinators were guided in learning their new teacher leadership roles through both formal policy guidance and informal interactions with leaders and peers. Coordinators enacted their leadership roles in a bridge building capacity, linking other teacher leaders to resources and modeling leadership processes and actions.

Education reform initiatives continue to push schools to improve methods of measuring accountability intended to improve student achievement in the United States. Federal programs like the Teacher Incentive Find (TIF) provide school districts with funds to develop and implement school accountability and leadership programs. Teacher leadership is one of the concepts being formally developed amongst these initiatives. My applied thesis project focused on work I conducted with a team of researchers at American Institutes for Research, where we evaluated a teacher leadership program in its third year of implementation. Teacher leadership is facilitated through distributive leadership. School leaders distribute responsibilities that provide teachers with opportunities to extend their expertise outside of their own classrooms. My thesis explores teacher leadership roles and investigates implementation across the client school district. It also discusses how particular anthropological theories about communities of practice, learning, and identity can provide a foundation for conceptualizing teacher leadership implementation and the social interactions between program actors.