Empowerment through distributed leadership in reconciliating tensions and dilemmas in teacher professional development

Abstract

Continuous professional development is necessary for teachers to stay current with teaching and learning. However, teachers face tensions when they engage in such activities. From the sociocultural and distributed leadership perspectives, this case study investigates how a school, recognised for its excellence in staff well-being and development, reconciles such tensions. The systematic and efficient school administration and distributed leadership empower teachers to plan and chart their own professional development activities. It is evident that teachers from the school are empowered via open communication with their respective teacher coordinators to plan and chart their professional development. Relevance and practical use of content of professional development are most important to teachers. More time and resources have been devoted for better quality training for teachers. There is also a shift towards network learning communities where teachers learn from one another within the school and across schools, although teachers still attend courses.