Teacher Leaders and their Principals: Exploring the Development of New Working Relationships

Abstract

This article presents the findings of an exploratory study of the development of new working relationships between teacher leaders and their principals. Using a micropolitical perspective, this study documents the interests and prerogatives that teacher leaders and principals bring to these new relationships and the strategies that they use to shape these relationships in ways consistent with those interests and prerogatives. The findings raise important issues concerning the principals' role in teacher leadership development as well as the broader social and normative contexts of schools in which principal-teacher leader work relationships develop and function.