Teacher leadership: A systematic review, methodological quality assessment and conceptual framework

Abstract

This article systematically reviews 93 theoretical and empirical articles and books on the topic of teacher leadership. The included studies are analyzed on the basis of the following themes: (1) definitions of teacher leadership, (2) antecedents of teacher leadership, (3) outcomes of teacher leadership, and (4) methodological quality of studies on teacher leadership. Based on our analysis we develop a conceptual framework unifying the current knowledge about teacher leadership, its definitions, and its antecedents and outcomes at different levels of analysis. We highlight the current methodological limitations of the included studies and point out avenues for further development of the field of teacher leadership. In particular, we call for more (1) conceptual clarity, (2) cross-country research designs, (3) research designs eliminating endogeneity problems, and (4) attention for the potential ‘dark sides’ of teacher leadership.