ABSTRACT

Teacher union leadership in turn enables and encourages teachers to exercise leadership in their own and others' learning, in supporting learning and in influencing policy. Learning, in all its manifestations, lies at the heart of teacher policy. A less typical reference point for teacher leadership is the role of collective organisations that represent the professional interests of teachers, such as subject associations and teacher unions. One of the essential purposes of these organisations is to enhance the capacity of teachers, both individually and collectively, to exercise leadership within and beyond their own schools. The development of professional communities has often been left to teacher organisations, such as the National Union of Teachers, through its professional development programme. The idea of professional communities of teachers responsible for their own learning is in synergy with conceptions of teacher leadership, and active in shaping policy at school, local and national levels.