How do China’s national-level teacher leaders perceive and improve their instructional leadership? A case study

ABSTRACT

Drawing on interviews and textual data generated with six China’s national-level teacher leaders, this study explores the structure and development of instructional leadership in the Chinese context. Two findings emerged from the data analysis. First, the teacher leaders viewed their instructional leadership as a three-level construct, including staying committed to and excellence in teaching, establishing professional learning communities for collaborative improvement in teaching, and engaging with regional and national reform and improvement in teaching. Second, the teacher leaders improved their instructional leadership mainly by conducting research-informed teaching, interacting with crucial stakeholders, and capitalising on professional resources and opportunities. These findings add to the literature a context-specific, levelled conceptualisation of instructional leadership and suggest practical implications for cultivating instructional leadership in the Chinese context and beyond.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher leader
• instructional leadership
• teacher development
• case study

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Miao Liu

Miao Liu is a doctoral student at Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on teacher leadership, teacher professional development, and education improvement.

Wei Liao

Wei Liao is an associate professor at the Center for Teacher Education Research and a Huiyan Young Scholar at the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University. His research focuses on teacher policy, teacher development, teacher thinking, and teacher educator.