Teacher Leadership and its connection to Distributed Leadership

Question: What is teacher leadership? Distributed leadership and teacher leadership. Impact of teacher leadership on students learning. What is the future of teacher leadership? Reflection from Kazakhstan. Answer: In last two decades, the literature on educational leadership has focused on analysis of the best practices of school leadership. Usually, school leadership can be associated with the principal or head of school. All main decisions are presumably performed by the head teachers. The head teachers are not only associated with authority and decision making but also with planning budget and organizing school life. Traditional notions of leadership, focused on the role of the head teacher or principal have been evolved, and there has been shift from habitual form of school leadership to another form of teacher leadership. There are many other forms of school leadership such as transformational leadership,distributed leadership, transactional leadership, transformational leadership, managerial leadership and instructional leadership. Teacher leadership can be considered as an approach of distributed leadership. Teacher leadership implies empowering teachers to expand their influence beyond the classroom and certainly outside the school. Teacher leadership stimulates emergence of excellent teachers which leads to positive changes at schools.As York and Barne (2004) stated the teacher leadership can be seen as one of the ways of achieving educational improvement. Teacher leadership challenges the hierarchical organizational structure within educational organizations and leads to beneficial effects for teachers and students (Katzenmeyer Moller, 2011 ). Although there is lack of research on teacher leadership it has been widely discussed and investigated in the past two decades. Teacher leadership considered as a milestone in developing and maintaining of successful educational establishments. There is more responsibility on schools to equip the students with good quality skills. Teacher leadership implies that the teachers can make decisions and contribute to the schools life. As Aliakbari and Sadeghi (2014) cited Spillane et al. (2004) the heroic model of school leadership moved towards distributed leadership and allows to share responsibility among the teachers.The more emphasis is more on what can be done to improve educational process rather than on who is leading. This implies that there has been shift from individual leadership of head teachers towards distributed leadership in order to share responsibility among teachers. Moreover ,distributed leadership develops leadership skills and improves organizational environment (ibid).This concurs with Barth (2001) who stated that head teachers should be more focused on hero making rather than being heroes themselves. Nevertheless, the head teachers need to create an environment for supporting teacher leadership and inspire the teachers to endow to school effectiveness. Teacher leadership can be seen not only as sharing leadership with senior managers but also as an opportunity to accomplish their initial goals to provide good quality education.As Frost (2008) states teacher leaders are tend to influence surrounding environment. Lieberman, Saxl and Miles (2007) claim that head teachers need to provide effective teacher support in order to bring changes. Thus, it can be clearly seen that teacher leadership best succeeds if a schools leadership establishes and cultivates an environment for it. This paper aims to understand a variety of definitions of teacher leadership by reviewing the literature on the topic, and to comprehend the benefits of teacher leadership at schools. In particular I intend to assume how teacher leadership manifest at schools and how it can link to improving student outcomes. The assignment then liaises these ideas to the context of Kazakhstan and inquires the challenges of developing teacher leadership in a system that remains highly centralized. The paper starts with defining the term teacher leadership and also collates the notion of teacher leadership with that of distributed leadership. The assignment discusses the advantages of teacher leadership, and especially the ways in which teacher leadership can improve the student outcomes. However, it is can be problematic due to lack of literature from Kazakhstani experience. Though this assignment sets out some of the barriers to developing teacher leadership, and then relates these to the experience in Kazakhstan. Definition of Teacher Leadership Although teacher leadership has become popular last two decades and can be considered as a relatively recent phenomenon ,it can be defined in different ways.Some educational researchers relate teacher leadership to its influence to school improvement (Katzenmeyer Moller,2001; York-Barr Duke, 2004). Others define teacher leadership as an approach of distributed leadership (Grant,2006).While Barth (2001) describes teacher leadership as an indirect way of improving student performance, others indicate the importance of school leadership.As Katzenmeyer and Moller (2002) stated the teachers have potentiality to utilize new type of school leadership which can contribute to school improvement. A study of teacher leadership starts with the challenge of the contending definitions of teacher leadership. The manifestations have collateral qualities as well as some crucial differences among them. It can be seen that the term teacher leadership implies sharing responsibility with head teachers. One might argue that teachers are initially leaders in their classrooms, but, perhaps surprisingly, there is not a general unanimity on it. Moreover, it can be argued that teacher leadership can be represented by teacher mentors or heads of departments. So this can be questioned by asking: Is it another form of distributed leadership? As Harris (2008 ) stated distributed leadership is generally perceived as a form of leadership that is distributed among people in an organization. Teacher leadership seems to be perceived as just a form of distributed leadership. According to Muijs and Harris (2003) teacher leadership can be associated with agency and authorization as well.This resonates with theory of distributed leadership.Thus it demonstrates that teacher leadership interpretation can be varied by educational researchers. As Crowther et al. states teacher leadership can contribute positively to schools life and enhances the community life.Similarly, York-Barr and Duke (2004) cited by Lai and Chung (2014) suggested that teacher leadership as about influencing on peers,students and bringing positive changes in teaching and learning. Contrary, Gronn (2008) referred to teacher leadership as a supplement to distributed leadership arguing that this type of hybrid leadership can not be practical. Although teacher leadership has different manifestations it can be defined as a chance for teachers to practice this type of school leadership at educational organizations and to grow from there. This paper now moves to investigate how teacher leadership develops at school organizations Teacher leadership can be manifested either in formal or informal structure. For instance, teacher leaders can function as principal or head of department; union representative or mentor teachers. Furthermore, an experienced teacher can share her/his best practices with colleagues and support novice teachers For example ,in my school teacher leadership was manifested at all levels. The head teacher and head departments shared responsibilities with grade level chairs and mentors .Although, one might argue that it was just sharing or delegating responsibility in order to lessen senior managers work. The most challenging teacher leadership can be for those who holds middle manager position and have small level of power but too much work. In order to maintain the leadership skills for middle managers the head teachers need to support them by giving an opportunity to expand their responsibility. With this kind of support teacher leaders can define themselves as valuable leaders and foster school improvement. This section will scrutinize the leadership practices within distributed leadership and teacher leadership. Furthermore will explore how former can be linked to latter, and what are the similarities and differences in them. As Grant (2006) stated teacher leadership coincides with the principle of distributed leadership. The concept of distributed leadership lies in sustaining and developing school improvement, similarly the teacher leadership aims to improve students learning .Harris (2003) argues that teacher leadership can be seen as an agency which is distributed within educational establishments. It was considered that distributed leadership implies teachers working in teams and taking responsibilities within the organizations. Distributed leadership can be seen as complementing the idea of teacher leadership by promoting teacher leaders not only to engage with each other but also to participate in decision making. Moreover, the concept of teacher leaders working together would b e beneficial in an era of educational reforms and changes. Particularly, in Kazakhstan the idea of teacher leadership and distributed leadership would be essential in order to implement new curriculum content and methodologies ( ,2016).According to Hatcher (2005) distributed leadership implies participation of a wider group of staff and bringing people with different skills and experiences together in order to implement change. Distributed leadership emerged due to requirements of modern society and substituted leader-centred forms of leadership.Distributed leadership can be manifested as sharing power within schools and giving opportunity participate in solving educational issues (Harris, 2013).This resonates with teacher leadership concept where all the teachers are seen as leaders and power shared among them (Harris,2003,p 317).Teacher leadership and distributed leadership both imply that teachers are encouraged to collaborate and have the same vision. Moreover, school leadership is no longer leadership of individuals and distributed perspective has become widely utilized. The current debate about teacher leadership resonates with interesting viewpoint in Gronns paper (2000, p318) that distributing tasks implies mitigation in the distinctions between followers and leaders. What is more, leaders and followers can be recognized as co-workers in doing tasks.(ibid,324). According to Muijs, Chapman and Armstrong (2013,p 768), teacher leadership is subcategory of distributed leadership .They argue that teacher leadership is identified as a set of actions which are practised collaboratively and closely related to the concept of distributed leadership. Likewise, distributed leadership teacher leadership resonates with collaborative leadership . However, teacher leadership broader and narrower than distributed leadership and limited by in classroom leadership (ibid,2013) Teacher leadership has the same principles as distributed leadership :empowerment and agency(Muijs and Harris,2003,p439) What is more important ,distributing leadership can increase teachers self-esteem and work satisfaction, which will lead to higher levels of performance due to higher inspiration (Muijs and Harris,2003,p441).Similarly, teachers might feel that the experience of leading can increase their confidence in their own skills, and stimulated them to inspire, lead and encourage other teachers (ibid). According to Harris and Muijs (2003) the distributed model of teacher leadership might imply school improvement and change, due to culture where people have shared vision and work together. According to Harris and Townsend, in schools, where teachers are given the opportunity to lead, a great deal can be achieved for the benefit of schools and young people (2007, p175).Moreover, findings from study conducted by Day show that effective leaders might influence students learning indirectly by facilitating leadership capacity for teachers which combines principles of distributed and teacher leadership (2013, p9). Likewise, Mascall et al (2008) argue that distributed leadership does not influence student achievement directly. On the other hand, York Barr and Duke (2004) stated that there is less but still evidence that distributed leadership has a direct impact on student outcomes. According to Harris (2004), leadership is about supporting schools to sustain success. As Bush (2013, p543) states distributed leadership has become the normatively preferred leadership model in the 21st century .The incentives for promoting distributed leadership emerge from the understanding that principals and senior managers are often overburdened with loads of responsibility (ibid,2013). Distributed leadership is about sharing responsibility between formal and informal leaders .Power should be distributed among individuals and facilitated by leaders. (Spillane and Louis 2002).Distributed understanding of leadership can nurture the development of social trust, and can facilitate the development of professional communities (ibid, p96). Distributed leadership resonates with teacher leadership in making the best from human resources within the schools. Distributed leadership helps to create environment, where people have conditions to work and learn together (Harris,2005) ).Distributed leadership and teacher leadership are focused on people collaborating with each other, which will lead to their knowledge increase and improvements in practice. Consequently, both types of leadership can develop skills, expertise through team work. Another point was posited by Woods et al, (2004, p441) that distributed leadership highlights leadership as an emergent property of a group networking of interacting individuals .Similarly, teacher leadership can be fostered by being involved in discussions with other teacher leaders (Harris and Mujis , 2006).Interacting with other teachers ,discussing problems and sharing opinions how to improve these problems help to improve leadership skills.. As Woods et al (2004) state distributed leadership resonates with collegiality. Furthermore, distributed leadership can be perceived as an emergent property of people who work as a team. Distributed leadership means expansion of boundaries of leadership and sharing expertise across the teachers. Hence, If teachers expertise brought together it is possible to forge a dynamic which represents more than the sum of the individual contributors. Initiatives may be inaugurated by those with relevant skills in a particular context, but others will then, within a mutually trusting and supportive culture, adopt, adapt and improve them (ibid, 2004, p442). Distributed leadership was explored by scholars in relation to teachers, however there are other people who might be involved into distributed leadership. For example, Fuller (2013) applied concept of distributed leadership to the context of the leadership engagement of children, young people and parents in six school-based extended services. She posited that distributed leadership cannot be effective itself without engagement of professionals and common values such as commitment, shared policymaking and support. For these reasons which were mentioned above, then, teacher leadership and distributed leadership can be understood as an emergent phenomenon which linked to each other in three points. Firstly, incorporating the actions of people with focus on instructional change process. Secondly both types of leadership imply distribution of leadership by individuals and their agency can be facilitated by many leaders. Thirdly, teacher leadership and distributed leadership means independence, trust, involvement in decision making and sharing expertise (Harris,2003).Teacher leadership is about giving teachers power to bring about change, so next section explores power in terms of teacher leadership. Teacher leadership and formal roles of leadership Based on findings from the study conducted in US Angelle and DeHart (2011) posited that teachers can experience lack of leadership capacity if they do not hold any title. Moreover, there is a possibility that the head teacher can develop too nigh relationships with senior and middle managers only and might limit leadership of others. Also this might lead to isolation of head teacher and senior managers .Thus, the head teachers need to create an environment where every teachers should be able to lead and take part in decision making.Furthemore, the head teacher should take into account the qualities of teachers and share school leadership with those who can promote the spirit of shared leadership with the colleagues. Teacher leadership and informal roles of leadership. Teacher leadership can be also represented by working with parents of students ,working with students in the classroom ,organizing leisure time for students. Moreover there is another manifestation of teacher leadership when the teacher leaders collaborate with colleagues and spread their best practices. This kind of teacher leadership appears to develop naturally in professional learning communities, where the most experienced share ideas with others. From my personal experience of attending professional courses I can assume that there are always few energetic teachers who teach others and inspire them to work productively. Teacher leadership also aims to benefit students and improve learning by initiating mentoring, coaching, collaborating and discussing. One might argue that work in the classrooms is not part of leadership .Moreover, taking leadership roles might be considered as just a supplement to teaching (Barth,2001). However, the teacher leaders do help their school to improve by constantly sharing their expertise.According to Harris (2008) teachers can design professional learning communities and bring together individuals with sets of skills which will lead to sustainable improvement of educational organization. Thus, when teachers use their skills and bring changes in schools life they are informal teacher leaders. Most of them do not hold administrative position but practice leadership due to their vision and target for success. Although informal teacher leadership emerges and brings changes in schools culture there are challenges that may obstruct informal teacher leadership .Firstly, the lack of support and financial incentive; secondly, the colleagues might not accept informal teacher leaders and the latter might experience resentment ;finally, the informal teacher leaders can contest or confront formal teacher leaders. However, teacher leaders who take risks and make decision to become leaders need to be encouraged by head teacher (Angelle and DeHart,2011). In order to promote effective teacher leadership the head teacher needs to support and create appropriate school environment .The head teachers should create a new profession of well-educated teachers, prepared to assume new power and responsibilities in redesigning schools for the 21st century(Acker-Hocevar and Touchton,2011,p240). The most forehanded head teachers provide wherewithal for teacher leaders in order to help to accomplish what they want. According to Lee (1991) the head teachers need to support teacher leaders vision and develop their empowerment. However, some head teachers may guard their authority and have bias towards teacher leadership (Barth,2011).This concurs with Harris (2003) who stated that head teachers might be cautious about sharing power with other teacher and let them go out of head teachers control. Impact of Teacher Leadership on students learning Effective teacher leader ship makes a huge positive impact on students learning. There can be no conflicts or difference of opinion on that front. History bears the witness of the fact that teacher leadership is of significance in promoting the learning process of the children (Alexanfreu and Swaffeild 2012). Teacher leadership is not the only pre requirement for the efficient learning of the students. The other school related factors also have an impact on the student learning. The impact of teacher leadership is the most in schools when the learning requirements of the students are most critical. Teachers have different ways in which they aim to enhance the ways of teaching and learning. However, no matter how different they are in their approaches, their motivation behind their actions is all the same- to improve the process of student learning. Successful teacher leadership is critical to the students learning. The impact of teacher leadership on students learning is directly proportional to the challenges that they are faced with while delivering their responsibilities as a teacher. Studies have shown small but noteworthy effects of teacher leadership on the performance of students in schools (Bangs and Macbeth 2012). Kazakhstans literacy rate is 99.83 percent, which is the reflection of the brilliant teacher leadership models that are exercised in the educational institutions of Kazakhstan. Student learning depends upon a lot of factors other than the kind of leadership style the teachers adopt, which includes the size of the class, the instructional patterns of the teachers, student-grouping activities, and the extent to which the performance of the students are monitored by the teachers ( Barry and Hess 2013). The teachers participation in the decision making process of children and healthy relationship of the teacher with the students parents are critical determinants of a successful student learning. If the teachers perform their duties as an efficient leader, the performance gap between the students of Kazakhstan will decrease substantially and the problem of low student achievement will be solved. It will result in more motivated students who have enough confidence to achieve what they want to. Effective teacher leadership will make positive impact on their knowledge which will eventually lead to the student performing exceptionally well in academic as well as the non- academic spheres (Coggins and McGovern 2013). The cultures that are prevalent in a family are the primary factors that explain the differences in a students performance. An efficient teacher will try to understand the socio-cultural background of the students and will try to implement the teaching methods accordingly. Successful teacher leadership also includes creating good rapport with the parents and families of the students of Kazakhstan. If a teacher is considerate towards the guardians of the students, it will create an impression that the teacher is cooperative and is concerned about the over all well being of the students (Chang 2015). A teacher needs to study how schools and homes interconnect with each other and with the environment around them, and how their leadership skills can increase the capacity of such interconnections, which are important for student learning. The teacher should strive to build emotional bonds with the students so that they can ward off any kind of insecurities thus helping them become self-re liant citizens of today who can deal with any kind of adverse situations with ease and confidence. The primary goal of effective teacher leadership is to commit themselves to help the students so that they achieve their goals. An efficient teacher cares about the happiness of the students, their well being inside the school premises and beyond (Frost 2012). True teacher leadership is when the teacher invest themselves in the students and creates a positive image in the eyes of its students which not only creates a favorable atmosphere in the classroom but also fosters the relationship of the students with the teachers and makes them feel good about themselves. Teacher leadership embodies reaching out to the students and connecting with them that helps in building trust which is important for the students to feel free enough to participate in the learning process and pay heed to the encouragement and advice that is being offered by the teacher (Gonzales and Lmabert 2014). This also motivates them to ask any questions that they have relating to academics or any query that they think needs to be resolved. If a student thinks that a teacher is taking interest in him and is concerned about his happiness and prosperity, it will create a strong feeling of self assurance in him believing that the teacher has faith in the student (Gordon et al. 2014). This is specifically true in the case of younger students, who are away from their parents and scared with all the noise and commotion in the classroom, an effective teacher leadership ensures that the students feel secure and comforted in their presence. Effectual teacher leadership is when a teacher makes it apparent that he or she cares about the student. Rewarding the students for their achievements is an important component of teacher leadership. If a student performs well in academics or any extracurricular activities or even displays a good moral conduct, it is imperative for the teachers to recognize their good work and encourage them to continue with the good work in future. If there is no acknowledgement for their accomplishments, the students might get discouraged or lose their motivation for working hard in the times to come (Frost 2012). The educational reform systems of Kazakhstan embody that that the teacher leaders build personal rapport with the students. If the teacher is successful in creating an emotional bond with the students, he or she will no longer be just a professional teacher in the eyes of the student, but also a friend and a guide. Such a gesture will positively impact the students in more ways than one. The students will feel more confident about them, and will come straight to the teacher if they face any kind of issues (Chang 2015). A potent teacher leader can make a long lasting impression on the students if they carry out their responsibilities as a teacher in the best way possible. It is important to note that the responsibilities of a teacher leader are not limited to the decent performances of the students in the academic realm. The impact of teacher leadership on students goes much beyond the concrete walls of a classroom. It is also important to note that academic test scores are not absolute indicators of the quality of teacher leadership. According to Stanford (2012), value added ratings are better indicators for the improvement in students performance. The value added approach measures the short-term as well as the long term impact in a students performance that includes his success in academic as well as personal dimensions. According to a study conducted by the Ministry of education, Kazakhstan it is observed that Value added teachers are more successful in educating their students in all the possible realms. The survey which was conducted to explore the study revealed that the students in Kazakhstan who are taught by the VA teachers, are more likely to pursue higher education, earn decent salaries and save more for the post retirement phases of their lives. The impact of an efficient teacher leadership in a students learning is monumental. The study has also revealed that the effect of an efficient teacher leader in financial terms (Coggins and McGovern 2013). The study predicted that if a teacher works relentlessly towards the performance of the students, it would generate earnings for a lifetime, which is more than worth of $230000 for an average classroom in Kazakhstan. The variations in teacher effectiveness are wide ranged. This means that some teachers are exceptionally good at making their students learn while others are not as good. There can be cases when the progression of a students learning is fast in a badly organized school and a student studying in a well-known organized school can perform badly. This all is dependent on the quality of teaching and not the school in which the student is studying. Students who are under the guidance of well-trained teachers make progresses at the academic as well as the extracurricular levels irrespective of their past performances. The scenario van be opposite if the teacher is not experienced and does not know the intricacies of the learning processes. A good and effective teacher minimizes the offsets of hailing from a low socio-cultural and economic background (Huffman et al. 2014). If the children coming from such backgrounds are blessed with an understanding and considerate teacher, the gap in achievements between the affluent students who have all the facilities in the world and the deprived children can disappear. The effects of effective teacher leadership are long lasting on the students. They are bound to progress not only until the time he or she is under the guidance of the teacher but also when the student goes out of the academic institution in to the real world. Thus, the significance of good teacher leadership should not be underestimated. It plays a huge role in a students life helping him achieve all that he wants in life. Future of teacher leadership To ensure a stable future of teacher leadership, an effective groundwork to train the teachers is highly called for. To foster the principles of teacher leadership in professionals, knowledge about the role of mentors, their responsibilities, and the needs of the children should be prevalent in the minds of the teachers in Kazakhstan (Hairon et al. 2015). The pathways for leadership are to be considered to make sure that the students exceed in the long run. The difference between the training and skills required by the teachers and the administrators of the academic institutions need to be identified. Teacher leadership does not mean removing efficient teachers from their respective classroom and transferring them into the administrative departments. Different training programs are needed for the administrators and the teachers. It is often observed in the schools of Kazakhstan who come towards teacher leadership as the primary step to acquire the position of an administrator (Harris 2012). However, the real task is to produce excellent teachers who are exceptional at their jobs. Teacher leaders often face obstacles in their journey by the other professionals in the academic system. Unfortunately, the teachers often seem to be their own enemies when it comes to solving the problems related to teacher leadership. They either do not it or refuse to accept it. Unpredictable consequences and poor decisions result from a system, which is totally driven by the productions and costs. When the virtues of learning and teaching is viewed from the lens of business models, the future of the students are at stake. An academic institution in Kazakhstan cannot afford to ruin the future of its students by focusing only on the profits and loss facet of the educational system (Lee and Wheeler 2014). The goals should always revolve around the betterment of the students in all the facets of their life be it academic, professional or personal. If the teacher leaders have a clear idea about the impact of efficient teacher leadership on the students, the climate and culture of the school, they will not feel hesitant about any obstacles that might come in their way of success. If the teacher leaders are sure about all the decisions they make, there is no stopping them. They are bound to reach great heights of achievement and make a positive impact on the life of students. Collaborative leadership is the key to effective leadership imperative for creating the right environment in academic institutions. There are certain questions, which the teacher leaders need to ask themselves on introspection. These questions include whether teacher leadership can only take place in the right culture and climate, and if the development of teacher leaders is dependent on a progressive team of administrators and teachers. A teacher leader should be okay if there are people who criticize their way of working (Levenson 2014). The leader will need to work with the best team who are sure of their responsibilities and are concerned about nothing else but the students betterment as well as the reputation of the academic institution for which they are working. The style of the te achers leadership will probably look different in every school setting of Kazakhstan. The instructions given to the leaders should be different according to their virtues and capabilities like customized instructions are given to the students (Nudrat and Akhtar 2014).Redefining the outlines of school leadership will simplify the responsibilities to be carried out by the teacher leaders. If the definition of an ideal teacher leader is made clear to the faculty working in an academic institution, more and more people would want to assume the role of a teacher leader. This would provide a framework for an efficient teacher leadership model. In a world, which is changing dynamically, the education system also needs to be modified according to the needs and wants of the students. The teacher leaders should also adapt themselves to the changing environment so that they can better understand any issue related to the the student or the working of the educational institution. The professionalism standards need to be set for the teacher leader to exhibit the highest level of performance while carrying out his responsibilities. The lack of a proper framework is bound to hinder the growth of the students. thus the teacher leader needs to be aware of the standards that need to be defined if they want to reach their goals as efficient and inspirational leaders (Moller and Pankake 2013).To attain such a goal, training is the only solution which, if underestimated or ignores, will come in the way of the leaders to acquire what they want to in their professional field. The process by which a professional becomes a teacher leader is d ependent on many varied factors. Sometimes it is encouraged, sometimes it is organic, and sometimes it is led strategically. There are teacher leaders who can create effective classroom space for the teachers to inspire growth and potential. It is not possible for the teachers to wait for their instructions from the leaders every time and hence they should be taught to create separate and individual paths towards teacher leadership. The teachers should not be at the receiving end of policy and decisions that are formulated by the higher authorities. They should be encouraged to participate in the process with equal zeal and responsibilities. There are schools in Kazakhstan where the teachers feel helpless and ill equipped in situations where the polices are concerned. Involving them in the process will ensure better understanding of the issues and it will also help the teachers in respecting and following these policies (Snoek et al. 2014). Politics should be kept miles away from the educational system as it can eat up the whole framework like termites. The administration can be well kept by making the right decisions and at the right time. The administrators need to appreciate the teachers for their achievements, which will encourage them to keep up with their good work in the future. Appreciation and acknowledgement are like investments, which possibly cannot go wrong if done at appropriate occasions (Tubin 2015). Kazakhstans educational system needs to be reformed in certain facets where the requirements of effective teacher leadership are concerned, lest the framework is dynamic and effective which is reflected in the countrys literacy rate. Conclusion This research work has been conducted in the context of rapidly changing policy environment and the climate of reform. It has been found that teaching is recognized as a crucial profession in Kazakhstan for long years. However teachers taking part in leadership activity is not a common topic of discussion in the country. From various research works, it has been found that, discussion and interest about teaching leadership is increasing rapidly. These literatures help to analysis the best practices related with teacher leadership. In case of school leadership, it has been found that most of the critical decisions are taken by the principle of a school. It has been found that teacher leadership is a part of distributed leadership approach. It stimulates the emergence of excellent teachers. Their exceptional skills of leadership lead to positive change within an educational organization. The concept of teacher leadership became famous in last two decades. It has been found that teacher leadership has high influence on improvement of a school or any educational institution. In the teacher leadership style, teachers are given empowerment to take decisions without any interruption. It has been found that teacher leadership is closely related with distributed leadership approach. After reviewing various research works related with teacher leadership in Kazakhstan, it has been found that it is a big challenge to develop teacher leadership in Kazakhstans education system, as it is highly centralized. It has been found that teacher leadership can be applied at all levels of a school. The principle or head teacher share their roles and responsibilities with other seniors teachers, so that a daily operation of a school can be conducted in a right manner. However, there are various debates have been developed related with role and responsibility sharing. In a school, the management needs to develop an environment where every teacher can take part in the decision making process. The principle also needs to recognize the leadership capability of leaders in a school and share school leadership with those who can bring change within the organization. There are both formal and informal approaches in which teacher leadership can be conducted. In formal approach of teacher leadership, official post and responsibilities are given to teachers to lead change in the educational institution. On the other hand in informal approach of teacher leadership can be developed by working parents of the students. Organizing leisure time with students and working with students in the classroom. It has been found by the educational reform systems of Kazakhstan that the teachers need to build personal understanding with the students. If teachers are able to develop emotional bond with the students, they will no longer be just a professional teacher in the eyes of the student. They can act like advisors for those students. This approach will develop various positive outcomes for students. Effective leadership capability of teachers can motivate students and make them confident. Moreover, it has been found that Value added teacher leadership is more successful to educate their students in all the possible realms. 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