Cultivating Transformative Leadership in P-12 Schools and Classrooms through Critical Teacher Professional Development

A P-12 classroom teacher who chooses to be a transformative leader insists on seeking answers to difficult questions in collaboration with peer educators, administrators, parents, and most importantly, with students regardless of grade level or discipline. It is possible to become such a teacher even years after entering the classroom, and professional development can be the catalyst for this transformation. However, it is through conscious practice with professional peers that teachers can transform themselves into leaders within and outside their classrooms. This paper identifies some of the instructional approaches used in a critical teacher professional development program to cultivate transformative leadership in classroom teachers as they develop critical inquiry using a multicultural lens, promote collaborative inquiry, and foster habits of creativity and imagination. We offer evidence from teachers’ work that these instructional approaches positively impact their ability to act as transformative leaders in their classrooms and schools.