Leading Beyond the Classroom

Abstract

While teachers advocate for the needs of children daily, research has shown that teachers do not often engage in advocacy beyond their classroom. This chapter presents the cases of three teacher leaders who advocate within multiple systems; each participant works in a different geographical and political system and within different communities within those systems. Using bioecological systems theory to analyze the advocacy journeys of these teacher leaders, this chapter focuses on the skills, knowledge, and dispositions that supported these teacher leaders' advocacy work in multiple systems. Along with a disposition that advocacy is integral to teaching, three key themes emerged that allowed participants to successfully engage in advocacy within multiple systems: strong advocacy role models, feelings of confidence and success, and social justice motivations.