Revisiting our leadership identity each time before we walk into a classroom can give us an opportunity to re-examine what leadership tenets we demonstrate in the classroom and to what extent our leadership practices foster or limit our students' growth. This book attempts to shed light on the impact of language teachers' leadership identity on their pedagogical and class management choices. It proposes a new pedagogical framework, Leaderful Classroom Practices which emerge through social, relational, and dynamic interactions between the teacher and students. Establishing an open, democratic, and participatory learning environment for all learners is a major leadership responsibility of teachers, and this book intends to demonstrate how to accomplish this mission both in theory and practice.
Excerpt from the author's preface (slightly modified): "One of the objectives of this book is to question whether my perceptions concerning language education align with the notion of providing students with open, democratic, and participatory educational environments. Furthermore, the book also intends to delve deeper into the pedagogical implications of leadership based on power and authority in the language classroom. Leadership is no longer about information sharing and decision-making. It is about listening intently and being open to learning from others, even when those others are meant to be your students. Given that language learning is a collaborative endeavor, where two or more people need to interact with one another so that some learning can happen, everyone needs to become an initiator. This notion aligns with the leadership identity I present in this book. Collaborative leadership is based on the premise of sharing leadership with others. It is fostered through the humanistic values of liberty, equity, and justice. Promoting these values to establish an open, democratic, and participatory learning environment for all learners is a major leadership responsibility of teachers. This book demonstrates how to accomplish that mission both in theory and practice."
