From science teacher to teacher leader: Leadership development as meaning marking in a community of practice

The process through which three science teachers became active, effective teacher leaders in their schools, their profession, and their communities was investigated. A model of leadership development, proposed by Palus and Drath (Evolving leaders: A model for promoting leadership development in programs, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, NC, 1995), was used as a framework for analyzing and understanding the experiences and forces that led these teachers to become leaders. Development of the teacher leaders was prompted by their involvement in SCI-LINK, a program that began as a way to link environmental scientists and science teachers, and grew over a period of 6 years to become a constellation of activities and a learning community of teachers, scientists, and science educators. Four elements of SCI-LINK that promoted and supported leadership development are identified. Implications for leadership development in science education and other subject areas are discussed.