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Teacher leadership is a complex, multifaceted construct, the unifying feature of which is educational improvement via active involvement. This may operate on various levels, ranging from management of schools and the facilitation of a professional learning culture to improving classroom teaching and learning in order to boost students' academic achievement (Tsai, 2013; York-Barr & Duke, 2004). As such, Ahmed and Qazi (2011) concluded that effective teacher leadership promotes not only students' motivation to learn, but also the productivity and development of educational institutions.
Numerous researchers have found that teacher leadership styles have considerable effects on students' performance in school (Beauchamp et al., 2014; Seritanondh, 2013) and on teacher and administrator effectiveness (Xu & Patmor, 2012). Kilinç (2014) stated that teacher leaders facilitate learning and teaching for themselves and others, build effective communication among colleagues, and make use of opportunities to foster positive change in school environments.
York-Barr and Duke (2004) categorized the various strands of the existing teacher leadership literature into the following four categories: (a) benefits of employee participation in teacher leadership; (b) teaching and learning expertise; (c) acknowledgement, opportunities, and rewards for accomplished teachers; and (d) benefits to students. On the basis of this framework, York-Barr and Duke (2004) argued that greater teacher empowerment was needed to optimize school operations, thus leading to greater ownership of and commitment to goals for...