This paper presents a study of a secondary school in Queensland, Australia, involved in an innovative change process called IDEAS (Innovative Design for Enhancing Achievement in Schools). This process of change centres on the action of teachers in classrooms rather than change in organizational structures. Our main ndings illustrate how a group of teachers created a professional community through their participation in the process. We found that shared understanding developed through professional learning can impact on action in the classroom. However, the sustainability of this action within the organization will depend on the established professional community's ability to create a broader 'school-wide' understanding of these new relationships. It will also require developing a new image of teacher and student and their workplace. Through their development of this image, the teachers are in the process of creating a school for students of the twenty-rst century, in line with their vision.

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________________________________________________________________________________ AbstractThe concept of parallel leadership that is introduced in this article derives from a five-year research

This research paper is about the role of the principal in enabling teacher leadership for pedagogical innovations and school improvement studied in two Innovative Designs for Enhancing Achievements in Schools (IDEAS) schools in Singapore and Australia over a 3-year period from 2005 to 2007. The research reported is based on the developing relationship between principals and teacher leaders as they collaboratively engage in a process of whole school improvement. Both case study schools used the IDEAS school improvement program which originates from the Leadership Research Institute, University of Southern Queensland. The cases trace the facilitation of the IDEAS process in each school and highlights the centrality of teacher leadership in bringing about change in school-wide pedagogy and a process of school re-culturing. It underlines the fact that principals need to support the enabling of leadership among teachers by giving them the space, time and responsibility to make decisions about curriculum work and ensuring that these are aligned with new organizational structures and processes. The paper discusses how the schools were different and yet similar in many ways between the two countries, Singapore and Australia, with regard to the nature of the enabling processes for organizational revitalization and school capacity building. It draws out some implications for school leadership and school improvement.