The shift – from crafting educators to crafting future school leaders

This paper relates the journey of two faculty members who were initially involved in teacher education, but who had to re-invent themselves in order to help transform experienced teachers into aspiring school leaders. We realized on the very onset that transforming scholars into leaders advocated a paradigm shift in the way we teach. Through an action research two main innovative teaching strategies were designed namely seminar - based teaching and teachers enacting leaders in role-plays. Data were collected following concept of reflection-in-action. Observations during class, focus group discussions and feedback questionnaires were the main methods of data collection. Analysis of the data was done using Kouzes and Posner‘s (2002) five descriptors of leadership characteristics. Findings from the first cycle catalyzed changes to our practice and subsequent cycles confirm that individuals can be leaders in their own right when they are provided with the space and opportunities where theories become lived experiences and where they could develop their own approach to leadership.