Enhancing Teacher Educators’ Leadership Through Distributed Pedagogical Practice in Kenyan Preservice Education

Existing educational leadership research consistently emphasizes the importance of empowering and supporting classroom teachers to develop essential teaching experiences and leadership skills, enabling them to become autonomous curriculum developers and thinkers. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and understanding of distributed pedagogical leadership among Kenyan preservice professional actors in their respective contexts. It also examined the significance and impact of this practice on enhancing and strengthening the teaching and leadership abilities of teacher educators, thereby empowering them as effective pedagogical leaders in the classroom. The study employed a mixed methods design with a convergent parallel approach, using purposive sampling to select 83 participants, including administrative leaders, formal teacher leaders, and teacher educators from five public and private preservice teacher training colleges. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions for qualitative insights, and an online survey for quantitative data. Results show that principals and formal teacher leaders play a key role in empowering teacher educators by distributing pedagogical leadership responsibilities among all professional actors. However, teacher educators felt that the distribution of tasks and responsibilities was uneven, which hindered effective implementation. This study also highlights how employer policies, through principals, influence the distribution of pedagogical leadership responsibilities.