Dialogic peer coaching as teacher leadership for professional inquiry Jennifer Charteris School of Education, University of New England, Armidale, Australia, and Dianne Smardon School of Education, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand Abstract Purpose – Dialogic peer coaching as leadership can enable teachers to influence each other’s professional learning. The purpose of this paper is to shift the emphasis from the role associated with the designated title of leader to the purpose and relevance of teacher leadership in the context of dialogic peer coaching. Design/methodology/approach – The research was undertaken as a small qualitative case study embedded in a school-based, teacher professional development project. Nine groups of peer coaches from five unrelated schools engaged in a formal process of collaborative inquiry over two years. Interview data from 13 volunteer teacher participants were analysed using the constant comparison method and themes determined. Findings – The study revealed that there was growth in teacher leadership capabilities as they become dialogic peer coaches to each other. Practical implications – Through their collaborative peer coaching dialogue teachers have the transformative space to articulate their thinking. They can engage in dialogic feedback where they are positioned as experts in their own practice. Social implications – The teachers in this study are positioned within communities of practice as co-constructers of knowledge and co-learners. On the basis of the findings the authors suggest that this can support the development of high capacity leadership in schools. This stance contrasts with a technicist approach to teacher professional learning in which teachers are situated as absorbers or recipients of knowledge constructed elsewhere. Originality/value – The research reported in this paper addresses three key elements of leadership: individual development; collaboration or team development; and organisational development. It outlines a means by which teacher leadership can be strengthened to address these elements in schools. Keywords Leadership, Communities of practice, Teacher leadership, Schools, Collaboration, Dialogue, Peer coaching, Inquiry, Leading, Teacher professional learning Paper type Case study Introduction Collaborative peer coaching can support teachers to inquire into practice and build leadership capacity. While there are many adjectives that one could use to define forms of leadership (instructional, ethical, pedagogical, distributed, transformational), Robertson and Timperley (2011) promote an “of” and “for” approach where there is “leadership of and for learning” (p. 3). This paper reframes conventional adjectival notions of leadership to articulate an “as” and “for” dimension where there is dialogic peer coaching as teacher leadership for professional inquiry. The intention of this paper is to shift the emphasis from the role associated with the designated title of leader to the purpose and relevance of leadership in the context of dialogic peer coaching. The research reported investigates how participation in a collaborative The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/2046-6854.htm Received 20 March 2013 Revised 17 October 2013 9 January 2014 16 March 2014 9 April 2014 14 April 2014 15 April 2014 Accepted 15 April 2014 International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education Vol. 3 No. 2, 2014 pp. 108-124 r Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2046-6854 DOI 10.1108/IJMCE-03-2013-0022 108 IJMCE 3,2