The hidden players: Exploring students’ role in advancing teacher leadership

This study explores the underexamined role of students in shaping the enactment and sustainability of teacher leadership (TL) in K-12 schools. While research has traditionally emphasized the roles of principals, middle leaders, and peers, students—the central stakeholders in education—have been largely overlooked. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 15 teachers across six Arab countries, the study identified five themes through thematic analysis: engagement and participation, feedback and influence, collaboration and culture, authority and recognition, and emotional and relational dynamics. Findings reveal that students can both validate and challenge TL, with their behaviors functioning as critical feedback mechanisms that compel teachers to adapt, refine, and sustain leadership practices. By positioning students as “hidden players” in leadership ecologies, this research contributes a new dimension to TL scholarship and calls for more inclusive frameworks that recognize students as active co-constructors of educational change.