Empowering Tomorrow's Educators: A Systematic Literature Review of Pre-Service Teacher Leadership

More than ever, teachers play a larger and more significant role in society. This change in perspective has recognised pre-service teachers enrolled in teacher preparation programmes as having the capacity to assume leadership roles. Despite the fact that many researchers have conducted research on pre-service teachers leadership, limited numbers of scholars have attempted to gather and conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) on the same topic. This article seeks to address the aforementioned issues by compiling a comprehensive literature review of earlier research on pre-service teacher leadership published in English-based journals from 2020 to 2023. Through a theoretical discussion, the study synthesis aimed to uncover emerging research agendas for future research and to generate fresh perspectives on pre-service teacher leadership. The PRISMA writing standard (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta Analysis) has been used as a guide for this SLR's composition. Two primary databases, Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus, were utilised to locate articles and relevant materials for this systematic literature review. A total of 22 articles were selected from the original 733 articles identified. Based on the content analysis done, this SLR has identified five main themes, which are "Teacher Development and Conceptions", "Curriculum Leadership and Teacher Education", "Women in Education and Leadership", "Leadership Styles and Teacher Impact", and "Mentoring and Professional Development". The findings underscore the evolving nature of teacher education, emphasizing the imperative for programs to prepare pre-service teachers to meet the ever-changing demands of contemporary classrooms and contribute meaningfully to national and societal goals. The implications of the study can guide pre-service teachers to prepare more comprehensive planning and implement leadership in future education field.