Abstract
The aim of this study is to identify leaders who play an essential role in lesson study. Therefore, the author conducted
a case study of a Japanese public elementary school according to the context and organizational structure of the school in order to analyze relations between teachers. Specifically, the author conducted two research studies that made use of questionnaires and interviews for data collection. The questionnaires were asking the teachers who would they ask about the lesson study. The interviews were conducted for teachers in the leadership team and subject group leaders. From the questionnaires, the author identified leaders who play an essential role in the network by analyzing from two viewpoints: the number of connection and the strength of it. From the interviews, the author analyzed the differences in contents of consultation by the actors. As the result, the author was able to identify subject group leaders and teachers who have teacher communities outside the school as leaders bringing subject expertise from outside and circulate it inside the school. The author was also able to identify teachers in the leadership team and teachers who have been in the school for a long time as leaders who play roles in supporting the collaborative professional development in lesson study.
