The research reported in this paper uses teacher voice to advance the proposition that significant others in teachers' lives have a critical role in the development of teacher expertise. In the Pathways to Expertise project, funded by Charles Darwin University and undertaken with the Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training, 14 expert teachers' accounts of their careers were investigated. Grounded theory analysis of this interview data, obtained in 2002, suggests that three factors are important and related: the strength of the teachers' relationships with significant others, the achievement of systemic reform agendas and the development of expertise. Relationships with significant others appear to achieve three outcomes, by (1) profoundly influencing the directionality of each teacher's career path, (2) scaffolding the timely development of leadership skills, and (3) confirming the systemic value placed on education reforms enacted by teachers.
