As a result of the changing educational expectations and regulatory environment, there is a need for elementary school teachers to consider carefully curriculum development. The purpose of this research is to identify key transformational leadership strategies for curriculum development in elementary schools. Other than the requirements of credentials, teacher's deal with state- required policies and standardized testing. Study methods included interviews of retired elementary school teachers in California to discover transformational leadership strategies implemented in developing curriculum. A qualitative approach was selected to identify strategies implemented within the school setting and used within daily curriculum (Creswell, 2003). Validity was established through an expert panel and the data analysis included interrater reliability. This study resulted in 6 common strategies (a) attending to students' needs, (b) safe and comfortable, (c) listen, (d) showing you care, (e) group work, and (f) connection. These key transformational leadership strategies are relative for curriculum development in elementary schools through the theoretical framework of this research study: idealized influence, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation. The findings of this study provide information to educational scholars who study curriculum development. The results of this study also assist elementary school teachers and elementary school administrators when creating curriculum. This study was conducted in one state, thus further research with teachers in other states may add to the findings in this study. Additionally, a quantitative approach utilizing surveys comparing teachers from public schools and private schools may yield additional data. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]