It is important to understand the ways teacher leaders undergo a transformation of their professional selves as they move from being a teacher to teacher leader. This qualitative study examined the ways teacher leaders made sense of their teacher leadership experiences, thus, exploring the changes in their beliefs, values, and perspectives as they expand their educational capacity in that role. This study used transformative learning theory as the framework to explore the phenomenon. Transformative learning theory is a theory of adult learning and is understood as a way of making meaning of our experiences that “transforms problematic frames of reference to make them more inclusive, discriminating, reflective, open, and emotionally able to change” (Mezirow, 2000). The empirical and practical literature on teacher leadership was synthesized to depict the emerging role in K-12 schools in the United States. Semi-structured interviews and focus group were used as the data collection tool. The constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was used to analyze the research data which led to the development of a coding system. Categories were created from the codes which became the themes and concepts used to aid in the understanding of how the participants made sense of their teacher leadership experiences. The participants encountered challenges that included identity ambiguity, a shift from student to adult learning, and confidence in the role of a teacher leader. However, the participants did not allow these challenges to defeat them, therefore, the participants used their sense of agency to grow as educators by building their content and leadership capacity. The transformative learning experiences the participants underwent as teacher leaders helped to shape who they are today as educators. The study concludes with limitations, implementations, and recommendations for future teacher leadership research.
","abstract_html":"<p>It is important to understand the ways teacher leaders undergo a transformation of their professional selves as they move from being a teacher to teacher leader. This qualitative study examined the ways teacher leaders made sense of their teacher leadership experiences, thus, exploring the changes in their beliefs, values, and perspectives as they expand their educational capacity in that role. This study used transformative learning theory as the framework to explore the phenomenon. Transformative learning theory is a theory of adult learning and is understood as a way of making meaning of our experiences that “transforms problematic frames of reference to make them more inclusive, discriminating, reflective, open, and emotionally able to change” (Mezirow, 2000). The empirical and practical literature on teacher leadership was synthesized to depict the emerging role in K-12 schools in the United States. Semi-structured interviews and focus group were used as the data collection tool. The constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was used to analyze the research data which led to the development of a coding system. Categories were created from the codes which became the themes and concepts used to aid in the understanding of how the participants made sense of their teacher leadership experiences. The participants encountered challenges that included identity ambiguity, a shift from student to adult learning, and confidence in the role of a teacher leader. However, the participants did not allow these challenges to defeat them, therefore, the participants used their sense of agency to grow as educators by building their content and leadership capacity. The transformative learning experiences the participants underwent as teacher leaders helped to shape who they are today as educators. The study concludes with limitations, implementations, and recommendations for future teacher leadership research.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Humphrey, Karen Marie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Teaching and Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["George Theoharis"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-05-10T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-05-10T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:55:57Z","subjects":["Adult Learning","Identity","Sense of Agency","Teacher Leadership","Transformative Learning","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1154","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["George Theoharis"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Humphrey, Karen Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Teaching and Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Adult Learning","Identity","Sense of Agency","Teacher Leadership","Transformative Learning","Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1154"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["It is important to understand the ways teacher leaders undergo a transformation of their professional selves as they move from being a teacher to teacher leader. This qualitative study examined the ways teacher leaders made sense of their teacher leadership experiences, thus, exploring the changes in their beliefs, values, and perspectives as they expand their educational capacity in that role. This study used transformative learning theory as the framework to explore the phenomenon. Transformative learning theory is a theory of adult learning and is understood as a way of making meaning of our experiences that “transforms problematic frames of reference to make them more inclusive, discriminating, reflective, open, and emotionally able to change” (Mezirow, 2000). The empirical and practical literature on teacher leadership was synthesized to depict the emerging role in K-12 schools in the United States. Semi-structured interviews and focus group were used as the data collection tool. The constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was used to analyze the research data which led to the development of a coding system. Categories were created from the codes which became the themes and concepts used to aid in the understanding of how the participants made sense of their teacher leadership experiences. The participants encountered challenges that included identity ambiguity, a shift from student to adult learning, and confidence in the role of a teacher leader. However, the participants did not allow these challenges to defeat them, therefore, the participants used their sense of agency to grow as educators by building their content and leadership capacity. The transformative learning experiences the participants underwent as teacher leaders helped to shape who they are today as educators. The study concludes with limitations, implementations, and recommendations for future teacher leadership research.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Challenging Our Sense of Ourselves: Teacher Leaders' Transformative Learning Experiences"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["George Theoharis"],"dc:creator":["Humphrey, Karen Marie"],"dc:description.abstract":["It is important to understand the ways teacher leaders undergo a transformation of their professional selves as they move from being a teacher to teacher leader. This qualitative study examined the ways teacher leaders made sense of their teacher leadership experiences, thus, exploring the changes in their beliefs, values, and perspectives as they expand their educational capacity in that role. This study used transformative learning theory as the framework to explore the phenomenon. Transformative learning theory is a theory of adult learning and is understood as a way of making meaning of our experiences that “transforms problematic frames of reference to make them more inclusive, discriminating, reflective, open, and emotionally able to change” (Mezirow, 2000). The empirical and practical literature on teacher leadership was synthesized to depict the emerging role in K-12 schools in the United States. Semi-structured interviews and focus group were used as the data collection tool. The constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was used to analyze the research data which led to the development of a coding system. Categories were created from the codes which became the themes and concepts used to aid in the understanding of how the participants made sense of their teacher leadership experiences. The participants encountered challenges that included identity ambiguity, a shift from student to adult learning, and confidence in the role of a teacher leader. However, the participants did not allow these challenges to defeat them, therefore, the participants used their sense of agency to grow as educators by building their content and leadership capacity. The transformative learning experiences the participants underwent as teacher leaders helped to shape who they are today as educators. The study concludes with limitations, implementations, and recommendations for future teacher leadership research.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1154"],"dc:subject":["Adult Learning","Identity","Sense of Agency","Teacher Leadership","Transformative Learning","Education"],"dc:title":["Challenging Our Sense of Ourselves: Teacher Leaders' Transformative Learning Experiences"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Teaching and Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:55:57Z"}