Identity, Agency, and the Fragility of Teacher Leadership Trajectories

While dominant narratives portray teacher leadership as inherently transformative, this study interrogates the lived trajectories of five teacher leaders transitioning from informal to formal leadership roles in school setting. Using a narrative inquiry methodology and framed by the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI), the research explores shifts in identity, agency, and relational dynamics. Findings reveal that formalization often constrains rather than enhances leadership, leading to diminished influence and disengagement. Hierarchical cultures and bureaucratic demands reduce autonomy, reframing leadership as compliance-driven management. Peer relationships are strained by shifting power dynamics, while administrative overload sidelines pedagogical practice, distancing leaders from their professional roots. The study challenges celebratory accounts of teacher leadership by exposing its fragile, context-dependent nature and the sociocultural frictions of institutionalization. It calls for reimagined pathways that nurture sustained agency and preserve the pedagogical core of teacher leadership within complex educational systems.