Becoming an Educational Leader: A Phenomenological Exploration of Teachers’ Professional Identity and Experiences of Leadership Transition

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This study explores how practising teachers experience and make sense of their transition from classroom teaching towards educational leadership while pursuing postgraduate study in educational administration. The study focuses on teachers’ motivations, the personal and contextual circumstances surrounding their career transition, changes in professional identity, and the influence of postgraduate study on their perceptions of future professional possibilities. A qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach informed by van Manen was employed. Ten practising teachers enrolled in a master’s degree programme in educational administration were purposively selected. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews and supplemented by field notes and a reflexive journal. The interview data were analysed through holistic, selective, and detailed reading, followed by the identification of meaning units, thematic development, and interpretive synthesis. Four interrelated themes emerged: (1) seeking greater influence beyond the classroom, (2) negotiating personal aspirations and contextual expectations, (3) negotiating the emerging identity of an educational leader, and (4) postgraduate study as a space for reimagining the professional future. The findings indicate that participants did not experience the transition towards educational administration simply as career advancement or movement from one occupational position to another. Rather, it was experienced as an evolving process of expanding professional influence, negotiating personal and contextual circumstances, and developing new understandings of leadership. Importantly, participants did not perceive becoming educational leaders as requiring the abandonment of their teacher identities. Their classroom knowledge, professional experiences, and commitment to students and teachers remained important resources for their emerging leadership identities. Postgraduate study functioned as a transitional space in which participants could reflect on their professional experiences, reconsider assumptions about leadership, and imagine possible professional futures. The essence of the experience is captured in the phrase “moving beyond the classroom without leaving the teacher behind.” The study suggests that the transition towards educational leadership is best understood as a process of professional becoming involving both continuity and transformation of teacher identity.

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Related topics: Teacher Education and Leadership Studies · Teacher Professional Development and Motivation · Innovative Education and Learning Practices