Teacher leadership in AI-integrated K-12 classrooms: agency, identity, and authority
Article / Journal
Author(s) / editor(s):
Norma Ghamrawi
,
Tarek Shal and Najah A.R. Ghamrawi
Year: 2026
Language(s): English
Abstract:
This study examines how teacher leaders enact leadership in AI-integrated classrooms, highlighting posthuman entanglements that reshape their agency, identity, and authority. Using a multi-country qualitative interview study with teacher leaders from several Arab states and thematic analysis, five interrelated themes emerged: recalibrated leadership practices, reconfigured professional identity, distributed agency, ethical ambivalence toward AI, and posthuman pedagogical imaginaries. Findings show leadership is increasingly co-constituted through human–machine interactions, requiring competencies in algorithmic reasoning, ethical discernment, and hybrid pedagogy. Rather than eroding teacher authority, AI integration redefines it, positioning teacher leaders as adaptive actors negotiating boundaries between autonomy and automation. The study offers conceptual insights and practical implications for preparing teachers to lead responsibly and innovatively in sociotechnical learning environments.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2026.2637955
Post created by: Virginia Signorini