Date of Award

1-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School

College for Education and Engaged Learning

Department/Program

Teacher Education and Teacher Development

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Monica Taylor

Committee Member

Emily Klein

Committee Member

Rachel Garver

Abstract

Much of a teacher’s work is unseen. It extends beyond classroom instruction and into collaborative, relational work that positions teachers as essential actors in educational change. Yet this work occurs within a neoliberal education system that intensifies accountability, erodes professional autonomy, and reinforces hierarchical, patriarchal models of authority. Although schools depend on teachers’ expertise, these structures constrain opportunities for collaborative professionalism and relational forms of leading and learning. This study pushed back on the neoliberal agenda and examined the phenomenon of teacher leadership. Using descriptive and interpretive phenomenology, I analyzed self-created social network maps and narrative data to understand how teacher leaders (TLs) leveraged their social networks to enact change within their schools and districts. I also explored how TLs engaged in a professional community positioned to support their work and development as TLs. Descriptive analysis of the social network maps revealed patterns of centrality, boundary spanning, and relational influence, often-unseen structures of teacher leadership. Interpretive analysis showed that TLs enacted leadership through four interconnected forms of social capital (relational, pedagogical, professional, and navigational) and leveraged these resources in collaborative and contextually responsive ways. Findings positioned teacher leadership as emergent, relational, and enacted within a third space of leadership. This study also offered methodological contributions by demonstrating the value of self-created social network maps in studying and fostering teacher leadership and suggested future research into self-created social network mapping, TL communities, and TL social capital that can disrupt hierarchical leadership structures and strengthen teacher agency.

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