The Ecological Architecture of Teacher Agency: A Systematic Review of Influencing Factors and Manifestations

Abstract

Teacher agency, the capacity of teachers to act purposefully and constructively within their professional environments, has emerged as a critical concept for understanding and fostering educational change. This article presents a systematic literature review that synthesizes current research on teacher agency, adopting an ecological perspective as its analytical framework. The purpose of this study is to map the multifaceted factors that influence the development and enactment of teacher agency and to explore its diverse manifestations across educational contexts. The methodology involved a thematic analysis of a curated dataset of 100 scholarly publications, focusing on identifying patterns related to conceptualizations of agency, influencing factors at individual, relational, and structural levels, and practical outcomes. Key findings reveal that teacher agency is not an individual trait but an emergent phenomenon situated within a complex interplay of personal capacities (such as identity and self-efficacy), relational dynamics (including trust and leadership), and structural conditions (shaped by policy, curriculum, and sociocultural contexts). The review highlights agency as a dynamic process, manifesting in pedagogical innovation, curriculum adaptation, and advocacy for social justice. The article concludes by discussing the theoretical implications of an ecological architecture for teacher agency and offers practical recommendations for educational leaders and policymakers aimed at cultivating the conditions necessary for teachers to become powerful agents of sustainable educational improvement.