Date of Award

2026

Degree Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Education, PhD

Program

School of Educational Studies

Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair

Emilie Reagan

Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member

Dina Maramba

Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member

Shamini Dias

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2026 Ariana Mungia

Subject Categories

Education

Abstract

Despite increasing emphasis on creativity as a core competency in K-12 education, limited research has examined how teachers understand their own creativity and how these perceptions shape their professional identities and instructional practices. Existing scholarship has largely focused on pedagogical strategies, curriculum design, and student outcomes, often overlooking the role of teachers’ beliefs, experiences, and self-perceptions. Addressing this gap, this study unpacks how K-12 teachers construct their creative identity and how this identity informs their approaches to teaching for creativity. Guided by a constructivist grounded theory methodology, this qualitative study explores the lived experiences on current K-12 teachers in Southern California. The participants vary across grade levels, subject areas, and years of experience. Participants were purposefully selected using a mixed sampling approach to ensure maximum variation. Sampling techniques used were convenience sampling, snowball sampling, and theoretical sampling. In total, 20 participants were recruited and participated in this study. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews examining teachers’ definitions of creativity, perceptions of their creative abilities, and classroom practice. Data analysis followed constant comparative methods, using initial, focused, and theoretical coding, supported by analytic memos to generate an emergent theoretical framework. Findings indicate that teacher creative identity is a dynamic, socially constructed process shaped by personal experiences, professional experiences, relational interactions, and institutional contexts. Four central themes emerged from the data: (a) Moving Beyond the Content; (b) Redefining Creativity Through Teaching; (c) Creativity as Professional Self-Care and; (d) Systemic Realities of Creativity. These themes reveal the multidimensional nature of teacher creative identity and serve as the empirical basis for the development of the Teacher Creative Identity (TCI) Framework. The TCI Framework frames creative identity as an interactional and developmental process situated within the dynamic interplay of personal beliefs, pedagogical goals, institutional expectations, and relational dynamics. The TCI framework offers a holistic lens for understanding how creative identity emerges, evolves, and is sustained through teaching practice. The study highlights the importance of supporting teacher creative identity development through teacher preparation, professional learning, and educational leadership practice that affirm teacher agency, promote reflective practice, and cultivate cultures in creative risk-taking. By centering teachers’ voices, this research contributes a nuanced understanding of creative identity in teaching and provides actionable implications for advancing creativity in K-12 education.

ISBN

9798247925385

Download

Included in

Education Commons

Share

COinS