Building Teacher Agency Through Narrative Pedagogy: Implications for Educator Well-Being and Sustainable Education

Abstract

Teacher attrition, particularly in early career stages, undermines sustainable education. Developing teachers’ sense of agency and well-being is therefore critical, especially for second-career teachers who bring valuable prior knowledge and professional experience. This study explored how narrative pedagogy combined with agency-focused instruction supports second-career students’ professional development. Using qualitative methodology, we analyzed reflective compositions written by 12 special education students in a year-long course. Three main themes emerged: First, narrative approaches enabled students to develop their personal and professional identities. Second, participants experienced the approach as creating relational safety, a psychologically secure environment supporting authentic sharing and collaborative learning. Third, participants envisioned implementing agency processes with their future students while acknowledging systemic challenges. These insights underscore the potential contribution of incorporating narrative and agency-based approaches into teacher education. Such approaches may strengthen resilience and well-being as students transition into practice, thereby supporting reduced attrition and advancement of sustainable education goals.

1. Introduction

The preparation of educators who can sustain long-term professional commitment and adapt to evolving educational challenges is central to achieving inclusive, equitable, quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all [1,2]. This imperative is embedded in Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) [2]. A key goal of educators in the current era is sustainable education, which aims to equip students with knowledge, skills, values, and the ability to make informed decisions and take action that may change society and impact human well-being [3]. Namely, education for sustainable development requires that students gain knowledge about key issues, such as climate change, poverty reduction, and sustainable consumption. This is in addition to experiencing participatory learning methods that empower and motivate them to take action for sustainable development [4]. To promote sustainable education, teachers should use innovative, learner-centered teaching and learning styles to empower students’ agency [4,5].

To achieve this goal, teachers’ education programs must practice what they teach [6], giving preservice teachers opportunities to experience empowering and motivating participatory learning methods that lead them to take independent action. Based on self-efficacy theory and research, preservice teachers who undergo such learning experiences will be likely to feel better prepared to implement such educational methods with their future students [7,8]. When teachers experience professional agency and find personal meaning in their work, they are better positioned to create learning environments that can promote student development.

In light of these educational challenges, many novice teachers experience diminished well-being as they feel unprepared for their roles and at risk of attrition [9]. Teacher attrition not only represents a loss of human capital but also undermines the sustainability of educational systems by disrupting student learning, school culture, and community relationships [10]. This sustainability challenge is particularly acute among early-career teachers, where attrition rates threaten both system stability and the well-being of students, colleagues, and the teachers themselves. Therefore, the development of teachers’ sense of agency is critical for sustainable education. This is particularly important for second-career students who bring valuable prior knowledge, skills, and professional experience to teacher education programs [11].

This study explored a pedagogical framework designed to support the personal and professional development of second-career students preparing for careers in education. To prepare preservice teachers for future challenges in the education field, the framework is based on the development of an educational leadership concept grounded in resilience and broad, optimistic thinking. The framework has two core principles: agency and narrative pedagogy, encompassing both individual and relational dimensions.

1.1. Agency as a Key Concept for Developing Sustainable, Optimistic Educational Leadership Among Second-Career Teachers

Agency is a multifaceted, interdisciplinary concept that is defined in different ways [12]. The subject-centered sociocultural approach defines agency as people’s ability to initiate action to create change in the society in which they live [12,13]. To encourage a sense of agency, individuals’ professional identity, knowledge, skills, experiences, and history are as important as the sociocultural context of their workplace [12]. Hence, in the context of preservice teacher education, the characteristics and resources of the future educator and of the education system must be considered.

Second-career teachers bring work experience, specific organizational cultures, knowledge, competences, and skills from their former careers, in addition to a sense of mission and a desire to generate change [14]. Accordingly, second-career preservice teachers usually have a natural tendency to develop a sense of agency. However, previous work experience in more organized, more rewarding, and more innovative systems may cause them to feel frustrated when encountering the complicated education system. As new teachers, they might find themselves restricted by power relations, work cultures, and a lack of resources [10,13]. Therefore, to increase sustainability and ensure their persistence in the system, they must be trained as proactive and enterprising educators who are aware of and able to integrate into the existing system, which has elements that strive to preserve the status quo [15]. One way to pursue this goal is by relying on a future-oriented pedagogy concept, which is based on a model for designing a desirable educational future in the face of a changing reality [16]. According to this concept, to achieve well-being, which is the goal of education, all partners in the system (administration, educators, and students) need to demonstrate agency and leadership and actively shape their teaching and learning goals [16,17].

1.2. Narrative Pedagogy as a Tool for Developing Teacher Identity Among Second-Career Preservice Teachers

The narrative perspective assumes that human beings have a universal predisposition for storytelling, that is, to impose a narrative interpretation on information and experience [18,19]. Stories form a way of knowing that is suitable for transferring experience-based practical knowledge into meaningful understanding. Therefore, narrative pedagogy is a useful approach in teacher education [18,20].

Narrative pedagogy develops from teachers’ and students’ experiences and from the shared dialogue between them [21]. In the educational process based on narrative pedagogy, the learner’s life story and experiences structure the learning and serve as a foundation for building knowledge in a personal and professional sense [21,22], contributing to the development of professional and personal identity [23]. The teacher guides the interpretive pedagogical process and allows the students to extract personal and professional meaning while connecting their experiences to pedagogical concepts and theories [21,24]. Since most second-career teachers choose the profession based on their values and are motivated by a sense of mission [25,26], the narrative approach that emphasizes the personal meaning given to the process seems most suitable for their training.

Teachers’ discourse about their teaching was found to be affected by educational policy and context [27]. Therefore, it is important to encourage narrative discourse during teacher education. Narrative discourse during the training process will enable future teachers to view their teaching methods critically and form a vision for their educational work.

The combination of the narrative approach, which encourages the development of an educational leadership identity grounded in an educational vision, and agency, which encourages educators actively to make the vision a reality, is intended to cultivate preservice teachers’ optimism regarding their ability to become significant educators. This is designed to develop their resilience and a sense of competence for coping with anticipated difficulties on entering the education system, which is complex and has many stakeholders [28]. It is hoped that these capabilities will help to retain them within the system. To develop resilience among second-career preservice teachers, we developed a course that employed several strategies found to be effective in building resilience, including accepting change as part of life, encouraging action in times of crisis, fostering positive self-reflection, and being part of a group or a community [29,30].

1.3. Research Gap and Study Rationale

Despite growing recognition of teacher agency and narrative approaches in teacher education [12,18], several gaps remain in the literature. First, although agency has been extensively studied in general teacher populations [12,13], limited research has examined how second-career teachers—who bring unique professional assets and mission-driven motivation—develop agency during preservice training [10,14]. Second, although narrative pedagogy is well-established as a reflective tool [18,21], few studies have investigated how it specifically fosters both individual and relational agency among future educators. Third, the connection between teacher education approaches and sustainable development goals [2], particularly regarding educator well-being as a component of educational system sustainability, remains underexplored.

This study addressed these gaps by examining how a deliberately integrated narrative-agency pedagogical approach supports second-career preservice teachers’ professional development in ways that may promote sustainable education. Unlike previous research that examined these constructs separately [12,18], the present study investigated their synergistic relationship and explicit connection to multiple dimensions of well-being essential for sustainable development. By focusing on second-career teachers enrolled in a course designed explicitly around narrative and agency principles, we provide empirical evidence of how teacher education can simultaneously develop preservice teachers’ sense of professional identity, collaborative capacity, and resilience—outcomes that align with SDG 4’s emphasis on quality education and can contribute to reducing early-career teacher attrition.

1.4. The Present Study

Building on the conceptual framework outlined above, this study examined how narrative pedagogy combined with agency-focused instruction can support the development of second-career preservice teachers in ways that can promote sustainable education. Specifically, we investigated how pedagogical approaches that integrate narrative and agency principles contribute to multiple dimensions of teacher development and well-being, including: (1) professional identity formation; (2) collaborative capacity and relational agency; and (3) resilience and commitment to educational practice.

Our research questions were as follows:

• How do second-career preservice teachers perceive and experience agency within a narrative-based teacher education course?
• In what ways does this pedagogical approach contribute to their personal and professional development?
• How do participants envision implementing these principles in their future teaching practice and what challenges do they anticipate?

These questions align with the Special Issue’s focus on sustainable development and human well-being by examining how teacher education can foster both individual teacher flourishing and systemic educational sustainability.

2. Materials and Method

2.1. The Study Context—“The Essence of Educational Act” Course

The “The Essence of Educational Act” course covers theoretical and practical aspects of educational practice. It is based on narrative pedagogy and directs preservice teachers to examine the new knowledge they have acquired in relation to their perceptions and values. In this way, students are enabled to express their assets and thus contribute to their peers in the group, as well as to make use of the group and the lecturer to develop their personal and professional identity. The course explores central themes in education, inter alia, the essence of a significant educator, challenges in the education system, the voices of the student and the parent, future-oriented pedagogy, pathways to meaningful teaching, and self-regulation in teaching and learning. The themes are selected from the world of educational practice and, to maintain relevance, are updated each year to reflect transformations and changes in the field.

The narrative pedagogy underlying the course holds that individuals approach the course’s themes through personal experiences, beliefs, culture, and values. This core principle is expressed through a process in which students share individual narratives with the group, analyze them, and, together, synthesize a new, more holistic narrative [21,31]. This is carried out through dynamic discussion groups of various sizes, demographics, and media (music, art, drama, etc.), exposing each student to narratives of the self, the other, and the group as a whole. The goal is to broaden students’ understanding by deepening their comprehension of different worldviews that they may encounter in their future roles, thereby turning them into more aware, resilient, and significant educators. For example, participants were asked to choose an object that represents their professional and personal development as educators during the first semester, attach a text explaining their choice, and bring the object and the text to class. During the class, the students presented the object and discussed their choices in small groups. The group members used narrative resonance, pointing out their classmates’ strengths and interpretations, thereby helping them broaden their narratives and become aware of their choices and interpretations. Afterwards, each participant personally created a representation of their self-development stations, incorporating artistic means. Underlying the course is the concept that when students engage with these themes and become aware of the way they believe, think, and act, a personal and group learning process will take place regarding the various meanings involved. Thus, development and expansion of the various perceptions and actions will occur in relation to these themes. Seeing the changing educational reality as an opportunity for growth, this learning approach invites learners to engage in independent and group learning processes that recognize each learner’s personal story and are aimed at continuing to form a positive personal and professional identity.

The processes that take place during the course constitute modeling for the learners’ continued educational work. They emphasize educators’ ability to expand their personal stories and to choose to act to create change, thereby fostering a story of resilience and of positive, empowering coping ability. To this end, during the course, students were given writing or other artistic creative expression tasks each week, presented from a perspective of resilience and agency, expressed in future teachers’ ability to influence reality. For example, when students were asked to address difficulties and challenges in the education system, they were also asked to consider ways to address them. This was intended to foster a sense of competence and the belief in their ability to act as educational leaders for their students.

2.2. Participants

Participants in this study were 12 special education second-career preservice teachers (11 women and one man) from diverse cultural backgrounds (Arab and Jewish, secular and religious) enrolled in their first year of a 2-year post-baccalaureate teacher certification program at a teacher education college in Israel. Ages ranged from 24 to 35 years (Mdn = 26), with the majority of participants (n = 9, 75%) aged 24 to 27 years. Prior to entering the program, all participants had completed 5 to 12 years in diverse professional fields, including business, technology, healthcare, and educational support roles (e.g., paraprofessional work). It is important to note that none of them had previously worked as certified teachers. They were recruited through a course announcement, with voluntary participation. All students enrolled in “The Essence of the Educational Act” course (N = 12) agreed to participate, representing a 100% participation rate.

2.3. Research Tools

Data were collected through end-of-year reflective compositions to capture participants’ experiences with the integrated narrative-agency pedagogical approach. At the conclusion of the academic year, participants completed comprehensive reflective opinion compositions. These compositions (of 2 to 3 pages, approximately 800 to 1200 words) addressed the concept of agency in teacher education. The structured writing prompt directed participants to: (a) reflect on their feelings, insights, and conclusions regarding the agency expected of them during the course; (b) examine how their experiences of agency in the course were similar to or different from their previous experiences as students; and (c) describe the extent to which and ways in which they envisioned implementing agency processes with their future students, including anticipated challenges. Participants submitted compositions digitally through the course learning management system within a 2-week period.

To provide contextual understanding, the instructor observed and documented course processes throughout the academic year, maintaining a detailed audit trail of course activities, student interactions, and pedagogical decisions. This documentation contextualized the evolving learning processes and supported the interpretation of participants’ reflective compositions.

2.4. Data Analysis

This design is consistent with established qualitative case study methodology [32,33], which emphasizes deep, contextualized understanding of complex phenomena within their natural settings. We used a constructionist qualitative approach, which views knowledge as socially constructed through language and interaction, and employed thematic analysis [34] to analyze participants’ written opinion compositions. First, we read and reread the students’ texts and identified initial ideas from the data. Initial open coding generated over 30 preliminary codes. Coding was conducted manually without specialized software, using color-coding and marginal annotations to track patterns across compositions. We used the instructor documentation to clarify the meaning of participants’ examples when necessary. (For example, to understand the meaning of a student’s reference to an artwork that she had created in one of the course assignments, we needed to know what the assignment was about.) Second, we organized the ideas into 12 meaningful categories. We analyzed the connections between the categories and classified them into different levels. Then, we reviewed the categories again, grouped them into three main themes, refined the thematic map, and defined them. The analysis process took place in four iterative rounds over one month.

Ensuring Rigor and Trustworthiness

To ensure trustworthiness, we implemented several validation strategies: (1) we maintained an audit trail documenting analytical decisions throughout the process; and (2) all researchers collaboratively analyzed the data, discussing codes, categories, and themes until consensus was reached. We practiced reflexivity by acknowledging that one researcher taught the course. This dual insider-outsider position created advantages (deep contextual understanding) and risks (potential confirmation bias). The power asymmetry between the instructor and students may have influenced participants to emphasize positive experiences and minimize criticisms, despite our efforts to collect data after grading was complete. Additionally, the instructor-researcher’s investment in the pedagogical approach of the course could potentially bias interpretation toward confirming the approach’s effectiveness. To address these risks, the researchers held ongoing discussions to ensure that interpretations reflected the data rather than preconceptions. We also actively attended to disconfirming evidence; participants’ critical perspectives on systemic challenges and limitations of the approach (see Section 3.3) were fully incorporated into the analysis rather than minimized. We maintained transparency by documenting analytical decisions and grounded our findings in participants’ own words through extensive direct quotations.

2.5. Ethical Issues

The study received approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee (Approval No. 213). Since one of the researchers led the course described above, we approached the participants only after the course had ended and the assignments had been submitted and graded. We requested informed consent and guaranteed the participants’ anonymity.

3. Findings

Educational processes based on agency and narrative are seen as complementary ways to embed sustainability values in the education system. The agency framework emphasizes the educator’s ability and responsibility to act (to change activities, to challenge conventions), while the narrative framework emphasizes the experience and meaning behind actions. These frameworks are interconnected: a meaningful story may inspire agency, and effective agency must undergo a reflective process.

The teaching processes examined in the study relied on a deliberate combination of a narrative approach and educational agency, aiming to promote resilience and sustainable education. Agency was conceptualized not only as practical involvement in the educational and social arena but also as a pedagogical process of developing critical awareness, professional–ethical responsibility, and the ability to act for change.

Thematic analysis revealed three main themes that illustrate how writing the opinion compositions served as a space, in the study, for the preservice teachers to process experiences of agency and construct a perception of sustainable education as a dynamic, committed, and transformative practice. The themes relate to the development of personal and professional identity, the contribution of group processes for learning, and the power of a sense of agency to create an educational vision.

3.1. A Pedagogy That Is Based on Agency and Narrative Enables the Development of the Personal and Professional Identity of Future Teachers

Agency-based training and a narrative approach enable students to explore their life stories and the points of intersection between them and social-value-professional issues and to understand how these values become professional anchors. This is a critical condition in sustainable education, which seeks to empower educators as agents of change rather than merely as program implementers. Many students referred to the significant contribution to their personal and professional development made by the course’s inquiry processes, which aimed to examine the values by which they operate. Asin (all names are pseudonyms), one of the students, described as follows:

At one stage of the course, we were asked to do a value-based activity that engaged us in the educational act, explored it in depth, and presented it in a creative way to the group. This was the first time I felt I was not just completing an assignment but really researching something that interested me, from an authentic connection. The process required me not only to collect information, but to process it, think critically about it, and express my own opinion. In this sense, I felt that I was using not only my head, but also my heart.

Natalie added another layer when she described how the course facilitated a significant connection between her inner world and values and her teaching: “I felt that I was creating a connection between my inner world and the world of teaching. It was an exciting experience. By listening to myself, to my imagination, to my values, I built learning.” The principle of self-led choice appears as important in the words of other students, who referred also to how inquiry processes developed their views about the teaching profession. Rachel wrote, “True learning occurs when there is a connection, a choice, and an opportunity to be truly part of the journey. And this is exactly what I want to pass on to my students,” and Ruba added, “Learning is not only about absorbing, but also expressing, asking, searching, and daring”.

Some students referred to reflecting on their life stories as promoting the development of their personal and professional identities. For example, Diana wrote as follows:

During one assignment, we were asked to reflect on our personal development. I chose to create a chart of flowers—each representing a stage in my growth as a student and as a person. Through this assignment, I connected with myself, to my maturation, and saw how I was transforming from an observing student into an active, proactive, sensitive, and aware teacher… The course allowed me to express myself fully. In the past, I was afraid to make a mistake or stand out, whereas here I felt safe to experiment, make mistakes, experiment again, and grow. For the first time, learning was not a means but an end in itself.

Reflecting on their life stories, prior knowledge, and past experiences enabled the second-career future teachers to acknowledge that they still had a way to go in their professional development. For example, Shirley wrote:

I chose to start studying special education teaching after 2 years of working at an organization serving people with special needs, and as a direct continuation of my 12 years of educational work with at-risk youth. I thought to myself that I would begin my studies as mature and knowledgeable, since I have been involved in education for so long, and would just go through the motions in the formal curriculum. Of course, as in other cases where I thought I knew better than everyone else, I was wrong.

The students’ writings indicate that inquiry processes based on a narrative approach, along with encouragement for self-reflection and action, contributed to the development of their personal and professional identities as people and educators who act in light of values and through critical thinking.

3.2. The Power of the Group—The Learning and Teaching Processes in the Course as a Safe Place for Everyone

One of the important principles of sustainable education is to allow opportunities for learning and expression for everyone. The narrative approach in the course and the encouragement of narrative resonance in the group created a safe space for all students to have their voices heard. This safe place fostered a sense of security and belonging, alongside continued personal and professional development. Shirley described it in the following way:

The course was structured to show practically how to build a group of learners when each learner is different and brings a unique inner voice and life experiences. How significant it is to let the inner voices come out and enrich the others around them.

Sarah described how group work, although not easy, was beneficial for her and expanded her thinking:

We discovered that it is possible to learn individually and in groups. Even if the groups were not always as we wanted which, on the one hand, can be less comfortable, on the other hand, it opened up a horizon to something different that we are not familiar with and were actually happy to get to know.

Group learning challenged students’ previous conventions regarding learning and teaching processes. Nur described how she coped with the challenge:

I felt captive to the teaching pattern that I had absorbed as a child and I acted without breaking the boundaries of thinking. In the past, the emphasis was on academic achievements (“head”) rather than on the emotional-social aspects or life skills. This course was a turning point: agency became a philosophy. The expectation of personal research and the formulation of my thoughts in a critical and creative way, along with group work that required collaboration and dialogue, was novel. Personal expression, which had been less dominant in the past, took on a central place here. Understanding that the teacher guides rather than just providing information changed my perspective on learning from transferring information to constructing knowledge.

Other students described how the group discussion and mutual listening created a sense of closeness between the learners and the inclusion of everyone. For example, Rania said:

The lecturer didn’t just talk; she really listened to us. There was a feeling that every voice in the class was important, and it made me realize how much listening can change the learning atmosphere—to open the heart, connect, and allow growth. I want to be the kind of teacher who doesn’t just convey content but creates a space that respects everyone’s voices.

Rania also highlighted the added value of the setting in creating a sense of belonging:

The setting, sitting in a circle, was meaningful. It created closeness, equality, and openness. I felt that this setting allowed us really to talk, listen to each other, and feel part of something in common. It wasn’t a classroom; it was a group of people learning with each other.

From the students’ compositions, we can learn that the narrative discourse in the groups and the clear expectation that students express an opinion and make their voices heard created a safe space that enabled continued professional development and served as a model for students, helping them adopt teaching methods they would like to use in their future classes. This aspect is related also to the next theme.

3.3. To Walk the Talk—What I Experienced I Want to Pass on—Teachers as Creators of Change Processes

When students write, analyze, and tell their stories while developing the ability to act, an active professional identity is created that is based on process leadership, relationship-based teaching, and collaborative work with students and communities. This aligns with UNESCO’s (2022) [3] definition of sustainable education as education that promotes change.

When students were asked to describe the extent to which agency would be part of their future teaching, they referred to the same principles presented above. For example, students emphasized the importance of choice and hearing their students’ voices: “I want to give my students the same feeling that I experienced, that they have a place, that they have a voice, and that they are partners in the learning process” (Diana); “The agency processes I went through here made it clear to me how important it is to allow students a space for choice, exploration, personal expression, and experimentation” (Natalie).

However, Natalie, like other students, noted the need to be sensitive to students’ needs in this model of teaching, while addressing their differences:

Not all students feel confident to express themselves. Some students need clear guidance, a sense of framework, or familiar solutions. In such situations, if the agency is not adaptive, it may actually create distance. That is why it is important for me to be attentive and know how to adapt each task to each student, while maintaining flexibility, breaking it down into stages, and providing emotional support.

Sarah’s words indicate the way in which she connects reflective observation and active action to her future teaching method:

A teacher not only teaches but also sets a path. What are our worldviews as educators? What do we believe in? How do we see the world? We are the example, the model. As soon as we act, so do the children who watch us. For example, if we share with our students what we have done, such as places we have volunteered at or people we have helped, this can create a personal example for them. We cannot expect our students to be proactive, influential, and collaborative if we are not like that ourselves.

Rania’s words are an example of the reflective observation of the experience in the course and its connection to the future teaching method:

Through the practical experience in the course—in fulfilling assignments, group discussions, and presentations to the class—I learned something important about myself: that I am capable of standing in front of people, speaking confidently, and adjusting my tone of voice as needed. No one sat down and taught me this directly. There was no formal demonstration. But from observing the lecturer, from the way she conducted a conversation, from the confident feeling she conveyed, I understood how I wanted to be a teacher. These are tools I developed while doing it, without anyone explaining it to me step by step. This came from the process itself.

Many students described the course as a model for developing an educational vision and creating change. For example, Nur expressed her determination to advance her educational vision despite the expected difficulties in implementing it in the existing education system:

The learning journey in the course shaped me into an educator who strives to cultivate “worthy graduates” through an active, evolving pedagogy. I experienced the power of agency in independent knowledge exploration, in multisensory creative expression, and in dealing with challenges that required “thinking outside the box.” I understood that the role of the teacher is no longer to be an exclusive transmitter of knowledge, but to serve as a scaffold that allows students to actively explore and develop, with an emphasis on developing social-emotional skills and providing space for their unique voices. Despite the challenges of perceptual and systemic change, I am determined to integrate the principles of agency into my educational work. My vision is to create a learning environment where students are active, curious, and responsible partners, ready to face the challenges of a changing world and equipped with the tools for significant personal and social growth.

Along with the desire to create change, the students emphasized the challenges that the system poses to such a change. The first challenge noted is the need to change perceptions of the teacher’s role. Nur described this as follows:

There is resistance to change and difficulty in changing the role of the traditional teacher. Years of passive education make it difficult to adopt innovative approaches that transfer the weight to the student. The course did encourage me to think, but this is a long process that requires long-term professional development and support for teachers, not simply changing the way they talk in the classroom.

The second challenge posed by the system stems from the assessment methods of the current education system. Adam described it in the following manner: “There is a difficulty in a system that measures success mainly by grades and tests, and a balance needs to be made between the demands of the system and active, meaningful pedagogy”.

The findings indicate that the students saw the principles of agency and the narrative approach as a foundation that would serve them in their future teaching. They noted their ability to have a voice and choose their own course of action, as well as their sense of belonging and group work, and described how these changed their way of understanding the essence of the educational act. At the same time, they looked with clarity at the challenges they might encounter. One challenge is the need to adapt their teaching to the different needs of their students. Another challenge is the features of the existing system, which are characterized largely by outdated assessment methods and the passivity of learners. Although the students understood that the existing system is in contrast with their educational vision, they expressed the competence and desire to fulfill it and create change and opportunity for their future students and themselves.

4. Summary, Discussion, and Conclusions

This study addressed three research questions examining second-career preservice teachers’ experiences with narrative-agency pedagogy. First, regarding how participants perceived and experienced agency within the course, findings revealed that narrative processes enabled them to construct meaning from educational situations while connecting their values and previous experiences to their developing teacher identity. Second, concerning the contribution of the pedagogical approach to personal and professional development, participants reported that the course created relational safety and collaborative learning environments that expanded their perspectives while modeling inclusive practice. Third, regarding envisioned implementation and anticipated challenges, participants expressed commitment to integrating agency-based approaches in their future practice while demonstrating realistic awareness of systemic constraints including assessment methods and traditional teaching paradigms.

Collectively, these findings demonstrate how narrative pedagogy combined with agency-focused instruction may contribute to sustainable education through multiple interconnected dimensions. Our findings suggest that this pedagogical approach may support teacher development in ways that address both individual well-being and systemic sustainability, specifically, by fostering professional identity, building collaborative capacity, and developing resilience. The action-oriented learning approach and the group work described by participants are key factors in education for sustainable development, which emphasize the need for action at both the individual and collective levels, and the importance of discussing different views and values [4,35]. The fact that participants expressed competence in their ability to act for change as future teachers may contribute to their resilience and in turn promote their well-being. These outcomes align with the Special Issue’s focus on exploring sustainable development through multiple dimensions of human well-being.

This paper presented the pedagogical approach in the “The Essence of Educational Act” course, which is based on two complementary principles: the use of narrative pedagogy and agency. The course is based on the assumption that the narrative approach, which allows preservice teachers to construct personal meaning for educational situations [18], is particularly suitable for second-career preservice teachers, since it facilitates a connection between the students’ previous backgrounds and the assets they bring to their new, developing professional identity [11,14]. Our findings support this assumption, as the integration of a narrative approach enabled second-career preservice teachers to articulate their professional and personal assets, broaden their perspectives, and develop their professional identities. Students demonstrated relational agency, recognizing collaboration with colleagues and shared professional communities as essential resources for sustaining their educational mission. This was done through personal and group research processes conducted within the context of the various themes, using teaching methods that reveal their personal background and strengths, including self-presentation, sharing past experiences, and discussing significant junctures in their lives with the group. Our analysis also revealed that the use of artistic means contributed to reflective ability and promoted transformative and creative processes, which were reported in the literature as necessary for the development of teachers’ professional identity [36,37].

Participants’ writing revealed that relying on both principles in the course promoted students’ identity development as proactive educators, preparing them for the challenges of the education system. Their writing suggests that they were not naive but were aware of the educational system’s limitations. These limitations are evident in the participants’ descriptions of accepted teaching and learning methods, characterized by learners’ relative passivity and by the fact that students’ achievements are usually assessed through tests. In addition, the second-career preservice teachers were aware that they may have been limited by their preconceptions about teaching and learning, shaped by their past narratives as learners, as had been found in previous research [10]. They appeared to be aware of their limitations and took a sober view of how they could assimilate the principles of agency and the narrative approach within the existing system. According to previous studies, the combination of the preservice teachers’ sober approach to recognizing systemic problems, along with the development of their educational identity as proactive educators and leaders of change, may contribute to developing their resilience as educators [16,17,28,29] and may help prevent their future attrition from the education system.

A significant insight from the study is the importance of narrative processes within the group. Our findings suggest that the course’s pedagogical approach created relational safety and a psychologically secure environment supporting authentic sharing and collaborative learning. In alignment with previous studies, the group became a safe place and a community. This safe environment allowed the students to practice mutual listening and to recognize its importance in creating a safe and inclusive place [38,39]. There, they could express themselves in a protected manner and encounter different opinions [40], expanding their knowledge and understanding, thus developing their personal and professional identity [41]. This can contribute to the promotion of sustainable education in which all learners are given the opportunity to express themselves, grow, and develop [2,3]. This aligns with a previous study [30], which found that preservice-teacher communities serve as a sustainable infrastructure that supports educational development, enabling teachers to build lasting professional competence and resilience.

However, it is noteworthy that the preservice teachers raised important points in this context, regarding the importance of paying attention to their future students’ individual needs. They acknowledged that their future classrooms might be diverse, and it is important to pay attention to students who have difficulty expressing themselves in public. This awareness further emphasizes the preservice teachers’ internalization of sustainable education principles, which call for inclusive, equitable, quality education [2].

The preservice teachers’ writing reflected their broadening of perspective and experience of agency and optimistic approach regarding the educational process. Hence, it can be assumed that this teaching method may help future teachers develop resilience and a sense of competence. Thus, they will be able to cope with difficulties that they are likely to encounter on entering the education system, including the gap between expectations and a sense of mission and reality [14,25]. These insights underscore the importance of incorporating narrative and agency-based pedagogical approaches into teacher education programs. Such approaches may strengthen resilience and sustain agency as students transition into practice, contributing to greater professional stability, reduced early-career attrition, and advancement of sustainable education goals aligned with SDG 4.

4.1. Theoretical Implications

Our findings extend existing theory on teacher agency [12,13] by demonstrating how narrative pedagogy can serve as a pedagogical mechanism for developing both individual and relational agency. The study shows that when preservice teachers engaged in narrative processes—telling, analyzing, and reflecting on their stories in groups—they developed the capacity for (1) connecting personal biography to professional identity; (2) recognizing interdependence with colleagues and communities; and (3) envisioning alternative futures while acknowledging present constraints. The narrative pedagogy enabled preservice teachers in this study to make their voices heard in group processes that support their right to choose their course of action, thereby promoting their sense of agency. This narrative-agency synergy represents a promising approach for teacher education programs that seek to promote sustainable development, in which participatory learning that empowers and motivates students to take action is a key element [4,5].

4.2. Implications for Sustainable Development and Well-Being

This study contributes to understanding sustainable education by highlighting the potential interconnection between teachers’ well-being and educational sustainability. The pedagogical approach examined here addresses multiple dimensions of well-being: psychological (through identity development and sense of agency), social (through community building and relational safety), and professional (through competence development and vision formation). These dimensions are not separate but mutually reinforcing: teacher well-being enables quality education, which in turn supports both student development and continued teacher flourishing. This reciprocal relationship exemplifies the holistic, systems-oriented perspective central to sustainable development.

By attending to these interconnected dimensions within preservice teacher education, programs can move beyond addressing sustainability as content to be taught. Instead, they can embed it as a lived experience within the training process itself, aligning with the call for transformative pedagogies in education for sustainable development [3,4].

4.3. Implications for Teacher Education

The current study is consistent with recent research findings that indicate the importance of teacher education that promotes the foundations of both agency and narrative pedagogy. Strengthening the sense of agency will allow future teachers to encourage their students to take meaningful action, helping students feel capable of making a difference [42]. In addition, by integrating narrative processes into training programs, pedagogy creates a space in which preservice teachers construct the identity of the educators they want to be. At the same time, they engage in their personal narratives, which they link to the values of justice and equality [43].

These findings suggest that narrative-agency pedagogy may support the development of reflective practitioners who aspire to contribute to educational change. The connection between the three factors—teacher education, agency, and narratives—and sustainability values requires the development of teacher education programs that view the teacher in the role of a morally responsible and active citizen. Research indicates that, through narrative and empowering pedagogy during teacher education, teachers and learners combine educational practice with ethical and social awareness. This contributes to future teachers’ definition of a clear professional identity and their establishment of personal agency and meaningful learning at all stages of their lives—processes that are essential for realizing sustainable education principles and achieving global education goals [44].

4.4. Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research

The current study has several limitations. First, the small number of participants, the fact that only one was male, and the reliance on a single primary data source in a specific context caution against applying the conclusions to other groups at other points in time. The second limitation stems from the fact that the results may be susceptible to bias due to their reliance on preservice teachers’ retrospective self-reflections, which are prone to social desirability and self-report-related biases. Additionally, it cannot be guaranteed that participants’ perceptions, as presented in their compositions at the end of the course, will remain the same when they assume their teaching roles. Additionally, although the study acknowledged that second-career teachers bring valuable prior experience [11,14], the research design did not systematically examine how participants’ previous professional knowledge specifically informed their learning in the course, which represents an area for future investigation.

Follow-up research with course graduates could examine their perspectives on the course’s contributions to their professional and personal development, including whether the course helped them to become resilient teachers with a sense of agency and an educational vision that can lead to inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all their students. Such research could also include senior students with practical teaching experience to assess the course’s long-term impact. Additionally, future research could examine participants’ agency in their prior work experiences and explore how such reflections relate to their professional development in teaching. In addition to their own perspectives, those of their future school administrators, colleagues, and students could be explored. Follow-up research could also examine course participants’ attrition rates compared with the global rate and compare the perceptions of teachers who left the profession with those who continued to teach.

4.5. Conclusions

This study illustrates how integrating narrative pedagogy with agency-focused instruction in preservice teacher education may contribute to sustainable development goals by fostering educator well-being and professional resilience. Our findings reveal three possible interconnected pathways through which this pedagogical approach can support sustainable education: (1) developing professional identities grounded in values and critical reflection; (2) creating psychologically safe learning communities that model inclusive practice; and (3) cultivating realistic optimism that enables future teachers to envision change while acknowledging systemic constraints.

For second-career preservice teachers specifically, who mostly choose teaching based on their values and desire to generate change [14,25,26], this approach leverages their prior values, motivations, and experiences while helping them navigate potential frustrations with educational system limitations. By developing what we term “informed agency”—the capacity to pursue transformative goals while adapting to contextual realities—these future educators may be better positioned to sustain long-term commitment and avoid early-career attrition. The study underscores that teacher well-being cannot be separated from educational quality but is integral to sustainable education systems. When teacher education programs explicitly attend to multiple dimensions of well-being—psychological, social, and professional—they can contribute to both individual teacher flourishing and systemic educational sustainability.

However, realization of this potential demands institutional commitment. Teacher education programs must move beyond viewing narrative and agency as occasional add-ons and instead systematically integrate these principles throughout the coursework. Such integration requires faculty development, curriculum redesign, and assessment approaches that value reflective practice alongside technical competence. As educational systems worldwide grapple with teacher shortages and retention challenges, this research highlights a promising pathway forward: by building teacher agency through narrative pedagogy, we can lay the foundation for both educators’ well-being and the sustainable, equitable education our world urgently requires.